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Three Cheese Italian Rigatoni Pie

Prep Time:

10 Minutes

Cook Time:

1 Hour

Serves:

6 Servings

Category:

Main Dish

About the Recipe

A classic baked pasta dish. This version is cheesy and oh so easy to make, not to mention just plain fun.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Rigatoni pasta

  • 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce, such as marinara sauce (Approximately 2.5 cups, give or take, if it's slightly more or less, just use it all)

  • ½ cup of water

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)

  • 1 pound ground beef or ground pork

  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese

  • 1 container cottage cheese (or Ricotta cheese)

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 ½ to 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Step 1


Cook the Rigatoni in a large pot of salted, boiling water. Make sure you use enough water because the rigatoni sucks up a lot. Cook it about 1 minute less than the package directions so it is still hard enough to stand up. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water.



Step 2


Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon of oil to prevent it from sticking. Then add the parmesan cheese and toss until the cheese is evenly distributed. Set aside.



Step 3


In a large frying pan, brown the ground beef in 1 Tablespoon of oil. Drain away the fat once it's cooked.



Step 4


Add the jar of pasta sauce and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer you simmer the better. Just make sure you add more water if it all boils off. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.



Step 7


Mix together the container of cottage cheese and the egg. Set aside.



Step 8


Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.



Step 9


Take the cooked rigatoni and stand each piece up on its end in the pan. Continue until the whole pan is tightly packed.



Step 10


Pour the cottage cheese mixture over the rigatoni and spread evenly over all the noodles.



Step 11


Pour the meat mixture over top and spread evenly over the noodles. Use your finger to poke the meat and cheese mixture down into the noodles. The more patience you have with this step, the better it will be.



Step 12


Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F.



Step 13


Remove from the oven and top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes at 400°F.



Step 14


Let stand for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the pan to help remove the springform pan.




Recipe sourced from OneLittleProject.com.


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