Main Dish Recipe: Rigatoni Pasta Pie

Hi, my name is Kathryn and I may be a Pinterest junkie.  OK, so I'm not at the junkie stage yet, but Pinterest has become more a part of my life than it used to be (thanks, Stacey!).  It is a great way to easily share recipes, ideas, crafts, etc. with your family and friends, as well as a fabulous way to put off doing your housework :)

One of the first things I pinned was a rigatoni pasta pie.  I know what you're thinking... "Pasta and pie?!  All in one dish?!  Heck yes!"  This recipe was definitely a winner in my book even before I tried it.

I decided to make it Sunday night because I had all the necessary ingredients and it sounded so yummy.  As always, I left out the meat to make it vegetarian.  My results were not quite like the recipe stated, but I think I know what I could have done differently to fix it, so I will include instructions for that.

For this deliciousness, you will need:

1 pound rigatoni pasta (they're the really wide tube noodles)
2 tbsp olive oil (didn't use the first time, but needed for sauteeing veggies)
2-3 cups chopped veggies (didn't use this when I made it but will next time)
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup parmesan, shredded
2 cups mozzarella, shredded

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F or about 200 degrees C.  In a large pot of boiling water, cook your pasta till almost done, a few minutes less than they ought to be.  This will make it easier to stand them up.

While your pasta is cooking, sautee the veggies in the oil till tender.  Add the tomatoes and spices.  Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes or until noticeably drier and thickened.  I did not take this step when I made it and had the liquid run out the bottom of my springform pan.  Cooking the tomato sauce should prevent a lot of this!

Once your pasta is cooked, drain it and toss with the parmesan and stand up your noodles in a greased 9" springform pan set onto a baking sheet with sides.  Do not be tempted to eat any of the noodles yet because you will most likely need all of them.

By this time, your sauce should be done.  Pour the sauce and veggies over the noodles and squish the veggies into the holes as best you can.

Pop into the preheated oven and bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle on the mozzarella.  Return to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes more or until cheese is browned to your liking (I like mine almost burnt!).

Let sit about 10 minutes in the pan.  When you take off the outside of the springform, you will have something like this:

This picture is sans veggies, but I will make it again soon and replace the picture.  Overall, my family liked it and my husband even said this was one of my better experiments!