girls night in :-)

if there is one thing i love, it's a girls' night complete with pasta and a rom-com movie! but if there is one thing i do not love, it is having to be in the kitchen during the whole girls' night. not gonna happen. not with this recipe anyways!

ingredients

1 box penne pasta (16 oz or about that amount)

1 jar of pasta sauce (i like to use prego brand mini meatball, but you can use any sauce you like. if you use a tomato sauce then this will be one tasty vegetarian dish!)

2 tablespoons (T) of butter, melted

1 small (2 cup) bag mozzarella cheese

steps:

1) pour the whole box of penne pasta (uncooked) in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish
2) pour the entire jar of pasta sauce over the noodles
3) fill the pasta jar up with water and pour over the noodles.
4) stir the mixture together in the pan.
5) add the 2T melted butter; stir again
6) cover the top tightly with aluminum foil
7) bake for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees. (You should open the oven and stir this about once every ten minutes. Also, REMOVE the aluminum foil when the timer has 10-15 minutes left to let it finish cooking uncovered).
8) top with 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it!)
9) bake it in the oven again for 10 minutes or until cheese is nice and melty.
10) enjoy!


Note: enjoy this meal with a nice caesar salad and crusty french bread. you can easily get bagged lettuce and caesar dressing, and the bakery section of the grocery store always has french bread or some type of garlic bread.


time breakdown:
mixing up the pasta: 2 minutes
baking time (total): 40-45 minutes (use this time to get ready for the girls to come over! or make a fizzy cocktail, that's always a great option!)
cheese-ing time: 1 minute