Baked Rigatoni

Rigatoni doesn't have to be baked, but it just seems the natural way to cook it--especially because it doesn't "mush out" when you cook it this way.

Serves: 6

Cooking Time: 50 min

Ingredients

• 8 ounces rigatoni pasta
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 (28-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook rigatoni according to package directions and drain. Place in a large bowl and add ricotta cheese, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, and mushrooms; mix well.
    
2. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread 1 cup of spaghetti sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Spoon rigatoni mixture over sauce, then cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with remaining 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese.
    
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until rigatoni is heated through and cheese is light golden.

Notes

You might want to add a can of sliced black olives to the ricotta cheese mixture to give it a bit of zest.