Herby Rigatoni with Meat Sauce and Cheese

Holy rigatoni! You will be blown away by the tiers of flavor in this ridiculous dish! First, there's tender rigatoni - glossy from olive oil and scented with oregano, basil, onion, and garlic. Tubular noodles that excite the palate from every angle. Next, there's a beefy tomato sauce - hearty, chunky and super simple to make (thanks to store-bought marinara sauce). Next, a blanket of stretchy mozzarella cheese. On top? Fiery red pepper flakes and fresh basil bits. Four incredible layers of flavor, all in one bite.

And, the best part is, all that complexity comes from just a handful of ingredients, in a few simple steps! In fact, this dish is made almost entirely with pantry staples, so you can whip it up with ease. Even on a frantic Tuesday. Aren't ALL Tuesdays frantic? On Monday, we give ourselves a "pass", blaming the busy weekend. Wednesdays are "hump days", where the weekend is in our sights and scrambling around the kitchen doesn't seem so ominous (the weekend is coming). Tuesdays have no recourse; dinner must be made.

Yes, I digressed...

Let's discuss my choice of baking dishes: I used four individual baking dishes, making four complete meals. There are three of us, so one went in the freezer for another night. Since we each had our own "vessel", serving dinner was easy; no scooping out portions. That said, you can certainly make ONE casserole and serve everyone at the table. Simply spoon the herby pasta into your favorite shallow baking dish, top with the meat sauce and cheese and bake as directed.

About the mozzarella cheese: I used sliced fresh mozzarella cheese because I like the way the slices look on top of the pasta (and I prefer fresh mozzarella almost ALL the time - for its fresh milk quality, and the way it melts like butter). You can certainly use regular mozzarella (part-skim or whole milk); and/or use shredded mozzarella instead of slices.

Quick tip for baking: To prevent the cheese from sticking to the foil when it melts in the oven, spray the foil with cooking spray! Works like a charm every time! Who wants all that cheese stuck to the foil and not on the dish anyway???

Herby Rigatoni with Meat Sauce and Cheese 
To save time, make the meat sauce while the pasta cooks. 

1 pound rigatoni pasta, or any tube- or spiral-shaped pasta of choice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon lean ground beef
2 cups marinara sauce of choice
4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced (see note above)
Crushed red pepper flakes for serving
Chopped fresh basil leaves for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. While the pasta is still warm, add the olive oil, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Toss to coat. Spoon the pasta into individual, oven-proof baking dishes or one large baking dish. Set aside.
Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. If necessary, drain away any fat and return the beef to the pan. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon the meat sauce over the rigatoni (I like to cover most of the pasta, while leaving some unsauced - that way you can see the herbs). Top the sauce with the mozzarella cheese. Cover the dish(es) with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes, until the cheese melts.
Top with crushed red pepper flakes and basil and serve.

Serves 4