Pizza Casserole

One of my friends shared a recipe with me for crockpot pizza soup. Well…when I forgot to put the ingredients together in the crockpot before I left for work, I had to improvise when I got home. Instead of turning it into a soup, I added some pasta and turned it into a casserole, or what resembled a pizza mostaccioli.

Ingredients:

½ lb hamburger

½ lb ground Italian sausage

1 small onion

1 clove of garlic

1 tsp. oregano

1 jar (15 oz) of pizza sauce

1 cup water

½ cup chopped pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)

¼ cup chopped, cooked bacon

10 grape tomatoes quartered

1 box of whole wheat rotini noodles

¼ cup parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

I started by browning the sausage and hamburger. To this I added the chopped onion and garlic. (I would have added red and green pepper too if I had them.) Drain the grease when fully cooked. 

Add the pizza sauce, water, oregano, pepperoni, tomatoes, and bacon. 

Let that simmer while you boil and cook the noodles. I used rotini, but penne would work well too. 

Drain the noodles when they are about a minute from being done. Place the noodles and sauce in a large baking pan. Stir together. Top with the parmesan cheese.  

Finally, add the mozzarella cheese. 

Bake for 20-30 minutes (or until cheese is melted) at 375 degrees.