Baked Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms

Our kitchen annex (aka. our basement kitchen) is starting to come together.  Peep those the beautiful cabinets that were handcrafted by my dad.👀  These were the cabinets that hung in the kitchen of the house where I grew up.  That house has since been torn down and replaced with a new home but... the cabinets live on in our newest kitchen space. 

Just to be clear - I take no credit for this amazing space on the lowest level of our home.  All the recognition goes to our talented and creative contractor, my parents for donating and delivering the coolest cabinets, an insightful plumber who moved pipes and gas lines to make this possible and my uber patient husband who gracefully listens to all of my crazy design ideas.🤣 ​

I can hardly wait to start doing some cooking in my new bonus kitchen.  Actually, what I'm most excited about is moving some of my extra cooking supplies into those new/old cabinets. 😂  Filling the cabinets with my duplicate pots, pans and extra utensils is really going to make some much needed extra space in my upstairs kitchen cabinets.  Anyone else have extra (or older) pots and pans that they don't use on a regular basis but they don't want to get rid of?   

I don't know what my first meal in this beautiful new kitchen will be but I can assure you that it will be something that reminds me of my childhood.  Something that my mom would have made in that kitchen that I have such fond memories of.  So while I think about that first meal and my dad who provided the cabinets and my mom who made us the most amazing meals while we were kids - I'll share a yummy Baked Pasta with Spinach and Mushroom dish.  

Baked Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced 
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons Italian herbs
3–4 ounces baby spinach, chopped  
2 cups chicken broth
25 ounce jar marinara sauce
8 ounces dry pasta
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼–1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
1/2– 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Fresh basil for garnish

Heat oil in skillet. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs.  Cook 12 min. until golden.  

Add spinach and wilt. 

Add 2 cups of broth, marinara sauce and the dry pasta.

Bring to a simmer. Dot with the dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan​.  

Cover and place in the oven at 400 to bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and let the cheese get a little golden for a couple of minutes.

Ciao!

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