This three meat pasta bake is perfect, especially when you have a bunch of hungry teenage boys to feed! Everyone loves it!
There's an actual GB's Kitchen in south central Nebraska. It's not a restaurant, it's in my little house.
GB's kitchen is happiest when all six long-legged grand kids are gathered around the table. This sign was a gift from one family and it hangs right above my stove. Know what? It works!
Even before there were grand kids, there was my perpetually hungry husband, our two girls and their awesome husbands. (And I'll always say it, we won the son-in-law lottery TWICE!!)
They're all what I call "appreciative eaters" and we could put away insane amounts of food long before there were six more of us! And I love cooking for a crowd.
This dish has been making the rounds under several names but we've simplified it to a semi-homemade version that goes together in a hurry and happily feeds a bunch of hungry teenagers. I guess it's what they call a "crowd pleaser."
I have to give credit to daughter Karen for streamlining this recipe. Her 17-year-old son Nick is always bringing friends for meals so she constantly has to think big appetites!
Sometimes she just dishes it up like goulash, skipping the baking. That way the kids can add cheese or not as they like. Easy-peasy!!
Start by boiling up a 16 ounce box of rotini in a big pot until it's "al dente." Use tri color if you like. Rotini is the perfect shape to hang onto a bunch of sauce when you dish it up!
While that boils, brown the ground beef and sausage together. Drain off any excess fat but don't get carried away! Fat is where the favor is so keep some of it!
I absolutely swear by this Pampered Chef tool. It breaks up meat into small crumbles as it browns. This helps the meat blend into the sauce beautifully.
Drain the rotini but you don't need to rinse it. Put it back in the pot you cooked it in. You will combine the sauce and meat mixture right in with the pasta.
Not all spaghetti sauce comes in quarts. Our very favorite sauce is Mister C's, born of the Caniglia's, a famous and well-loved Omaha, Nebraska restaurant family.
Don't skimp on the sauce! Buy an extra jar of your favorite if you need to! Spaghettis sauce freezes well! If you make your own homemade sauce, well, that would be ah-may-zing!
Put that in a greased 13" x 9" casserole dish, dot with pepperoni, then sprinkle on the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheeses with reckless abandon! Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is all melty and golden brown on top.
I always get carried away with parsley, you may have noticed. It's because I've always believed "we eat with our eyes." That why I love a colorful plate!
A garnish, even if it's just parsley, makes everything look tastier and I swear it makes it taste better, too! Garnishing is the part I do with reckless abandon and now you know the reason for my parsley fetish!!
Make this pasta dish when you've got a houseful. It's become a "fave" with us. Serve up with some good bread and a vegetable or salad. Fresh fruit would be good, too. That and stretchy pants!
A hearty semi-homemade pasta dish that's quick to put together and tastes amazing!
Cook pasta to al dente in large pot according to package directions. Drain, do not need to rinse, return pasta to pot.
Brown sausage and ground beef together, drain off excess drippings.
Combine sauce and meat mixture in pasta pot.
Spray a 13" x 9" pan with non stick spray. Put pasta/sauce/meat mixture in pan. Arrange pepperoni evenly over pasta. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan over top and bake at 350 degrees until cheese gets all melty and lightly browned.
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[…] Hungry Boy Three Meat Pasta Bake […]
[…] Here’s another pasta dish your family will love. You can’t beat beef and pasta and this one gets an extra kick with pepperoni added! Hungry Boy Three Meat Pasta Bake. […]