Pesto Pasta Bake

I'm a big fan of recipes.  I like looking over the list of ingredients and imagining how all those flavors will combine and balance each other out.  I like seeing approximately how long it's going to take me to put the dish together.  Recipes are guidelines.  Recipes are safe.

Sometimes .....safe is BORING.

Do you ever just want to open up the fridge, root through the pantry, find a bunch of stuff to throw in a pot and have it magically come out fabulous?  Yeah, me too.  But I know my limitations and I'm not quite at That Level yet.  I'm still baby-stepping my way into making up my own recipes.  I like to keep things simple and use fool-proof ingredients that I already know I L-O-V-E.  Like pesto, pasta, and cheese.  Can't go wrong!

Pesto Pasta Bake

1 lb whole wheat penne pasta
3 cubes of frozen pesto, thawed
1 (16oz) container small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 tbsp Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle

1.  Preheat the oven to 350.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid before draining pasta.  Set aside.

Every fall I make big batches of pesto to freeze in ice cube trays

2.  While pasta cooks, in a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, pesto, cheddar cheese, and cheese sprinkle.  Add the hot pasta, tossing to combine.  Add some of the hot pasta water if you'd like to thin out the sauce a little bit.

Cheesy, pesto-y goodness

3.  Pour the cheesed pesto pasta into a baking dish, spreading it out into an even layer.  Sprinkle on a little more cheese sprinkle if you like, or Parmasan would be fantastic if you happen to have some lying around (I did not the other day or you'd totally see Parm listed above).

4.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is browned a bit and the cheese is bubbly.

Some notes...

• I think pesto adds Ah-Mazing flavor to just about anything so I love having it on-hand to use however I like.  I prefer to make my own though because it can be REALLY OILY normally.  Don't worry, you'll see my pesto recipe later on this summer...
• I always feel better about the amount of cheese I'm using if I'm combining it with whole wheat pasta instead of regular.  Plus, whole wheat adds this really great, subtle nutty flavor.
• I have a personal preference for cottage cheese over riccota.  If you're a ricotta fan though, totally use that instead.  And toss in some mozzarella too if you have that around!
• Do you have Carnivores watching over your shoulder?  Cook up a chicken breast to shred and add to the mix.  You might need more cheese and/or pasta water though to stretch the cheesiness.
• FYI, I measured NOTHING in this so my measurements above are approximations.