Pasta Pie

I am always looking for good but interesting food for our
 Tuesday's children. Beth and Mike are part of a group who offers downtown children a good hot meal, some games, and some religion on Tuesday evenings. I provide the meal. The number of children varies according to the time of month, the weather, and the mode of transportation available. I saw pasta pie in the Pinterest section and thought they might enjoy this dish tomorrow night.  I've been away, so they have been fed hot dogs for the month of January, I expect, so this pasta pie might be something to kick things back into gear. It's very simple but the presentation is special because it is made in a spring form (drop sides) pan.
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Pasta Pie

Recipe from: Martha Stewart | Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 pound Rigatoni
• 2 Tablespoons Olive oil, divided
• 1 pound Ground beef (I used ground sirloin)
• 2 Garlic gloves, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon Freshly ground pepper

• 1 can (28 ounces) Good quality crushed tomatoes ~ Muir Glen
• Butter, for pan
• Salt
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 8 ounces Coarsely grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

• In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until slightly underdone (I cooked mine for 12 minutes when the box indicated 14 minutes). One pound of pasta should be cooked in 6 quarts of water, make sure you are using a big enough pot so the pasta doesn't stick together. When done, rinse in cold water and drain again. Toss pasta with 1 Tablespoon olive oil to coat. Set aside.
• Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook, stirring occasionally until browned. Add garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes more.
• Add crushed tomatoes; simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.
• Toss pasta with Parmesan cheese. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Tightly pack pasta into pan, standing each piece on end. Spread meat sauce on top of pasta.
• Push the meat sauce into the pasta holes filling each one up. Stuffing the meat into the holes is a weirdly satisfying task. Enough said.
• Place in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake another 10-15 minutes until cheese is golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen and then unmold.
• Cut into wedges and serve with any remaining meat sauce you might have.

pictures from Pinterest; recipe from Martha Stewart