Simple Baked Fiori

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 5
• 12 ounces uncooked fiori pasta (or any other type you want, like ziti, bow tie, or rotini)
• nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (medium sized, larger if you want)
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef (or 1/2 pound of boca 'ground beef' or other beef substitute)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (if you have the leaf kind, be sure to crush it a little)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes (or two 14.5 oz)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (more if desired. you can use other cheeses as well, like mozzarella)

Recipe

• 1 preheat your oven to 350 degrees f.
• 2 cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. (while it is cooking, go to step 4)
• 3 drain and set aside.
• 4 spray a medium sized saucepan with the cooking spray, or if you want you can use a tsp of olive oil.
• 5 add the minced garlic and cook for a minute or so over medium heat.
• 6 add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, and drain the liquids. (if you are using a meat substitute, like boca, you won't have to cook it, just throw it in and add a few tablespoons of water) keep the pan at medium heat.
• 7 add the thyme, oregano, rosemary, salt and pepper. stir to coat the beef, and cook for another minute or so.
• 8 add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.
• 9 then, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes (or until you are ready to place it into the dish) spoon a small amount of the mixture into the bottom of a 4- quart casserole dish (this should be barely enough to cover the surface).
• 10 top with half of the cooked pasta, and then layer half of the tomato mixture over the pasta, then layer half of the cheese.
• 11 layer the remaining pasta on top, and top the pasta with the remaining sauce (the sauce may be liquidy, so just pour it on) and cheese. i always just use enough cheese to make each layer, so it is probably going to be more than the 1 cup.
• 12 cover the dish with foil and bake until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. (during the last couple of minutes i take off the foil.)
• 13 enjoy!