During my first year here at CSUSM, I lived in a shared dorm. I often struggled to make adequate meals since I had no experience cooking. However, with the help of my mom, I learned a simple pasta recipe for those late nights studying. This recipe saved me too many times. For those living alone, I hope it could help you too.

What you’ll need:

For this dish, you only need ground beef or turkey. Faux meat can also be used in this recipe instead of ground beef or turkey, if you prefer. You’ll also need a box of penne pasta, salt, pepper and a jar of marinara sauce (any kind is okay to use). Red pepper and parmesan cheese are optional ingredients for this pasta dish.

Steps:

First, you will need to boil water in a regular size pot for at least 10 minutes before adding in the penne pasta. Once you’ve added the pasta to the boiling water, let it cook for another ten minutes on low burning heat. On a separate pan, cook the ground beef on low burning heat. Make sure to add salt and pepper to your choice of meat when cooking it on the pan. Periodically mix the pasta and beef until fully cooked, in their respective pots. The pasta should be ready when it’s soft and then make sure that the meat is cooked until it turns brown.

Once the pasta is done cooking, strain the water and let the pasta cool down for a few minutes. After the meat is fully cooked, turn off all the burners and let the meat sit for a minute. With the meat still in the pan, pour a half jar of the marinara sauce and mix the two together.

And now you are done! Since the food is in its designated pots and pans, you can layer the pasta/meat to your desired amount. For extra flavor, sprinkle a pinch of parmesan cheese and red pepper.

Have fun cooking!