Pasta makes an excellent entree for dinner time. I love to use pasta as a basis for my family's vegetarian meals. One of the best things about pasta is that it keeps well, both in the refrigerator and the freezer. So whatever pasta dish you're preparing, be sure to make extra for quick and easy meals later on. But whatever you do, be sure to use whole wheat or multi-grain pasta. They're much healthier than the white variety, they're higher in protein and they taste better too. My favorites are Ronzoni Healthy Harvest, Heartland Whole Wheat and Barilla Plus. Barilla Plus is in a class by itself, as it is multigrain pasta which contains a semolina, grain and legume flour blend which includes egg whites and ground flaxseeds, is low in fat and high in protein.

Plain old spaghetti makes a great all-around meal. Just cook the pasta in one pot while the sauce is cooking in another. Be sure to add fresh vegetables and mozzarella cheese for a healthy and delicious meal.

Here are some great recipes to get you started.

Vegetable Pasta Bake

1 pound pasta (any shape or size you desire, including rotini, macaroni, penne and spaghetti)
2 jars pasta sauce
1 pound package frozen vegetables
1 - 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Boil the pasta, then combine it in your cooking pan with the pasta sauce. Work in the vegetables while still frozen, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are hot and tender and the cheese melted.

No-Boil Whole Wheat Vegetarian Lasagne

8 ounces uncooked whole wheat lasagne
2 eggs
1 15 ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 pound spinach, squash and/or eggplant
2 26 ounce jars pasta sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine the ricotta cheese with the eggs in a bowl. Layer some pasta sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then layer half of the noodles, then layer with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Place your vegetables in a layer on top of this, then layer with more pasta sauce. Repeat the layering, placing the next layer of lasagne noodles, ricotta mixture, vegetables and pasta sauce. Top with the cup of mozzarella.

Both of these recipes are great one-dish recipes which make lots of leftovers which you can heat up for lunches and nights when you don't feel like cooking.

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