Baked Rigatoni
I am REALLY getting into this meal planning! This method has really made it enjoyable! I love that I’m finally getting to try some recipes in some of the great cookbooks I have. I love to cook and try new things, but in the past whenever I wanted to try a new recipe, I found there was always an item or two that I didn’t have. Planning these meals out before grocery shopping has insured that I don’t miss something, plus it’s saving me money! I now don’t have to make that trip to the grocery store for an item I was missing and walking out spending more than I needed to.
So onto this evening’s dinner, I did a baked rigatoni. It took a little under 30 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake, not bad! I did have to add a little something for the boys that the recipe did not call for, but was a great addition. The boys love pepperoni, so I bought a stick of it and sliced some coin sized portions to add. I also added some Italian sausage to it as Andrew and I like it and it was on sale this week. I bought a really large tray of them, so what I did was boiled them then let them cool, removed the casings and sliced them into coins, then froze them. This makes it really easy to throw them into a pasta dish for a little extra flavor. Here’s the recipe for anyone that’s interested!
BAKED RIGATONI
1 T olive oil
½ lb of lean ground beef
2 mild Italian precooked sausage sliced into coins (optional)
1 diced onion
1 diced red pepper
1 can of tomato sauce
1 cup of cottage cheese
3 cups of rigatoni, cooked
1 cup of shredded cheese
¼ cup of romano cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 350F
In a Skillet heat olive oil and sauté onions and peppers until translucent. Add ground beef and cooked until browned and crumbled, add sausage and continue to stir often. Next add tomato sauce and cottage cheese and rigatoni to the sauce and mix well. In a 11x 13 casserole add the rigatoni mixture and top with the two cheeses. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted.
