Pasta and Beef Bake

There has certainly been a theme of comfort food at my house. Tonight's dish, a Weight Watchers recipe of baked pasta smothered in tomato sauce, ground beef and cheese. Now don't you feel warmer already?

You can always forget all about counting points and add a glass of beautiful red wine and a slice or four of fresh baked bread. Better yet, top the bread with butter, garlic and cheese, and throw it in the oven for a few minutes. Sigh...

Italian Beef and Pasta Bake
(Adapted from Weight Watchers Healthy Cooking Basics)

1 pkg. whole wheat spaghetti
1 Lb. lean ground beef (7% fat or less)
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with nonstick spray (I used olive oil flavor).

Cook pasta as directed on package. Drain and transfer to large bowl.

Meanwhile, cook beef, onion, and garlic in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until beef is browned, about 8 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring and smashing down tomatoes occasionally for about 15 minutes, until sauce thickens slightly.

Stir beef mixture, ricotta, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella into the pasta. Transfer to baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella if desired. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Roughly 7 points for 1 1/4 cups.

NOTE: Next time I plan on using penne (per the original recipe) or ziti instead of spaghetti and crushed tomatoes instead of whole or diced. I think that will make for a thicker sauce that will work better with the pasta.