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I recently shared the importance of family dinner and no matter how busy life gets, the tradition of family dinner is one I never want to let go of. I love being able to sit down as a family and talk about our day and unplug for a least a few minutes. Even though it doesn’t matter so much what we eat, it’s always more enjoyable when we eat good, nutritious food we can all enjoy. Recently, I’ve been trying to find ways to simplify our family dinner prep and mealtime so that we will all love this tradition. With 3 kids ages 4 and under, I don’t have the luxury of spending hours in the kitchen to prepare dinner for my family.
One way I’ve simplified our dinner prep is by making one dish dinners.
I love being able to cook and serve my food all in one dish. Read: less cleanup time and more time for family! This one dish Baked Penne is yummy and easy. You can prepare this meal in about 15 minutes and have it ready to serve in 30.
Revol has developed a unique dutch oven that is dishwasher, freezer, microwave, oven, AND stovetop safe! Yep, it can do all of that–making it versatile for all your favorite family dinner recipes, including this One Dish Baked Penne. (Just be careful with it when handling it. If you drop it, it can break!) I was able to saute, cook, bake, serve and reheat this meal all in the same dish. Talk about practical for a busy family!
Using one dish cuts down on cleanup time (read: more time for family!), but it’s still nice enough to make an ordinary weeknight dinner feel special. And that lid–be still my yellow-loving heart!
My family liked this meal and I did, too. Another winner in my book!
How do you simplify your family dinners? I’d love to hear!
One Dish Baked Penne
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 carrots, diced,
1/2 onion, diced
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
4 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
12-16 oz wheat penne
42 oz crushed canned tomatoes
1 cup water
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup mozarella cheese
Directions:
In an oven-proof skillet on medium heat, saute the carrots and onion in the olive oil until soft.
Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning.
Pour in the penne pasta, crushed tomatoes, and water. Stir until well combined. Lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes, until pasta is soft.
Turn on the oven to low broil.
Using a spoon or cookie scoop, place ricotta throughout the pasta. Use a large spoon to lift up the pasta to spread the ricotta cheese throughout. Also place scoops of cheese on the top of the pasta.
Sprinkle with mozarella cheese and then place in the oven.
Cook until on broil until the cheese has melted and is a nice golden color.
Serve immediately.
