Spinach Turkey Pasta Bake

Baked pasta dishes are a real comfort meal for me.  I love how versatile they can be and how easy it is to throw some veggies in there and pretend it's healthy.

















This pasta bake is something I made the other night using stuff that I almost always have in the house.  It made a huge casserole dish full and now I have lunches for tomorrow and frozen sections for dinner later.

Spinach Turkey Pasta Bake:

1 box ziti, baked al dente
1 package ground turkey
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 container reduced fat ricotta cheese
2 cups reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 - 3/4 jar pasta sauce (or homemade)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt (if you like saltier things add more salt, I tend to under salt)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and heat a skillet over medium high heat.

Heat the olive oil in the skillet and add the ground turkey, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Brown the turkey and add the diced onion and garlic.  Once the onion starts to get soft add the spinach.

In a medium bowl add the cooked pasta, browned turkey mixture, pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese.

Pour the pasta mixture into a casserole dish and top with the remaining shredded cheese.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is nice and melted.