Name: Johnny Marzetti Casserole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 12 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and chopped or sliced; 1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral cooking oil; 1 large onion, chopped; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 1 bell pepper (any color), seeded and cored, finely chopped; Salt, to taste; 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (90:10 is good); 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in juice; 3 tablespoons tomato paste; 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes; Freshly ground black pepper; 12 ounces (2 3/4 cups) uncooked elbow macaroni; 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese (2 generous cups), divided; 4 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/2 cups), divided

1 Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish; set aside.

2 Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms to the dry skillet. As they heat, the mushrooms will give off their moisture. Stir them occasionally until they are soft, slightly browned, and most of their liquid has evaporated, 5 to 8 minutes. Scrape the mushrooms in a bowl; set aside. Wipe out the skillet and return it to the burner. Add the oil; when it ripples, add the onion and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and bell pepper and cook 1 minute longer. Season generously with salt. Add the beef, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, breaking the beef up with a spoon into small clumps. Stop when the meat is no longer pink, about 8 minutes.

3 Use your hands to crush the tomatoes directly into the pan (wear an apron) and add the remaining juices from the can. Add the tomato paste, oregano, pepper flakes, and black pepper and simmer until saucy, about 20 minutes. Add the reserved mushrooms; simmer 2 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed with salt.

4 As the sauce cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until it still retains a bit of bite. Drain.

5 Return the pasta to the pot; add the cooked sauce and toss. Mix in half of the cheeses, then dump into the greased dish. Scatter the remaining grated cheese on top.

6 Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. You can refrigerate leftovers, tightly covered, for up to 4 days. The baked casserole freezes well. You can even freeze the entire casserole to reheat later.