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Sissy's Cavatini


Recipe Information
Description:
Cavatini

Source:
Sissy Wommack

Serves/Makes:1-10"X 15"or 3-8" square pans

Ingredients
  • 2 lbs (.9 kg). ground beef
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) oil, if needed
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 lg. onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) minced garlic
  • 1 pkg. 6 oz (168 grm). sliced pepperoni
  • 1 lg. can of mushroom pieces, drained
  • 2 lg. jars of good pasta sauce, about 25 oz (700 grm) each)
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) dried Italian spices
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) dried Herbes de Provence
  • 1 tsp (5 ml). garlic salt
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pkg. 16 oz (448 grm). dried pasta, cooked and drained (any kind, your choice)
  • 1 pkg. 6 oz (168 grm) to 8 oz (224 grm) shredded cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, or Italian blend
  • ricotta or cottage cheese, optional
Preparation
  • In a large Dutch oven Add the oil, ground beef, bell pepper and onions, and brown them. (Note: depending on the fat content of your ground beef, will depend on whether you will need the oil or not, if a very lean ground beef, you will need it, if it's 80/20 or 75/25 you probably won't need the oil, your decision)
  • Add the minced garlic and just cook about 2 more minutes.
  • Drain off excess grease,if you desire.
  • Add the pasta sauce to the ground beef mixture.
  • Add the drained mushroom pieces and pepperoni (note, if you use the regular size pepperoni, chop it in smaller pieces, if desired, I use the small sliced pepperoni.)
  • Add the spices, let it simmer for a while then taste and see what it needs before you add the salt and pepper, then keep tasting
  • (Note, dried spices get stronger as it blends, so be careful)
  • Grease your choice of baking pans, with oil or spray with a non-stick baking spray, either 3 8 inch square pans or a 10 inch X 15 inch rectangular pan or anything or as many pans as it all fits in, set them aside
  • If your Dutch Oven Pan is large enough to add the drained cooked pasta, then add and mix it to your ground beef mixture and divide into the prepared pans. If it is not large enough, then I put the pasta in the greased pans and then dip out the ground beef mixture over the pasta and mix it into the pasta.
  • Sprinkle the cheese of your choice on top of the mixture
  • Now you are ready to bake it and eat or at this time. If you are making it for later let it cool and then cover and freeze or refrigerate until ready to bake.
  • If baking immediately, put it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees (175 C.) and bake just until cheese is melted and heated thru, about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the depth and size of your pan (You can bake/heat it without covering or cover with aluminum foil, your choice.)
  • If refrigerating, when ready to warm up, just put right into the 350 degree (175 C.) preheated oven and bake/heat until cheese melted and heated through (I put aluminum foil over it when I'm using out of refrigerator or freezer just to keep the top from burning before heated through.)
  • If taking out of the freezer to use, you can thaw in refrigerator and bake as above or if putting it directly in oven frozen, then it's going to take about twice as long to bake. Check on it periodically to see if heated through and hot. Again, I use aluminum foil over it to heat it.
  • Note: Just before putting the mixture into the baking pans you can add cottage cheese or ricotta cheese, or both.
Comments
Note: I use really good pasta sauce, like Wild Mushroom, Basil, etc. I pick them up a lot of times places like T J Maxx or Tuesday Morning, but any kind will do.

If anybody knows how I cook or bake, they know I can't just go by the recipe, I have the need to tweek it. Sometimes that's good and sometimes that's bad, lol. But I've tweaked the above recipe to my liking and you can tweak it to suit yourself. Just let your imagination go wild. I smell spices when I'm cooking and think if that would add to the taste of what I am cooking. If the answer is "Yes" it goes in. You do need to remember that dried spices can get stronger as they are added and simmered and blended into your mixture, so be careful.

"Enjoy" and think of me when you eat this.