Penne For Dinner

"Penny. <knock knock knock> Penny. <knock knock knock> Penny. <knock knock knock"

I decided to make a dish because I was walking through the grocery section of Walmart and saw a big picture of a plate of food and it inspired me.

Ingredients and the big picture:

I made a dish with penne pasts (the short cylinder with the angular ends), about 1/3rd pound of ground chuck, spaghetti sauce, sliced and sauteed strips of bell pepper (green and orange in this case), and lots of shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese on top. I thought of adding garlic, but when the time came I completely forgot to add it. You could add garlic, diced onion, or anything along those lines. I did add a couple of slices of Italian bread with herb coating. I got a loaf at Walmart for $1.

First steps, preparing to cook:

Coat a glass baking dish with olive oil to avoid sticking.

Brown (fry) the beef and drained off excess grease. Use a spoon to chop up the beef chunks.

Boil (with a bit of olive oil to about 3/4ths done) enough penne pasta to cover the baking dish bottom twice-over. It will finish cooking as it bakes.

Sautee the bell pepper strips and set aside until other ingredients are ready.

Cooking:

Drain the penne.

Cover the baking dish bottom well with the penne.

Cover the pasta with ground beef (no huge chunks).

Cover again with penne pasta.

Cover thoroughly with spaghetti sauce (marinara sauce).

Stir just enough to get the spaghetti sauce throughout.

Lay the bell pepper strips on top.

Cover very thoroughly with the shredded cheese. It won't take a lot to cover, but later you will want it to be enough for the whole dish of food.

Cover the dish with a sheet of foil. It doesn't have to be tight.
Bake about 30 minutes.

Yummy. Easy, fast, fairly healthy. Add a salad if you want more veggies. I stirred it up before dishing out some. You may prefer to dish it without stirring, so the cheese sits attractively on top.