Tagliarini Casserole

Tagliarini (in our home pronounced tag-uh-lini, though who knows if that's right?) was a staple in our home growing up. It was one of those meals that fed a lot of mouths for few dollars and my mom knew all five of her kids would scarf it down. And it was a step up from Hamburger Helper, which I will admit we ate, enjoyed, and though I haven't had it in a really long time, I probably still would. So take that, HH haters.

The recipe came from one of my mom's old church cookbooks waaay back in the day. (You know church ladies can cook up some comfort.) Not that the recipe is anything special; it's just filling, cheesy and damn good! Plus, I happen to have good food memories attached to it, so there's that. 

I forgot how quick it is to whip this up, all in one pot. I made a double batch to fulfill Jolie's pay it forward challenge and it was so easy. Most of the ingredients were already in my pantry. 

Hope you enjoy this little gem that's been a favorite of mine for many years...

Tagliarini

2 c Rotini pasta (rainbow Rotini makes it way cooler), uncooked
1 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1 can corn, drained
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup onion, chopped
2 Tbsp butter or oil
1 can tomato sauce, 8 oz
1 can water (tomato sauce can), 8 oz

Brown chopped onion in butter or oil.
Add meat and brown well. Drain fat.
Add all other ingredients, except the cheese.
Cover and cook until noodles are done, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat.
Add most of cheese to pan and mix (keep some cheese to top casserole).
Pour into casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
Cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake additional 15 minutes or until bubbly.

Cook's Notes: I made a double batch and doubled everything but the corn and olives. Because of that I added a can of red kidney beans for fun. I felt like it was still plenty of everything so I may end up halving the corn and olives from now on when I make a single batch...or perhaps I just need to make a double batch every time. Decisions...

The Tagliarini recipe lives in this cookbook (below) my nieces made for me when Kelly and I got engaged and moved away from family 11 years ago. It's full of some family-favorites...and apparently the family was concerned about us. The following pages describe kitchen tools, measurements, kitchen terms, etc. It's pretty hilarious, and I'd be lying if I didn't say helpful. I have another post coming up from this treasured book later so I'll share a few more pages then. Those are my much-needed placemats pictured left, btw.

"Missy's culinary challenged, how to boil water, I hope I can cook cookbook"