Baked Rigatoni

When I was in college, this was a consistent request from friends. It's the best comfort food and makes great leftovers. :)

You'll need:

1 (1 lb.) package rigatoni
1 lb. lean ground beef

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic)

1/2 a medium onion, diced
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. Italian season
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil (or a few leaves of the fresh stuff)
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 oz. container sour cream
8 oz. ricotta cheese
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded


Dice your half onion.

Saute for about 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add diced garlic and saute for another couple minutes before adding your ground beef. Brown the meat, breaking it up into tiny pieces.

Add the whole jar of spaghetti sauce.

Add some fresh basil if you have some on hand. Otherwise, the dried stuff will do the trick. Add Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Let the sauce simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.

While that's simmering, start cooking your pasta.

This is also a good time to mix the sour cream and ricotta in a small bowl.

Cook the pasta according the package instructions and drain.

Return pasta to its original pot and add the meat sauce. Stir that up!

Add half of the pasta mixture to a 9x11 glass dish that's been sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.

Top with the sour cream/ricotta mixture.

Layer that with the rest of the pasta/meat mixture.

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Invite friends over to share, and serve while hot!

Enjoy!