Recipe: Pizza Casserole

I started with this recipe for a pizza casserole, and modified it by making my own pizza sauce, adding pepperoni, etc. We loved it!

Mamie's Pizza Casserole
(Great for a freezer/once-a-month cooking project)

These quantities will make THREE 8” x 8” casseroles – that’s one to eat tonight, one to stash in the freezer for dinner on another night, and one to give away (right now or after it’s frozen – you know, for a friend who just came home from the hospital or some such situation). Of course, you could bake it in a LARGE casserole dish for a LARGE group as well – adjust the baking time accordingly.

And by the way, this is NOT health food – the beef and cheese most certainly preclude that! But it IS “comfort food,” and darn tasty.

Ingredients:
•    1 pound elbow or small shell macaroni, preferably whole wheat
•    2 pounds lean ground beef
•    4 cups (32 ounces) pizza sauce – jarred or homemade (easy recipe for homemade pizza sauce below!)
•    1-1/3 cup milk
•    4 ounces pepperoni slices, cut into quarters
•    4½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
•    1½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Easy homemade pizza sauce:
•    3 x 15-ounce cans tomato sauce (usually when I make pizza sauce I include tomato paste, but not in this recipe)
•    1 Tablespoon dried oregano
•    1 Tablespoon dried basil
•    2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
•    2 teaspoons dried, minced onions
•    1½ teaspoons garlic powder
•    ½ teaspoon paprika
•    ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer 30 – 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Casserole Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 350. Spray three 8”x8” casserole dishes with non-stick stuff.
2.    Cook the macaroni to a firm al dente stage. Drain and set aside.
3.    Brown the ground beef, drain.
4.    Dump the cooked macaroni and beef into a LARGE bowl. Sprinkle the quartered pepperoni slices on top. Stir together.
5.    Pour the pizza sauce and the milk over the beef/macaroni/pepperoni mixture. Stir to combine.
6.    Add 3 cups of mozzarella cheese to the macaroni mixture. Stir gently to combine.
7.    Divide the macaroni mixture into the three casseroles.  Top each with ½ cup shredded mozzarella and ½ cup shredded cheddar.
8.    If preparing a casserole for the freezer, stop at this point and cover tightly with aluminum foil (spray the underside of the foil with non-stick stuff). Allow extra time if baking from frozen (approximately 30 additional minutes).
9.    To bake immediately, cover with foil (spray the underside!) and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 – 10 minutes longer, until cheese is completely melted and casserole is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe is linked to Eat at Home's pasta "ingredient spotlight."

~Mamie "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!" (Hunter S. Thompson)