The issue was based on italian, and there was an article talking about baked pasta, so we decided to give it a shot. It was quick and it was easy. First off, choose your pasta and get it cooking. We used bowtie, some say it's over rated, but it worked great for this dish.
Next choose your vegetables. We used baby portobello mushrooms, green onions, spinach and garlic. In the summer you could use squash, zucchini, even asparagus.
In a large skillet, add EVOO and fresh chopped garlic, let simmer, but don't let it brown - it can start to get bitter if toasted too long. Add the green onions and cook down, next add the mushrooms (quick tip: don't season the mushrooms until they are fully cooked, if you do it early, they tend to be over seasoned)
Sautee that for about 5-7 minutes or until the mushrooms seemed to be cooked well. While this is cooking, get a medium saucepan and add a jar or even a jar and half of pasta sauce - your choice. If you have the time to make your own tomato sauce, I would recommend it. I think it would be that much better. We used the jar, heat that up and maybe add some fresh basil if you have some.
Back to the skillet, take about three large handfuls of spinach and throw it in there and let cook. It will seem like a lot of spinach but trust me it will cook down.
When the pasta sauce has heated up, add a big spoonful of ricotta cheese. It gives it a nice creamy texture to the sauce.
Drain the pasta and add a little pasta sauce to it and add it to the skillet mixture. Next pour the mixture in a casserole dish and pour the sauce over it. Move the pasta around so the sauce gets all over it. Next, cover with mozzarella and throw it in the oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese it melted.
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