My senior year of high school I made fast friends with an exchange student who was from Italy. She and I had a surprising amount of things in common, even joking that we were long-lost twins. While she was here in the states, my mom asked her for an authentic Italian recipe - because how fun is it to be able to make some nearly authentic Italian cuisine?!
I love zucchini for its versatility, its one of those veggies that just kind of goes with anything really. I also really like Italian dishes, so when I came up with the idea to put an Italian twist and use my zucchini, I knew I was on to something.
Last year I was very much into casseroles. I just loved the convenience of being able to throw a bunch of ingredients into a dish, bake them and be able to eat in less than an hour. However, this year I seem to have discovered the simplicity of skillet dishes. Essentially they're like casseroles, but you don't have to turn on the oven, and they take a little less time to make.
Ever since I can remember, I have loved pasta dishes. More than love actually, I honestly dreamed of warm pasta covered in a delicious creamy sauce. Every night I would ask my mom what was for dinner, and when what she told me did not include some variation of pasta and a creamy sauce, I felt like a little kid let down at Christmas when Santa didn't bring me that one toy I desperately wanted.
Pizza is one of my all-time favorite foods. If you haven't noticed, I also like to try variations on the classic pizza such as Taco Pizza and Loaded Baked Potato Pizza. Since it's been beautiful out lately, we take every opportunity we can to grill out. So I thought trying to grill some variation of pizza was a good idea.
Lazy lasagna is much like glorified spaghetti, except it tastes like lasagna and it doesn't require all the fuss. Don't get me wrong, I love lasagna (my mom has an excellent lasagna roll-up recipe), but if there's an easier way to make it, I'll take it.
As promised, I will be providing you with easy, delicious, and most importantly, gluten-free recipes. Pepperoni Rigatoni is one of my favorite pasta dishes and it is beyond easy to make.
This recipe was taken from Taste of Home's Ultimate Five Ingredient Recipes cookbook. I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who doesn't have a whole lot of time to spend in the kitchen but still wants a wholesome meal. This is NOT a gluten-free cookbook, but since each recipe is only five (or less) ingredients, it's really easy to modify each to be gluten-free. I am confident this is not the only recipe you will see me post from this cookbook.
Pepperoni Rigatoni
You will need:
1 package (8 oz) rigatoni or large tube pasta (I use Hodgson Mill's GF Rice Penne)
1 Jar (28 oz) spaghetti sauce (Prego Fresh Mushroom)
1/2 to 1/3 package (1-2 oz) sliced pepperoni, halved (Hormel Original)
1-2 cups (4-8 oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese (Kraft is always my cheese pick)
Preheat oven to 350°
F
Cook pasta according to package directions (about 6 minutes for Hodgson Mill's Penne); drain. Add spaghetti sauce and toss to coat. Mix in halved pepperoni slices. Cover with cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
If you're a cheese-lover like myself, sprinkle with some parmesan (Kraft) and dig in!
