Ezpastabake Recipes

EASY BEEF PASTIES

Steps:

• Before you begin measuring everything out, place the cubed butter in the freezer to chill.
• Stir together flour, sugar, and salt, and pour into the food processor. Add butter and pulse until butter is cut into the flour, but still has visible chunks.
• While pulsing, slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the buttermilk and continue to pulse until the buttermilk is incorporated into the dough. At this point, your dough should look like rough crumbs and hold their shape if squeezed together. If dough does not hold its shape, drizzle in a little more buttermilk, up to 2½ additional tablespoons, until it does. The dough will look a little scary at this point, but don't worry. It's supposed to look like that!
• Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and dump half of your dough crumbs onto the sheet. Gather the edges of the plastic wrap and press tightly together to form a 1-inch thick disk. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to 24.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat (watch closely, you don't want to burn the butter) and add the meat. Cook until well browned.
• Add potatoes and carrots and cover with just enough water that the meat and vegetables are submerged. Add salt, rosemary, pepper, and oregano.
• Bring to a boil, turn down to medium and simmer for five minutes. Meat should be cooked through and potatoes should be softened, but still have a bit of a bite to them.
• Remove from heat and drain the cooking liquid into a separate container for later use. Set liquid and meat and veggies aside.
• In a medium saucepan, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour and whisk continuously for 1 minute until a sticky paste forms and flour turns golden. Whisk in 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid from your meat and potatoes (discard the rest). Simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, whisking continuously, until a thick gravy forms. Remove from heat and stir in the meat and vegetable mixture, making sure everything is well coated.
• Whisk together egg and milk in a small bowl to make your egg wash.
• On a well-floured surface, divide your dough into 4 to 6 equal-size pieces and roll into balls. If you are slow at rolling out pastry dough, place all the balls, but one, back in the fridge and work with one at a time so the dough stays chilled and easy to work with.
• Re-flour your work surface and roll first ball out to 3/8 inch thick with a floured rolling pin, forming as round of a circle as you can manage (trim edges with a knife to make a perfect circle if necessary). Pick up your dough to make sure it is not stuck to your work surface. If it is, use a metal spatula to dislodge it before filling.
• Brush egg wash around the edges of your pie crust to help seal it and spoon beef mixture over slightly less than half of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Fold dough over the filling and use a fork to crimp the edges closed. Cut 3 slashes in the top and transfer to baking pan.
• Repeat with remaining dough balls. You may have a bit of meat mixture left over, depending on how thin you rolled out your dough. You can eat it with a spoon.
• Brush pasties with egg wash and and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are beautiful and golden.
• Allow to cool slightly and enjoy.

PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted boil water to a boil. Cook mostaccioli pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, cook ground beef and chopped onions in a skillet over medium heat until browned.
• In a large bowl, mix together the mushrooms, spaghetti sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, pasta, and browned ground beef and onion mixture. Transfer to a greased, 9x13 inch casserole dish.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 20 minutes, or until very hot.

EASY PASTA PRIMAVERA

Steps:

• Prep your ingredients and boil water for your pasta (cook it al dente according to package directions). Add the oil and butter to a skillet over medium-high heat.
• Once the pan is hot, add the vegetables and garlic and sauté, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
• Stir in the lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and basil.
• Before draining the pasta, add a splash of the pasta water (a tablespoon or two) to the skillet. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan and toss. Just before serving, stir in the parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper as needed.

EASY ITALIAN PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Brown meat in large skillet; drain.
• Add cooked pasta, sauce, and half of the parmesan; mix well.
• Spoon into 13X9-inch baking dish.
• Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining parmesan.
• Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.

EASY ITALIAN BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Return to skillet. Add pasta, pasta sauce and half the Parmesan; mix well.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cheeses.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

EASY BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F. Cook pasta according to box directions with a generous pinch of salt. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
• Add pasta and pasta water back into pot and stir in 3/4 cup Italian cheese blend, 1 cup of tomato sauce, and all of herbs (basil, thyme, and oregano). Pasta should have a creamy and cheesy consistency.
• Transfer pasta to a 13x9 baking dish. Layer with rest of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Italian cheese blend over top.
• Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes until cheese is bubbling and browned. Garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy!

EASY PASTA SKILLET

Steps:

• Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Return meat to skillet. Stir in water; bring to boil.
• Stir in pasta; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 15 min. or until pasta is tender.
• Add pasta sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella; mix lightly. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan; cover. Cook 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.

MEATBALL PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes less than the package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook meatballs until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add marinara sauce and ricotta cheese; mix to combine. Add cooked pasta and mix to combine. Season with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of sauce without meatballs. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese on top. Add another layer of sauce with meatballs on top and sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Add another layer of 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Add the rest of the sauce and meatball mixture on top, followed by remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake until cheese starts to turn golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!