The Scoop
Carb-Loaded Carpe Diem: The "Fake an Italian Vacation" Casserole.
Why drop two grand on a flight to Rome when you can achieve inner peace via a mountain of melted cheese right in your own kitchen?
This casserole is your passport to comfort, aggressively packing savory beef, tender pasta shells, and a borderline-excessive double-cheese blanket into one glorious baking dish. It’s thick, it’s bubbly, and it delivers maximum cozy vibes with absolutely zero artisanal pizza-dough stress. Pour yourself a giant glass of red wine, turn off your phone notifications, and let the carb coma wash over you.
Salute!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (4-ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cups medium pasta shells
- 3 plum tomatoes, sliced
- 3/4 cup provolone cheese, shredded
- 3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet, cook the beef and the onions over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Drain the fat from the skillet.
- Stir in the spaghetti sauce, the diced tomatoes and their juices, the mushrooms, and the Italian seasoning.
- Bring the beef mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Cook the pasta shells to al dente, according to the package directions.
- Drain the pasta.
- Add the pasta shells to the beef mixture.
- Gently stir in the plum tomatoes.
- Transfer the beef mixture to an ungreased 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Top the beef mixture evenly with the provolone and the mozzarella.
- Bake until bubbly and heated through, about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve warm.
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