Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake

You guys! I've missed you! After unexpectedly taking the summer off because let's face it, with 6 and 10 year old boys in the house there is NO time to think straight let alone write, I am back and ready to blog my face off again! So let's start with a great back to school favorite...pasta! This pepperoni pizza pasta bake has it all: three kinds of cheese (there's a secret about that I'll tell you in a minute), perfectly cooked pasta, two kinds of meat and tomato sauce, mixed together then baked to ooey-gooey perfection. Make a double batch and freeze it for a quick and easy dinner once school picks up speed, or freeze leftovers in individual containers or foil wrappings for lunch or dinner on the fly. 

Now let me tell you my secret. I think I've mentioned before my love for Aldi, no? Well, if you are a faithful Aldi shopper like me (and if not, I beg to know why?) you know that Aldi is great, but if you really like to cook sometimes fulfilling your entire grocery list there just ain't gonna happen. No problem for me because I go to Aldi first, get everything I can then head to another bigger grocery store to fulfill my list. The particular day I was shopping for this recipe I happened to go to the bigger store first. Big mistake, right Shel? Yes, it can be but in this instance it worked out for me. See, the original recipe called for ricotta cheese (like most baked, lasagna-esque pastas I know) but when I was in the bigger (more expensive) grocery store I thought "oh, I can get ricotta at Aldi". Wrong. No ricotta at Aldi that day. So, instead of heading BACK to the bigger store (I mean come on, I already go to two stores man!) I thought "what would be a great substitution for ricotta"? Cottage cheese, that's what! I remembered in a flash that my mom used to do this little trick when I was a kid so I headed over to the dairy section, grabbed a carton of cottage cheese and was on my way. I didn't want the texture of the cottage cheese to mess up my dish so I just whizzed up the amount I needed in the food processor and voila! Problem solved, Aldi style. Another reason this is a great option is cottage cheese is less expensive than ricotta and if you don't use the whole container you can just eat the cottage cheese with scrumptious slices of end of summer tomatoes whereas the ricotta might get shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten about until it's time to clean it out to make room for all the food at Thanksgiving. Not that I've ever had that happen. Ahem. So, make a batch or two of this easy, cheesy pasta and be thankful for a quiet house this fall because we all know that summer will be upon us again soon enough.
Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake (adapted from tasteofhome.com)

1 lb. spiral pasta (or other short pasta of your choice)
1 lb. (85% lean) ground beef (could use leaner beef or even ground turkey if desired)
1 large onion, diced
2 t. salt, divided
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. pepper
1 (25 oz.) jar marinara sauce
2 large eggs
2 c. (1%) small curd cottage cheese, processed in a food processor until smooth
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese (plus more for sprinkling on top if desired)
2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 (5 oz.) package sliced pepperoni (turkey pepperoni would work too)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions then return it to the pot you cooked it in. Meanwhile, cook the beef and onion over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, crumbling the beef with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Sprinkle with 1 t. salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and pepper. Stir in the marinara, and remove from the heat.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs then add the cottage cheese, 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese,  mozzarella and remaining 1 t. salt and stir to combine. 

To the pot with the pasta add the meat mixture, cheese mixture and pepperoni. Stir together with a big spoon to combine. Pour into the prepared pan, sprinkle with extra Parmesan if desired, then bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes. 

10 servings (507 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com