Favorite Meal of the Week: Baked Rigatoni

Okay, so this, I think, is a very easy dish to make. Simply mix together the following:

• 1/2 - 1 onion (chopped) and 2 cloves of garlic -- sauteed in a bit of EVOO
  
• 1 lb. cooked ground beef
  
• 1 C cottage cheese
• 3-4 C pasta (use whatever you have on hand -- I had penne)**
• 1 jar of spaghetti sauce

Dump all this into a prepared 9x13 pan, top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350* for about 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbly. I tend to bake mine for 30 minutes or so and let some of the cheese burn to dark golden brown.

If you want to get fancy with the cheese topping, mix up 3/4 cups of mozz cheese with 1/4 cup romano cheese and 1/4 breadcrumbs (Italian seasoned would be nice) and top with the whole mixture.

** I just cook up the whole 1 lb. box and throw the leftovers into the fridge. I then use them throughout the week for lunches. Add some cheese, reheat in the microwave, and you have mac-n-cheese. Chop up some tomatoes, add some basil, and romano cheese and you have an extremely simple pasta salad -- hot or cold. Grab a cup of frozen veggie soup from the freezer, add the pasta and some cooked red kidney beans and you now have a type of minestrone. Pasta is always easy to use up.