Baked Lemon Pasta

Alright gals, let's kick this blog off in style! This recipe has quickly become one of our favorites. It's super easy and you could even add chicken to make it more filling. I got this recipe off of http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and the picture comes from her website as well. Click here if you want step-by-step instructions and a picture for each step as well, she really outdoes herself :).

Baked Lemon Pasta

1 pound thin spaghetti
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
Plenty of grated Parmesan cheese (I bought shaved parmesan and it's really good)
Flat leaf parsley, chopped (you can also used dried)
Extra lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT.When butter is melted, add minced garlic.Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary.Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top.Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley.Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Serve with crusty French bread and a simple green salad.