Cooking Light Three Cheese Baked Pasta

By dawnita7

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-1/4 cups diced onion
• 1/3 cup diced carrot
• 1/4 cup diced celery
• 1/4 cup minced garlic (about 12 cloves)
• 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (packed without the oil)
• 1-1/4 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1-1/2 cups Romano cheese, divided
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 pound uncooked penne pasta
• 1 cup (4 oz.) diced provolone cheese
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery; cook 10 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Add sun-dried tomatoes, thyme, crushed red pepper and diced tomatoes. Cook 25 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occassionally.
3. Combine 1 cup Romano, ricotta, parsley and egg white in a bowl.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; return pasta to pan. Add ricotta mixture to pan, stirring to coat. Add tomato mixture and provolone, tossing just to combine (do not overstir). Spoon pasta into a 13 X 9 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Romano cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.