Baked Penne

By bklynmommy

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup green peppers, diced
• 1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
• 1 tub (10 oz.) Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme, divided use
• 1 cup Kraft shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided use
• 3 cups cooked penne pasta
• I love green peppers but my family isn't too crazy about them so I left those out.

Details

Adapted from thecountrycook.net

Preparation

Step 1

If you haven't already cooked your pasta, do so first.
You'll need to bring water to a boil and then add in about 1 3/4 cups uncooked pasta (this should give you about 3 cups cooked since pasta nearly doubles in size after cooked). I always throw a little extra in for good measure.
When pasta is ready, make sure you drain excess water thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Spray a 2-quart casserole dish (or 9x9 baking dish) with nonstick cooking spray.
Begin browning and crumbling ground beef with onions and green peppers (if using).
You'll need to do this in a large skillet because you'll be adding in your sauce and pasta to it later.
Once beef is browned, drain any excess grease.
Stir in spaghetti sauce, 3/4 cup cooking creme and 1/2 cup mozzarella.
Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until mozzarella is melted.
Add pasta and mix lightly.
Spoon mixture into your prepared baking dish.
Top with remaining cooking creme.
Then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
I sprinkled a little dried parsley on top for a touch of color.
Cover with lid or aluminum foil.
When using aluminum foil, I like to spray the inside of the foil with nonstick spray so the cheese doesn't stick to it while baking.
Bake for 15 minutes. Then uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes so the cheese ca