Today, I’m continuing with my series on time-and-money-saving recipes and suggestions with this great recipe for the freezer. And there will be a lot more of these to come!

If you have kids, I can promise you that they’ll go nuts for this Pepperoni Pasta Pizza bake. It’s easy to make, tastes delicious, and is just wonderful served with a crisp green salad (and maybe a glass of wine for the grown-ups!). Included with this recipe are easy freezer directions for the casserole, which will make this easy if you want to prepare it ahead of time and stick it in the freezer.

Even better, prepare double, freeze half, and eat half today. Two birds, one stone.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground chuck
1 med. onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (26 oz.) jar marinara sauce
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 lb. dry spaghetti, broken
3/4 C. milk
2 eggs
1/3 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (5 oz.) pkg. sliced pepperoni (or 5 oz. pepperoni, chopped)
1 1/2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 C. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a large casserole dish.

Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water according to package directions (this also works well with other types of pasta, like penne or macaroni). Drain and rinse.

Combine ground chuck, onions, green pepper, and garlic in a large skillet. Heat over medium until beef is cooked through. Drain away the fat.

Stir in the marinara, tomato sauce, and Italian seasonings. Simmer over med-low heat for 15 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and parmesan just until combined.

Stir the cooked pasta into the egg/milk mixture, stirring gently to combine. Layer half of the pasta mixture into the bottom of your casserole dish. Cover with half of the tomato/meat mixture. Repeat.

To freeze (if desired), let casserole come to room temperature, then wrap tightly and freeze up to two months. Thaw and let come to room temperature before continuing with the rest of the instructions.

To cook, cover casserole with aluminum foil. Bake in your preheated oven 45 minutes. Then uncover and top with your pepperoni and cheese. Bake about 15 minutes more, or until bubbly and heated through.

Trackback Post

Related Posts