Smoked Cheese Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 pound uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
• 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked farmer or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

Heat marinara sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add salt, pepper, and spinach, stirring until blended; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in cooked pasta.

Spoon half of pasta mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine sour cream, smoked cheese, and basil; spread over pasta mixture in dish. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over sour cream mixture; sprinkle evenly with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Servings: 8 (serving size: about 1 cup)
Nutritional Information: CALORIES 395(25% from fat); FAT 10.8g (sat 7.5g,mono 2g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 19.1g; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 310mg; SODIUM 419mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.9g

Submitted By: Dellaina
Original Source: Cooking Light magazine

Comments:
This dish owes its creaminess to a layer of tangy sour cream. Make it on a Sunday afternoon, and enjoy leftovers for another meal during the week. Or you can assemble the casserole, refrigerate overnight, and bake shortly before serving.