Hello, lovelies! Can you believe it's finally OCTOBER! Hurray! I, like any other white girl ever, absolutely adore fall. Living in Texas, the thought of not having triple-digit, instantly-sweat-inducing days is almost too good to be true. I mean, granted, since October just started, the weather isn't quite cooperating yet, but I'm hoping it will soon... I went and bought my first pumpkin of the year today, and I was wearing shorts and sandals. So, I mean, there's that. Anyways.
I'm super excited to be working with my beloved H-E-B once again! October, besides being a great month because of fall and Halloween, is also Italian month at H-E-B! It's kind of the best thing ever. Last year, I made this Pasta al Forno, and this year... well, I made you another pasta bake because I just love them so much. Seriously, if you ever want to impress dinner guests, make baked pasta! It might be criminally easy, but they don't have to know that. Heck, they'll probably just be hypnotized by the melty, bubbly cheese and won't even care HOW you made them dinner. They'll probably just want to know the shortest route from dish to mouth.
I got this package of absolutely gorgeous Mafaldine pasta in this month's box, and the first thing I thought of was "THESE LOOK LIKE LASAGNA SPAGHETTI!" Don't they, though? For all intents and purposes, these are pretty much lasagna spaghetti. So now you understand why I had to make a lasagna pasta bake! All the cheesy, meaty, melty goodness of traditional lasagna but made with these funny little noodles. I'm kind of obsessed with them. And, in case you were wondering, the finished product is basically to-die-for. SO GOOD.
You have all the basic components of a traditional lasagna: meat sauce, bechamel sauce, fresh mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and of course, the noodles! You then kinda sorta layer them together {it's not a science so honestly just do your best}, finishing with plenty of bechamel and cheeeeese on top, and pop it in the oven. Bake until everything has melded together and the cheese is browned and delicious, and you are good to go. Wait as long as you can bear to avoid scorched tastebuds, and dig in!
Aside from the Mafaldine, H-E-B currently has other varieties of the Pasta di Gragnano available! This pasta is amazing because it's handmade with bronze dies, which makes the texture a little rougher and makes the noodles "stick" to the sauce more. What that means for you is more saucy goodness in every bite. I also got a package of Vesuvio pasta, which are chunky little curly noodles, but you can see all the varieties here on H-E-B's website.
Something else that I was very excited to see in my H-E-B package this month is Mulino Bianco cookies! As a bred and born Italian, I was literally raised on these cookies, but I've never been able to find them in the States. Until now! H-E-B, you're making all my dreams come true. And if that wasn't awesome enough, the sent me the Baiocchi kind, which is two buttery vanilla cookies sandwiched together with a creamy chocolate-hazelnut filling, which is preeeettyy much my most favorite kind ever {for obvious reasons}. Even if you're not as familiar with them as I am, I just know you'll fall in love with them! They will be available for just a pitifully limited time, so definitely stock up while you can. I know that what I'll be doing...
I hope you'll be trying out my cheesy lasagna pasta bake! There's a lot of components, but trust me when I say it's not hard, and the effort will be so worth it! The special Ciao Italia picks will be in stores just from September 30th - October 13th, so don't wait to shop! You can find all of H-E-B's fabulous featured items HERE, then find a store near you HERE. Don’t forget to follow H-E-B on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. Happy shopping!
cheesy lasagna pasta bake
Ingredients
- *for the meat sauce*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ white onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
- 3 cups tomato sauce {should be 1 small 8oz can + 1 medium 15oz can}
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- *for the bechamel sauce*
- 3 tablespoon salted butter
- 4 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- *for the pasta*
- 1 package Central Market H-E-B Mafaldine pasta
- 1 8 oz package fresh mozzarella
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- First, start the meat sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil with the onion and garlic, and cook over medium-high heat until the veggies have softened and are translucent.
- Add in the meat and the spices, and cook until the meat is cooked thoroughly and no longer pink.
- Add in the tomato sauce, cover the pot, and lower the heat to a simmer.
- Next, make the bechamel sauce. In a medium nonstick saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low. Whisk in the flour, one tablespoon at a time, and allow it to "cook" until light golden brown.
- Slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly, until a creamy sauce forms. Add in the parmesan, salt, and nutmeg, and turn off the heat.
- Cook the pasta 2-3 minutes less than the package indicates, as it will cook more in the oven and you don't want it to become mushy!
- Now turn on the oven to 350F.
- Meanwhile, prepare the pasta bake. Grab a large baking dish {9x13 should work nicely} and spread a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom. Pour in about half the noodles, then top with some meat sauce and mix it in just a bit. Top it with about half of the bechamel sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan. Make another layer of pasta, and top with the remaining sauces and cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until the pasta is hot and bubbly, and the cheese on top has melted and is lightly golden brown. Let cool slightly and enjoy!
n accordance with the FTC Guidelines, I am disclosing that I received compensation from H-E-B for my time and participation in the Primo Picks Program. Although I have material connection to H-E-B, any publicly stated opinions of H-E-B and their products remains my own. Recipe is an original creation of Valentina Celant at TheBakingFairy.net.
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