Baked pesto pasta

Dinner is always an ordeal at my house. By the time we figure out what we want to eat it gets too late to prepare it. But on days like these, we have a go-to recipe, baked pasta. Just the simple act of baking pasta takes the meal to a whole new level. The way the cheese melts and forms a crust is heavenly. To make things even better adding goat cheese to your sauce will add an extra element of creaminess and will keep you coming back for more. For this recipe, I mixed the classic marinara pasta with a homemade pesto sauce and a generous amount of goat cheese to enhance the fresh flavors from the pesto.

Ingredients

• Pasta of your choice
• Chopped onions
• Chopped yellow/red bell peppers
• goat cheese
• Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1tspn ground pepper 
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Boil the pasta till it is al dente
• Saute the onions until they are golden brown, add the bell peppers and cook for another two minutes 
• Add marinara sauce to the vegetable and cook until you prepare the pesto
• To make the pesto roast the nuts in low flame for 5 mins, add garlic cloves, and toast for another 2 mins
• Allow to cool and grind the basil leaves, pine/walnuts, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic,pepper, and parmesan cheese into a coarse paste.
• In a large baking dish combine the marinara-vegetable mixture, pasta, goat cheese, and pesto and mix.
• Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheddar cheese forms a crust and serve hot.