Crock Pot Pizza Pasta

I came upon this recipe (from cookingwithjoey.com) last summer and was bit skeptical at first, pasta cooked in a slow cooker? Wouldn't that make the pasta soggy or gummy? But I've made it twice and have had FANTASTIC results, my hubby adores this stuff. The best part is that it's cheap, easy, and can feed a crowd (I think it makes 8-10 servings). Whatever is left over after two days I usually freeze in an air-tight glass container and bring it back out 2 or 3 weeks later ( I just thaw it in the fridge for about 36-48 hours). It can be made with whatever pizza toppings you like, just make sure that the meat is cooked before it goes into the crock pot. To make it low-fat it can be done without meat and be a veggie pizza with onions, green peppers, mushrooms, olives...whatever! I usually make it with low-fat cheese and the pepperoni is turkey to cut out the fat. Hope everyone loves it!

1lb rigatoni or mostaccioli noodles, uncooked
2-3 jars of whatever tomato sauce you enjoy
1 T. dried oregano
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey!)
1 lb fresh ground italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can sliced mushrooms
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package sliced pepperoni

Brown beef (or turkey) and italian sausage in a large skillet, drain excess fat. Mix tomato sauce and uncooked pasta in a large bowel with oregano until the pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. Make layers with half of each ingredient in this order: pasta with sauce, cooked meat mixture, onions, peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni, cheese. Then again: pasta with sauce, cooked meat mixture, onions, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and pepperoni on top. Sprinkle with a little more oregano or italian spice blend. Cook on low for 4 hours.

The original recipe I found instructed to cook on low for 6 hours, but the pasta has been perfectly done at 4 hours for me. Note: most crock pots will switch to "warm" setting once the time has elapsed, don't let it sit on "warm" setting for too long because it will continue to cook the pasta and may become gooey.

xoxo