Recipe: Cavatini

In case you haven't noticed from all of my other recipe posts, I'm all about very versatile recipes. I like to be able to substitute or make changes depending on who I'm feeding. So I promise, this is very easy and it might seem scattered, but it's really easy to make it your way. For that reason, I'm going to word this recipe a little differently than usual.

Cavatini
The must haves:
-1 box pasta
-1 jar sauce
-1 1lb ground beef or pork sausage (or leave out the meat if you want vegetarian)
-1 large package shredded mozzerella
The extras:
-pepperoni
-italian sausage
-smoked sausage, sliced
-1 bell pepper
-1 small onion, diced
-1 squash or zucchini
-1 can sliced olives
-1 can sliced mushrooms

Boil pasta, but keep it al dente so that it can continue to cook once you bake it. Drain and add to pan.

While pasta is cooking, brown meat and onion, then drain.

Mix sauce, meat, and any veggies you choose. I also add a little sugar to my sauce to take the bitter out, a friend uses shredded carrots to add sweetness to her sauce as well as add veggies her family doesn't know about. Pour sauce mixture over the noodles, top with cheese.

Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and golden. I like mine a little brown.

This is called cavatini (like spaghetti) because of the type of noodle used, but it's really just a baked pasta casserole. You can use any kind of pasta you like, I prefer rotini or spiral but you could use a tube like pasta to hold more sauce. You can use all the meat to have a really hearty dish, or add more vegetables. I would avoid veggies that are too watery or cut down on the sauce. I like a lot of cheese, so add more if you want. Like I said, very versatile.

I'll post pics the next time I make this, we just had it the other day.


Shared at:
-Jam Hands