Serves 10:

• 3 TB oil
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, beef or lamb
• salt and pepper
• 3 TB fat
• 3 cups mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• 3 cups of sauce (tomato, pesto or cheese– click for recipes)
• salt and pepper
• 1 lb pasta
• 1 TB parsley
• 2 oz (1/2 cup) manchego or parmesan cheese, grated

1. Turn oven to 425. Prepare a large baking dish (9×13) or several smaller baking dishes. I usually split this recipe into 3 or 4 portions and freeze the extra pasta. Grease the baking dish(es) with a small amount of oil.
2. Infuse oil with rosemary and garlic: heat oil over low heat. Add rosemary sprig and garlic. Cook 5 minutes on each side. Discard the rosemary and garlic.
3. Heat oil over high heat. Add meat and season with salt and pepper. Brown the meat, about 7 minutes.
4. Cook mushrooms in 3 TB of fat. Heat the fat over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook for about 3 minutes, stir and add 1/2 of the leftover mushrooms. Cook for about 3 minutes, stir and add the last handful of mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Cook the pasta according to the package 1 minutes before al dente. Cook the pasta in very salty boiling water. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/3 cup of pasta cooking water.
6. Combine the pasta, reserved pasta cooking water, cooked meat, mushrooms and sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and half the cheese.
7. Pour pasta into prepared baking dish(es). Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
8. This pasta dish freezes well. Reheat from frozen at 425 for 30 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350 for another 20-30 minutes, until hot.

*please use organic ingredients, if possible.

Basic-Intermediary Culinary Skill Level- click to read about how I rate the difficulty of my recipes