Pizza Pasta

Once again, another almost 80 degree day, but I can't wait to make another crockpot meal.  Since the recipe time is anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, this would be a great recipe to throw in the crockpot before church on Sunday or maybe while you are running errands on a Saturday afternoon.  Serves about 4. 

Forgot to take a pic before we dug into it!

½ lb of rigatoni

½ lb of hamburger

½ lb of Italian sausage

1- 24oz can/jar of spaghetti sauce

1 ½ cup water

½ small onion, chopped

1 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

4 oz. pepperoni, chopped

2 cups shredded mozzarella

½ cup shredded Parmesan

Optional: any of your favorite pizza toppings (green/black olives, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms,etc.)

Cook hamburger, sausage, onion, and garlic on medium heat until hamburger is browned, crumble.  Throw everything into a crockpot (except cheese) and stir well.  Cook on low for 3 -4 hours or high for 2 hours (depends on the settings of your crockpot).  Stir once, half way through cooking time to make sure there is enough liquid/sauce, add more water (or sauce) if needed.  15 minutes before its ready, add both cheeses to top of pasta and cook until cheese is melted & bubbly.

Resist the urge to constantly open the lid of your crockpot to “check on your food” or to stir.  Every time you open the lid it releases a lot of heat & moisture.

Serve with a tossed salad and garlic bread.

VERDICT:  Another yummy recipe.  I got rave reviews immediately from my family.  I may have overcooked the pasta just a bit so maybe taste test your pasta 3/4 of the way through the time mentioned above.  There is some pre-cooking to do, but this was so easy to throw together.   You can always freeze cooked hamburger/sausage so it is readily available.