How Many Times Did I Pin THAT????

Anyone else pin the same item time and time again?  Evidently I must really want to make Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes!  I guess this means it is time for a massive board cleaning project!  Good news is that as I clean the boards I will get more recipes that I've tried up on the blog and then I can delete them from my Pinterest Board that is called Recipes to Try... LOL.  I really should change the board name to things that look YUMMY until I see the ingredients and realize I don't like half of them and the husband doesn't like the other half!  Seriously, Black Beans have been a hot topic in our house these past few weeks... Up until now I have refrained from putting them on or in anything because I thought I didn't like them... guess I was mistaken (notice I didn't say wrong)... I like them and I like them A LOT! So now I want to put them in everything because they are good protein and the husband just says NO... BOO Husband BOO!  I might have to start a puree trend in our house until he succumbs to the "Black Beans Reign Supreme" way of thinking! Ah but I digress... ANYWAY... I've got a cool little recipe that is basically spaghetti without making it look or sound like spaghetti... GENIUS!

RIGATONI PASTA PIE
Now I have seen this all over Pinterest and I believe the original recipe may have come from the Noble Pig and she gives credit to Martha Stewart... but I didn't use the exact ingredients nor did I get the same results.  I love the idea of no processed food or as little as possible but with two young children and a hungry husband sometimes I have to pick my battles... so here is my very simple but highly requested take on this recipe.

Ingredients
1 Jar of My Favorite Store Bought Spaghetti Sauce
1 Box of Rigatoni Noodles, cooked, drained and tossed with the Olive Oil below
1 lb of lean ground beef, seasoned, cooked and drained
1 Tbls Olive Oil
1 cup mozzarella
1 cup Parmesan (honestly, I've been known to use the stuff that comes in a container ... seriously)

Directions
Ready, here we go...
First I just cook the hamburger... I try to break up the meat into very small pieces as I am cooking because it makes it easier to "stuff" the rigatoni later on! While I am cooking the meat I put on a pot of water to boil so that I can cook my Rigatoni... 

Second, Once the water starts to boil I put in my box of rigatoni and set my stove timer for one minute less than the box tells me... why... well because I have been told that if you are going to cook pasta and then bake it that you should cook it for one minute less than the box says so that the noodles don't get too mushy.  I know they are noodles and they are supposed to be soft but you know... yeah, you know that if you go too far with the cooking that the texture is just UGH... YUCK!  

Third, While your noodles are cooking and you have finished cooking the meat and drained it, add your spaghetti sauce to the hamburger and then set it aside for a moment.  

Fourth, Now when your noodles are done, drain them and then toss them with the olive oil.  Once that is done dump in the Parmesan.  Stir that up, now here comes the fun part!  

Fifth, Get out your Spring Form Pan, spray it with a little non-stick spray and then turn it on its side and start stacking... I tried to do this multiple ways but honestly stacking it while the pan is on its side is the easiest and it doesn't take as long as one might think! Make sure you pack them in there tightly, at some point you can put the pan down flat and continue stuffing and everything will be just fine... Just make sure you are comfortable with what you are doing and you don't have noodles sliding out of the pan and what not...

Sixth, Pour your hamburger/sauce mix over the noodles.  Using a spatula push the hamburger and sauce into the rigatoni "stuffing" the noodle.

Seventh, top it all off with your mozzarella cheese. 

Finally, Slide the pan into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  

I don't recall having to use a knife to loosen the sides before popping the spring form pan open but it never hurts to do it and error on the side of caution!

NOW... I have to tell you the first time we made this I just used the spring form pan bottom as the serving plate... BIG MISTAKE.  I had "juice" all over my table.  So the second time I made it I put it on one of my cake serving plates that I made! I have one in orange, yellow and green (super easy to make).  Maybe I will do a small tutorial on that eventually!  Depends... I don't remember if I took pictures or not when I was making them... ANYWAYS... enjoy a fast, unique meal!