Kickin’ Baked Rigatoni

Pasta has always been one of my favorite comfort foods, and today I’m sharing a really great recipe with all of you that my family raved about. When the opportunity came along to try out a new recipe using PAM®, one of the staples in my kitchen for many years, I was eager to try it out. We had a few recipes to choose from and this spicy cheesy rigatoni bake sounded just perfect for a family dinner.

I assembled the ingredients and got started on prep, and it really is a fast and easy recipe to put together. PAM® generously sent us a nice new Pyrex dish, too. In my kitchen, you can’t have too many Pyrex dishes.

Spraying PAM® in the bottom of the dish ensures a no-stick dish.

I added a pound of hot Italian sausage in the skillet to brown. I ended up cutting the casings off and sauteeing the meat until it browned.

Add onions

And mushrooms to the mix, simmering until the meat is no longer pink.

And it will look like this.

Add the tomatoes, a large can of crushed tomatoes, along with 2 cans of Ro*tel. Hello, spicy! Love the kick this adds, along with the hot sausage.

Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Cooked pasta

Mix in the pound of cooked pasta. This recipe calls for rigatoni, but we already had penne, so I used that. I’m all about using what you have if it still works.

Add one cup of shredded mozzarella.

Layer it all in the greased with PAM dish.

Add the other cup or so of shredded mozzarella.

Spray aluminum foil with PAM® and place on top. Bake at 375* for about 20 minutes until heated through.

Out comes a cheesy pan of goodness, and let me tell you, this one is super flavorful. My whole family raved about it, and it’s definitely a keeper in the recipe file.

We added a kale salad with fresh blueberries.

It was so yummy, so full of flavor! This recipe is heavy on the spicy side, which we don’t mind. With spicy Italian sausage, along with Ro*tel tomatoes, this one definitely kicks it up a notch, so be forewarned about that if heat makes you gasp. We like a little spice in our family!

Also note I did not use the Habaneros Ro*tel but 2 cans of Original, and it was plenty hot. PAM® made it easy and quick to pull together this fast and timely meal, so if you want to speed up cooking time, give it a try. No-stick and quick clean up too, PAM® works for you in the kitchen.

Kickin’ Baked Rigatoni

PAM® Original no-stick cooking spray

1 pkg. (16 oz.) dry rigatoni pasta, uncooked

1 lb. Italian pork sausage links, casings removed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pkg. (8 oz.) sliced fresh mushrooms

1 can (28 oz.) Hunt’s crushed tomatoes

2 cans (10 oz. each) Ro*tel Hot diced tomatoes, with Habaneros, undrained

2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*. Spray 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage, onion and mushrooms in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until sausage is crumbled and no longer pink, stirring frequently; drain. Add both crushed and undrained tomatoes to sausage mixture; mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Drain pasta, return to pan. Add sausage mixture and 1 cup cheese, mix lightly. Spoon into dish, top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Cover with aluminum foil sprayed lightly with cooking spray, sprayed-side down. Bake 20 minutes or until hot.

You know what I love about using PAM®? Clean-up! Yep, cleanup is a snap when you spray down your baking dish with PAM®. And the new and improved PAM® formula has been shown to be 70% better at attacking baked-on food vs. bargain cooking sprays.

That gets my attention because washing dishes is definitely not my favorite chore. You’ll have more time to enjoy those family meals instead of dealing with clean-up. And that’s a good thing! Whatever you are cooking, PAM® helps you pull it off. Even better than before!

What’s your favorite dish to make with PAM®? Now, here’s some fun news! I’m giving away a $100 Cooking.com gift card plus coupons for the new and improved PAM® Cooking Spray and Hunt’s Tomatoes. FUN, who couldn’t use that?! Here are the details:

SWEEPSTAKES/GIVEAWAY RULES

This sweepstakes runs from 2/1 – 3/31.

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here.

Be sure to visit the PAM round-up page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

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