Baked Cavatini

This is a great tasting version of Pizza Hut's popular pizza-flavored, multi-pasta casserole with ground beef, Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion and cheese. Although it is traditional to use two or three types of pasta in the dish, it tastes just as good using only one type.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound of two to three types of pasta (penne, rotini, fusilli, conchiglioni) or elbow macaroni
1 pound ground beef
8 ounces mild or hot Italian sausage bulk-style or sausage from remove casings
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 ounces pepperoni, chopped
1 (16-ounce) jar marinara sauce (2 cups)
1 (16-ounce) jar pizza sauce (2 cups)
4 cups (1 pound) shredded mozzarella cheese

Cooking Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish; set aside.
2. Cook pasta or macaroni according to the package directions; drain; set aside.
3. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, cook and crumble ground beef and Italian sausage until nicely browned. Drain excess grease.
4. Add the onion, bell pepper and sliced mushrooms to skillet, and sauté until crisp-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat; stir in chopped pepperoni, marinara and pizza sauces, pasta and half of the grated mozzarella cheese.
6. Spoon pasta mixture into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish and top with remaining grated mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve.

Makes 8 servings.