Zucchini Pasta Bake

This recipe could easily be made into a vegetarian version by omitting the meat (just use a little olive oil for cooking the veggies) or even a vegan version by substituting nutritional yeast flakes for the Parmesan, but my family loved it with the ground venison I used when I made this yummy dinner.  Even though I had to buy some tomatoes at the farmers market, this meal for the whole family was still under $3!

Zucchini Pasta Bake

2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta
1/2 lb ground meat
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, peeled, quartered and sliced
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

Brown ground meat with onion.  Add zucchini, tomato, garlic powder, basil, oregano, and salt.  Cook for about 5 minutes. 

Combine pasta and vegetable mixture in a 2-quart casserole dish.  Stir in the tomato sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.  Bake for 25 minutes.