Re-tweaked Italian Pasta Bake

With summer quickly approaching, the days of casseroles are pretty much behind us.  However, I was going to out of town for three nights while Alex was on the night shift at the hospital, and I've found that in these instances, the best option is to leave him with a casserole so that he can quickly reheat a healthy dinner before his 12-hour shift.

Last time I was out of town I left him with some macaroni and cheese, which he loved, but I didn't think he wanted to eat it for three straight nights again so soon.  And I've cooked a couple of wonderful casseroles lately that he loved, but again, we had just eaten them.....  What I hadn't cooked in awhile was pasta!

I started out in this cooking journey by simply recreating my favorite Italian Pasta Bake from my mom's kitchen.  Then I found a Vegetarian Pasta Bake on the internet.  Then I sort of took some of my favorite things from the Vegetarian Pasta Bake for a slightly tweaked version of my mom's.

And now I'm taking the tweaking a step further....  Because I know Alex won't take the time to make a salad before leaving for work (and I don't really blame him - the less time he spends in the kitchen the more sleep he gets - and this week, he needs as much sleep as he can get!), I thought I'd sneak some extra veggies into the pasta.  It worked well when I added vegetables to his macaroni and cheese, so why not?

Recipe:
1 lb. ground meat (this time ground turkey)
3 cups penne or rotini pasta, cooked, drained
1 jar (26 - 28 oz.) your favorite spaghetti sauce (marinara is better than chunky style)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can artichokes
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 8-oz. package shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t garlic powder

Cook noodles according to package directions. 

Brown meat in a large skillet; drain. 

Add artichokes to pan and cook with meat 3-4 minutes.

Add sauce, tomatoes, oregano, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese to pan.  Stir well and cook until heated through.

Add to baking dish.

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Verdict:
Loved it!  Especially the addition of artichokes, which I think will be kept often in the future.  I will also of course experiment with different vegetables, but I have found that some sit around in tomato sauce and reheat better than others.  Broccoli, for example, is delicious but probably only if I think we are going to eat most of it in one sitting.  The artichokes reheated fabulously, so they will be kept for instances when I think we will have lots of leftovers.  Also, try mushrooms out of that is acceptable in your household.... It's the only thing that I think this casserole was missing.

Alex was fed and happy for three nights + there was dinner for both of us the night I returned + there is a bit left for someone to have for lunch one of these days, so it makes a lot.

Enjoy!