The Next Best Thing to Pizza

Probably my all time favorite food is pizza.

I can remember the very first time I ever had a slice of pizza. A Pizza Hut had just opened in our town and my folks took us out to eat. I can still remember the aroma in the restaurant and the wonderful taste of the pizza.

Living where we do there's no pizza delivery. I do make a pretty mean pizza if I do say so but sometimes I want that taste a little quicker than the time it takes for me to make the pizza dough and the actual pizza itself.


When that happens I turn to my recipe for Pizza Casserole. The list of ingredients include ground beef, pepperoni, onion, green pepper, minced garlic (I was out the night I was putting this together so I sub'd garlic powder and it worked just fine), spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese and rotini.

Fill up a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the rotini and cook it for 7 or 8 minutes. Take it off the heat and put a lid on the pot. Now let the rotini set while the sauce is prepared.


The ground beef is browned with

the onion, green pepper and minced garlic (or garlic powder).

Side note: Do you have one of these? I can't recall the name of it but it's in the Pampered Chef line and it's one of my most favorite kitchen tools.

It's used to break up ground beef as the meat is browning. I have one for the house and one for our travel trailer. It's just a great tool and doesn't harm non-stick pans.

Back to the casserole preparation. Somewhere about this time I start preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.

Once the meat has browned nicely and the onions are kind of translucent any excess fat should be drained off.

Stir in the pepperoni and spaghetti sauce.

Drain the rotini well and incorporate it into the sauce.

Place have the mixture in a large baking dish.

Top with half of the cheese.

Make another layer with the rest of the rotini and sauce mixture. Top that with the rest of the cheese.

Put it in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes - until the cheese has melted and started to brown.

If you're so inclined, make some garlic bread. Then sound the dinner bell because supper is served.

Pizza Casserole

3 cups uncooked rotini noodles

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

2 cloves minced garlic

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 cups sliced pepperoni (I cut the pepperoni up with my kitchen shears 'cuz that's what I do)

1 (26.5 ounce) can or jar of spaghetti sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook noodles in boiling water for 7 to 8 minutes, the remove from heat and cover the pan with a lid. Set aside and prepare the sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the onion, garlic and green pepper. Drain any excess fat.

Stir in the pepperoni and spaghetti sauce.

Drain the noodles well and add to the sauce, incorporating everything together.

Pour 1/2 of the sauce mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the cheese. Layer the rest of the sauce and top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

My personal notes: I used a little more than 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 jars of spaghetti sauce and more like 2 cups of cheese when I was making this the other night. We were expecting G1 and G2 for supper. 'Nuff said.

Oh, one more thing - I'm sure mushrooms would be a great addition to this recipe but AD isn't a fan so . . .