Penne Pasta Bake

This meal has been a go to for our family for years.  It's easy, freezes well and everyone likes it.  I like to the recipe up into two 8x8 pans and then freeze one, but you can just do one big 9x13 pan instead.

INGREDIENTS

• 16 Oz penne pasta noodles, cooked al dente and strained
• ½ lb. ground beef, cooked (I season with dried minced onions and seasoning salt)
• 1-2 Jars marinara sauce (If you’re freezing add extra sauce so the noodles don’t get dry)
• 16 Slices smoked provolone cheese (you can get away with 12 if you’re just doing it in one large pan rather than 2 smaller pans)
• ⅔ Cup sour cream
• ⅔ Cup grated mozzarella or parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Put a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan to keep noodles from sticking. Put half of your cooked noodles in the pan. Then add half of your ground beef. Cover with half of your sauce. Create a layer with your provolone cheese.  Spread sour cream on top of provolone slices.  Add the remaining ground beef.  Then the rest of the pasta noodles.  Top noodles with remaining pasta sauce.  Spread out the sauce to make sure all of the noodles are covered.  Do another layer of provolone cheese.  Top with grated mozzarella or parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until your cheese is bubbly and browning a bit.

TO FREEZE - Stop before the baking step and cover it with foil.  When you’re ready to cook this dish, either thaw it in the fridge overnight or bake it at 350 for 1 ½ hours, keeping it covered with the foil until the last 30-45 minutes so the cheese doesn’t get too browned.