Kim's Recipe

Slow Cooked Pizza Pasta Recipe

Category: Recipes

1lb package rigatoni pasta
24oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 Tablespoon Oregano (optional) adds more pizza sauce flavor
3/4 cup water
1lb Italian sausage (cooked & drained)
6 to 8oz sliced pepperoni
15oz can dice or stewed tomatoes
1lb shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
12oz can black olives sliced
1 cup thinly sliced onions and/or green bell peppers (optional)



Directions:
Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add rigatoni pasta and cook for about 5 minutes. Pasta should be under cooked and barely softened as it will continue to cook in the crock pot. Drain pasta thoroughly and set aside.
Combine the spaghetti sauce with the diced/or stewed tomatoes, water and oregano. *Note: I pureed the stewed tomatoes in the food processor before adding but they are just as good if added directly from the can.
Spray a large crock pot with cooking spray and cover the bottom of the crock with 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the sauce mixture. Add 1/2 of the pasta to evenly cover bottom of the crock pot. Top with 1/2 of the remaining sauce. Add in even layers the Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, onions & peppers (optional) 1/2 of all the cheeses and 1/2 of the pepperoni. Add the rest of the pasta to cover this layer. Top with remaining sauce and cheese and layer top with reserved pepperoni.
Select high setting and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn down to low setting and cook another 3 to 4 hours or until pasta is completely cooked and cheese is melted and bubbly.
*NOTE – You can use other popular pizza ingredients such as left over ham or Canadian bacon, pineapple, hot peppers or other assorted meats & vegetables.