You can't make mostaccioli w/o pasta!
Get your H20 on the boil, then get the rest of your shit together!
Nearly all pasta dishes are better when there are more than one type of pasta in them!
For this batch of mostaccioli, I used both penne & mini penne!
Each type of pasta needs to be cooked separately, so I use my Calphalon
so that I don't have to start a new batch of water for each pound of noodles I make.
For mostaccioli, you really want to make sure that your noodles are slightly underdone.
Don't forget that you will be baking this again later & you don't want them to come out mushy!
As they get done, yank them out, give em a quick rinse, then set them aside.
Mmm... pasta!
I decided to make 4lbs of pasta for this mega-batch!
2 lbs each of penne and mini penne!
Now grab the meat you bought for this batch!
If you're lucky, you might score some C.A.B. ground chuck on quick sale!
You'll want to combine ground beef & ground pork
(in this case Bob Evans Original)
in a 2 : 1 ratio!
This will yield a lot more flavor from your burger meat!
When you're ready, toss in a pair of eggs, a big ass handful of breadcrumbs,
salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic, and some basil (for this batch)!
Go warsh them dirty mitts before you mix this shit up!
Mix thoroughly until the whole thing looks fairly uniform!
Make sure you can't see any clumps of breadcrumbs or seasonings!
This needs just another minute or two of massage!
Pow! Done!
Normally, I would cook up just a little bit in a pan to make sure that I dig the way it came out,
but I'm in a huge hurry to get this done, so I'm going to skip that step!
Into the skillet it goes!
I could only fit half of it in at a time because I made so much!
Cover it or you'll be waiting an eternity for this much meat to cook!
After a bit, flip it, then use pressure from the lid to drain some of the grease!
Patience....
... finally! Done!
At this point you may hack up the meat into reasonable mouth-sized chunks,
but DO NOT mince it into tiny little bits like your old Auntie Kathy used to!
Don't forget to set aside some pasta for the meat-free batch
for all the vegetarians that may be in attendance!
Sauce it!
At this point you can add some of the fresh basil from your garden!
Cheese it!
You can't forget the cheese, right?!
Toss the meat on top of the pasta in the roaster oven or dish you intend to bake it in!
Add your pasta sauce...
...and give it a stir!!
At this point, I missed the opportunity to take pictures of it
after I had added a big pile of thick-cut peppered bacon to it!
I then topped it off with a bunch of cheese, but I didn't manage
to get a picture taken until after the wolves had attacked it!
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