Rigatoni Pasta Bake

This recipe is so delicious and extremely easy, super kid friendly and perfect for a busy week night. This might not be the healthiest meal you could ever eat, but it’s not so bad either if you don’t gobble up the whole thing…

Rigatoni Pasta Bake

Recipe for: Auntbeesrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian Sausage, casings removed and crumbled
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 6 oz pepperoni, chopped
• 48 oz (6 cups) of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 12 oz rigatoni noodles, cooked 1 minute less than al dente
• 16 oz cottage cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese (I really just dump a ton of cheese on top without measuring Ha!)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Add oil to the pan over medium high heat. Add crumbled Italian sausage and onion and cook until brown.
2. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add wine, pasta sauce, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, cooked bacon, and pepperoni.
4. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
5. Remove from heat and stir in cooked noodles.
6. In a 13×9 pan, sprayed with pam, add half of the noodle and meat sauce mixture.
7. Top with cottage cheese then the other half of the pasta mixture.
8. Finally, add the mozzarella cheese then the parmesan.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.

Edited to add: If you DON’T want to cook with red wine, you CAN sub 1/4 cup beef broth