Baked Cheese & Tomato Macaroni

This is one of families favorite recipes. This is a ovo-lacto recipe, but you can easily substitute the cheese for vegan cheese. This recipe serves as my husband's main course. I usually serve it with some steamed veggie and a baked chicken breast for my younger son and I to share.

Baked Cheese & Tomato Macaroni
basic recipe from the What's Cooking vegetarian cookbook by Jenny Stacey

Preheat the Oven to 375 degrees with oven racks in the lower middle position.

2 cups elbow macaroni
1 1/2 grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp plain bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter or margarine

Tomato Sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, fined chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 14.5 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp chopped basil or 1 tsp dried basil

1. To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the shallots and garlic for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add the tomatoes, and basil If you are using diced tomatoes you may want to use a pasty cutter to smash the diced tomatoes into smaller pieces; I find that most canned diced tomatoes are more like chunked tomatoes. Cook the tomato mixture over a medium heat, stirring, for 10 minutes
2. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a pan of boiling salted water for 8 minutes or until almost tender. Drain.
3. Mix both of the cheese together.
4. Grease a deep, ovenproof dish. Spoon a third of the tomato sauce into the base of the dish, top with a third of the macaroni and then a third of the cheeses. Repeat layers twice ending with the cheese layer.
5. Combine the bread crumbs with basil and sprinkle over the top. Dot with the butter and cook in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbling. Serve at once.

This casserole provides 6 1-cup servings. Calories are 326, 15 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber