Pasta tends to be one of my go to meals for busy nights. It’s so warm and comforting, and usually if I’m busy I could use a comfort meal to help recharge. I make spaghetti at least once a week but, like with all good things, if we have it too many weeks in a row it gets boring. I’ve shared with you all my Baked Italian Penne {Freezer Meal} before and it’s great. What makes these easy casserole recipes fantastic is the double meal.
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It takes about the same amount of time to make one as it does to make two. So anytime I find myself wanting baked pasta I make sure to make a double batch, one for dinner that night and one to pop in the freezer for later. I love having a freezer stocked with dinner options for busy (or lazy) nights when dinner seems too difficult to pull together. I make the second batch in a foil baking dish so that it doesn’t tie up one of my dishes while it’s in the freezer.
This Cheesy Baked Rigatoni has so much flavor and reminds me of a lasagna but faster. There is no layering, you just toss all the ingredients in the baking dish and pop in the oven! The cheese combined with the pasta and warm sauce just help to recharge and warm me up! It’s a family favorite!
Cheesy Baked Rigatoni
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2-27 oz cans of tomato sauce
- 6-8 cloves of garlic diced
- 4 T olive oil
- 2 large onions diced
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
rigatoni bake
- 2 lbs rigatoni
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 lbs. Italian ground turkey
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 t salt
- 2 t pepper
Instructions
pasta sauce
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place olive oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven and place over med heat
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add in onion and cook for 5 min or until softened.
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add in garlic and cook for 2-3 min
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pour in tomato sauce
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season with oregano and basil
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add salt and pepper to taste
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allow to simmer for 20 to 30 min
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remove from heat
baked pasta
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cook pasta according to package directions
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heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
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cook ground turkey completely breaking up as you cook
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grease 2 13 x 9 baking dishes
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in a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, eggs, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper
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divide the ricotta mixture, ground turkey and pasta sauce evenly between the two baking dishes
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divide pasta into the two baking dishes and toss with the cheese, cooked ground turkey and sauce
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top each with 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of Parmesan
to bake
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if frozen defrost
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preheat oven to 375 degrees
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bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and pasta is warmed through
Recipe Notes
**This recipe is for 2 baked pasta dishes. I make one for dinner that night and the other I freeze for future dinners.**
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