Vegetarian Baked Pasta

When pasta is on sale at the store, but you are sick of eating just normal 'pasta and sauce', what do you do? I decided that the solution to this problem was to make a lasagna-type pasta bake. It was a great idea! :)

This was the first time that I used this recipe, and I will be using it again! It was SO good. While it was more time-consuming than just 'pasta with sauce', it made up for it by tasting delicious and making plenty of food. We ate this for three days straight, and there was STILL leftovers, so I froze them for later. I will make this recipe the next time we have guests over for dinner, because I know that it will feed everyone there. Makes 8-10 servings.

What I love: The distinct, unique twist of using gorgonzola cheese made this meal amazing and NOT boring tasting! Also, the portobello mushrooms combined with that type of cheese was heavenly.

Ingredients:
*1 pound of penne pasta
*olive oil
*8 ounces of portobello mushrooms, sliced
*dried basil
*oregano
*1-2 cloves garlic, minced
*2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
*1 (28 ounce) jar of spaghetti sauce
*shredded mozzarella cheese (approx. 4-5 cups)
*5-6 ounces of crumbled gorgonzola cheese

Directions:
1) Boil lightly salted water in large pot, then add pasta and cook until al dente (approx. 8 min.), then drain. Pour ice cold water over the pasta to stop it from cooking more. Set aside.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 pan with spray.
3) Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add basil, oregano, and garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce, stir and heat just until warm.
4) Pour some of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan until bottom is just covered. Combine remaining sauce and pasta together in the large pot. Place one-third of the pasta/sauce in the pan. Top with approx. 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and then with half of the gorgonzola cheese. Repeat for a second layer.  Put the final layer of noodles in the pan and top with remaining 2-ish cups of mozzarella cheese.
5) Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cheese is browned. Serve and enjoy!

Comments:
*I strongly recommend using portobello mushrooms and not 'normal' mushrooms. The texture of portobello makes people think that there is meat in this recipe. It is also the best tasting mushroom with gorgonzola.

*I found an 8 ounce container of sliced baby portobello mushrooms at the store. It was perfect for this recipe! If you can find something like that, use it. Otherwise, sliced normal-sized portobello mushrooms into long, thin strips or chop up in whatever size you like.

*The next time I make this, I am thinking that I will use white wine instead of olive oil to saute the mushrooms. I think that sounds really good...if anyone tries it that way, let me know what you think!