Manicotti Italian Casserole ~ by Sarah

I found this on AllRecipes.com and it was a big hit with my family.  So delicious!  And easy, too!

*I have no idea why it is named this...it doesn't really resemble manicotti at all!


Ingredients:
1 pound rigatoni pasta
1 pound ground beef
1 pound Italian sausage (I used "Hot" and it wasn't too spicy at all)
1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms, drained OR 1 package fresh mushrooms, sauteed
2 (32 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese
thinly sliced pepperoni


Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Pour in rigatoni, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set pasta aside. Meanwhile, brown ground beef and Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. With a slotted spoon, remove beef and sausage to a large bowl. Stir mushrooms, spaghetti sauce, and cooked pasta into bowl and mix with meat.   Pour mixture into large baking dish.  Sprinkle cheese and pepperoni over the top. Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Six-Bean Casserole ~ by Sarah

This recipe isn't really what I would call a casserole.  It also only contains five different kinds of beans.  But I got it from Wes's mom years ago and it's definitely a favorite around here.  It serves 16, so I usually make it when I'm heading to a barbecue.  It's almost a meal in itself, but goes great with burgers and hot dogs!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
1/2 lb. sliced pepperoni
1/2 lb. Kielbasa, quartered
1/2 c. BBQ sauce
1 can pork and beans (undrained)
1 can red kidney beans (undrained)
1 can chili beans (undrained)
1 can white beans (drained)
1 can butter beans (drained)
1 can tomato soup (undiluted)
3 oz. tomato paste
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 slices of bacon (cooked)

Directions:

Form the Italian sausage into 1-inch balls.  Brown in skillet.  (This doesn't make very many, so if you want to do the whole pound, it's fine.)

Combine the sausage with the remaining ingredients, except bacon, in a 5-quart casserole or crockpot and mix well.  Arrange the bacon (cut-up) on the top.  Bake, uncovered, at 325 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours or in a crockpot on low for 4 hours (or high for 2 hours).  I have always cooked this in a crockpot because I'm usually taking it somewhere and it's much easier to carry!