Cheesy Cavatini Cassies Way Food

CHEESY CAVATINI - CASSIES WAY

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Spray a 9 x 13 or larger deep dish casserole pan with non stick cooking spray. Set aside. Prepare pasta, not quite al dente.
• 2. In a large skillet, add 2 - 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Over medium heat, combine ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, onion, green pepper, garlic and seasonings until vegetables are tender and beef, sausage are cooked through. Drain; return to pan.
• 3. Now, stir in the tomato paste.
• 4. Add the sauce and brown sugar. Cover and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes. Stirring occasionally(If getting too thick; stir in the 1/2 - 3/4 cup water to thin out, you don't want the sauce too thin, but not too thick either.)
• 5. In a large bowl; mix together cooked / drained pasta, ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, and Parmesan.
• 6. In prepared baking dish or pan; coat bottom with about 1 cup sauce. Now, add about 3 cups pasta/cheese mixture. Spread evenly.
• 7. Now, add 2 - 2 1/2 cups meat sauce; spread evenly.
• 8. Repeat layers, ending with sauce.
• 9. Place the mozzarella slices evenly on top of the sauce. I then placed the saved pepperoni on top of the cheese. Optional Bake the Cavatini 30 - 45 minutes, or until browning and bubbly.
• 10. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
• 11. I served this with a tossed salad, and crusty Italian bread. Tastes like lasagna, but without the fuss...delish!!!

CAVATINI II

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine green pepper, onion, pepperoni, mushrooms, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and garlic. Cover, and simmer for one hour.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix together pasta, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, and Parmesan. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, alternate pasta and cheese mixture and sauce mixture, ending with sauce. Top with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

EASY CAVATINI

Steps:

• Chop the onion and green pepper.
• Cook pastas together; drain well.
• Saute beef, onion, and green pepper until beef is no longer pink and vegetables are soft. Add the pepperoni and heat thoroughly. Drain excess grease.
• Add spaghetti sauce and simmer 5 minutes.
• Spray a 3-qt casserole with cooking spray. Put 1/2 of the pasta in the casserole. Spoon 1/2 of the meat sauce mixture over the pasta. Spoon the container of cottage cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese.
• Top with the remaining pasta, then sauce, then mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

THREE CHEESE CAVATINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook pasta according to package directions to "al dente".
• While pasta is cooking, saute mushrooms, onions and garlic in olive oil until tender, remove from heat to cool, do not drain.
• Combine cottage cheese, ricotta, egg, herbs and seasonings.
• Mix cooked pasta with sauce and sauteed onion mixture, and spoon half into bottom of 11x13-inch glass pan.
• Spoon cheese mixture on top of pasta, spreading evenly to the edges. Put 1/2 cup mozzarella on top of cheese mixture. Place sliced pepperoni on top of cheese, then spread remaining pasta/onion/mushroom mixture, then mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is browning and bubbly. Allow to rest at least 5 minutes before cutting.

CHEESY EASY CAVATINI * VENISON OPTIONAL

Steps:

• Boil pasta according to package instructions, drain and pour into 13x9 pan.
• While pasta is cooking, brown the meats; sprinkle with herbs, mixing well. Remove from heat.
• Mix spaghetti sauce (I use half home-made canned sauce and half from a store-can) with meat; add mushrooms and peppers; pour over pasta in pan.
• Sprinkle on the grated cheeses.
• Cover with foil or lid; bake for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more (crusty and bubbly).
• VARIATION: Add sliced black olives.
• VARIATION #2: Use leftover spaghetti-meat sauce.
• VARIATION #3: Leave out the ground meats and ONLY use pepperoni -- completely different taste to it!

BAKED CAVATINI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Grease or Spray a 9x13 casserole dish and set aside.
• Mix all ingredients and pour into the casserole dish then bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
• Note: Sugar takes out the bitter taste of the tomatoes, but can be omitted.
• Serve with a Salad and French Bread and Enjoy.
• This can also be made ahead and frozen for up to a week in advance.

PIZZA HUT CAVATINI COPYCAT

Steps:

• Cook noodles according to box directions.
• Heat sauce & combine with cooked hamburger and cooked sausage.
• In a 11 X 13 pan, sprayed with Pam cooking spray, layer noodles and sauce. Top layer with pepperoni, onions and green peppers, mushrooms and cheeses. Make about 3 layers and top with cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until cheese is melted.

CAVATINI

Steps:

• Brown Sausage,Hamburger,Onion, Pepperoni, and Mushrooms.
• Drain Fat.
• Mix in all other ingredients except Cheese and Noodle.
• Cook Noodles in large amount of water.
• Drain.
• Place Noodles in greased 9x13in.
• pan.
• Pour Meat mixture over Noodles, then top with Cheese.
• Bake 350* for 30 minutes.

CAVATINI

Steps:

• Cook the beef, sausage, onion and green pepper until brown.
• Drain and set aside.
• Mix the pepperoni, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, salsa, mushrooms and salad peppers.
• Stir into the meat mixture.
• Add the cooked pasta shells.
• Spoon 1/2 of the mixture into 2 greased 11x7 inch baking dishes.
• Combine the two cheeses and divide the amount in half.
• Take one half of the cheese and sprinkle on top of the meat in each dish.
• Take the remaining 1/2 of the meat mixture and cover the cheese in the two dishes.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Top each dish with the remaining 1/2 of the cheese.
• Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is bubbly.