Deep Dish Pasta Pizza Pie

Deep Dish Pasta Pizza Pie

I have had this bookmark from the Noblepig.com for a similar recipe and today I decided to make it. I cannot begin to tell you how EASY this recipe is.

Today was my first day at work after my 2 year review that went AWESOME! I was in a great mood and my boss topped it off by sending me to my old dept. to help out (I miss it!). I stopped at The Butera on the way home from work and picked up the ingredients that I THOUGHT were in the recipe. When I got home, the Internet was down so I totally winged the recipe and it turned out great.

Before we start...you need a 9in spring form pan for this recipe...1lb of noodles fit perfectly. This recipe is totally flexible. You can make it without meat or ricotta. Basically you can make it however you want!

You need...
1 1lb bag of rigatoni noodles (the tubes that are flat on both ends)
1 lg can of tomato sauce OR crushed tomatoes (I think the big cans are 32oz, not chunky at all)
1 small container of ricotta cheese (about 16oz)
1 small 2c. bag of shredded mozz cheese
1lb of ground beef (or loose Italian sausage)
a bunch of basil leaves, chopped (use as many as you want...I used about 20 leaves!)
salt,pepper,oregano,garlic powder to taste (or real garlic which I forgot)


Simple...
Cook noodles 3/4 of the way, drain, set aside.
Brown 1lb of meat and try to break it up as small as possible.
In a small pot add the can of tomatoes, meat, basil, salt, pepper, garlic...eyeball it!
Spray a 9 inch springform with cooking spray and line the sides with strips of parchment paper or tinfoil to make removal less sticky.
Place noodles, on end, in the pan...1lb should fill 9in pan perfectly.
Spoon half the sauce mix over the pasta and push into noodles with a flat spoon...bang the pan on the counter to force the sauce down...this takes patience, but it is possible.
Spoon ricotta cheese over noodles and do same thing...again, patience and banging.
Spoon remaining sauce over noodles and do same thing...you should be able to get 80% of sauce in noodles...bang on counter ALOT and it will work!
Top with mozz cheese and put in oven at 350 for approx 30min. or until it looks nice and crispy on the edges...I put it under the broiler for the last few minutes.

Pop the springform pan open and, lo and behold, you have a Deep Dish Pasta Pizza Pie!

Ania wants to talk Deodorant

crazypinkturtles.blogspot.com

I have yet to find a deodorant that I can honestly say, "I LOVE IT! EVERYONE BUY THIS DEODORANT!" Actually, I did, but it has mysteriously disappeared from all store shelves without as much as a goodbye :( So here are my thoughts on deodorant...


My old favorite was, what I called, Degree "click,click". Once upon a time Degree made a soft solid deodorant in 3 scents. Powder scent was the only one I would use because the smell other two made me nauseous when it was hot out. It was a white deodorant, but after you rub it into your pits until it disappeared you were guaranteed to not sweat all day AND left you smelling like a baby butt (after diaper change). I would say that I was 110% happy with this deodorant. - I think they still make a men's version, but I am not to keen on the scents. UPDATE: Found it on DRUGSTORE.COM!

Secret makes a soft solid deodorant which I have used a few times...but was nothing compared to degree. My armpits would still sweat on a hot day! TMI? I would say that I was 80% happy with this deodorant.

Dove makes Clinical Strength deodorant. I have used prescription deodorant (see next example) before and this definitely does not compare, BUT, it is still great. You are supposed to apply it at night and it is supposed to work the whole next day. It does. Now, my mom insists that it works just as well if you put it on the same day like normal, but I don't agree. This is my new favorite deodorant and I would say that I am 95% happy with it.

DriSol is a prescription deodorant that was all the rage when I was in high school and college. All you had to do was ask the doc to give you a prescription. DriSol was a liquid deodorant that came in a bottle and you dab the product on your armpits. If you follow the directions, you literally do not sweat AT ALL the entire next day. With something so good there is always a bad side...this stuff stings! You definitely want to make sure that you have not shaved your armpits within the previous 24 hours...which means that you might have some stubbly pits during the summer season...but at least they will be dry. The directions also recommend that you wrap you armpits in saranwrap overnight or in a tight t-shirt...i remember I used to sleep with my arms in the air until it soaked in. I would say that I am 150% happy with the deodorant, but only 50% happy with the stinging and wrapping involved in the process.

My cousin Amie started selling Melaleuca products last year. Melaleuca is sort of like Amway, they sell everything from cereal to vitamins to makeup, to laundry detergent...its all organic. Their original scented products are to DIE FOR so I tried the deodorant and I am pretty happy with that. It is a solid white deodorant, so I don't think it will work for the summer, but It was a trusty stick of deodorant all winter. I would say that I am 90% happy with it.



Spray Deodorant. I forgot how bad for the environment this was right after I got a can of Arrid XX. I tried it and feel guilty that I LOVE it! Nevermind the 5 minutes of coughing after applying it...it works dude.

I'm in the market for a new stick for the summer...ideas?