Wheat Buns and Baked Pasta

Our assignment this time for the HBin5 challenge was a gluten-free boule and cheddar sesame cracker. I have to say I wimped out on this one, knowing that getting the herd here to eat a gluten free loaf would be a near impossible feat. So, I made wheat rolls from the King Arthur flour Whole Grain Baking book. Easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. This is very nice dough to work with and they came out so nice. We had them last night with baked ww rotini, and then again today for lunch as pimento cheese sandwiches. Very tasty.

Baked Rotini

1 box (12oz) ww rotini
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tub (15oz) ricotta cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
4 oz goat cheese
1 jar (26oz) pasta sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt a pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 inch pan.

Prepare the rotini just shy of al dente, usually 10 to 11 minutes for me. Brown the ground beef. Mix the ricotta, goat cheese, 3 cups of the mozzarella, pasta sauce, and spices together. Stir in the ground beef and the pasta. If the mixture is too dry add some of the pasta cooking water. Pour into prepared pan. Combine the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan and sprinkle over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until cheese is brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 15-20 minutes before cutting.


Of course you can change up this recipe anyway you want. Different shapes of pasta, different cheeses, different spices etc. This time I used roasted tomato sauce that I had made and frozen from the garden. I also added a little garam masala, an Indian spice blend with cumin, coriander, cardamom, and cloves. If you like it spicy add some red pepper flakes or chilies. It’s all good.

Until our next baking adventure..