Monday Menu: Pizza Casserole

Thought I'd get this out a little early, so I wouldn't forget. Today's menu is for pizza casserole, a recipe I found a while back on Pinterest. I thought I had the original site marked, but for the life of me I can't find it. The recipe is here, but this isn't the site I used. Seems like a lot of folks are putting the recipe up, but not attributing the original cook.


What I'm going to post here is my version, which I make without any noodles. The original recipe called for bow tie pasta, which I used the first time. I've also made it with lasagne noodles a time or two, but we prefer it without noodles.

I also use a smaller pan (mine is 11 x 7 x 1.5) than the original recipe, which makes a lot of casserole. Usually I only put pepperoni in it, but you can add whatever pizza ingredients you like. Everything I use comes from Aldi, so it's a bit cheaper than if you shopped at a regular store, unless you get a good sale.

I've made this several times, and the boys love it. It's pretty simple to make, just requires some prep time. I get the oven preheating, and by the time it's ready, this is set to go in. No need to grease the pan, either.

my pizza casserole

1 bag Pepperoni (1.99, use the whole package)

1 bag Mozzarella cheese (3.29, use most or all of the bag)

1 lg can crushed tomatoes (.99, use half to all)

Parmesan or Parmasan/Romano cheese (2.39, but you only need about a half-cup, so maybe 75 cents)

oregano (few pennies worth)

other seasonings to taste (few pennies worth)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Open the crushed tomatoes and add seasonings. I use some oregano, sometimes throw in some basil and parsley. You could add some crushed red pepper.

Begin by layering the bottom with the sliced pepperoni, laying them slightly over-lapped—try not to have any large gaps. Go back and fill any large blank areas. This is where most of the pepperoni can end up, so try to use only a third of the bag.

Spoon a layer of the tomato sauce over the pepperoni layer, I do it fairly thick; sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, then add a third of the Mozzarella. If you're adding other ingredients, do it now, before you put the pepperoni layer down.

Repeat layering, ending with whatever pepperoni is left. I usually get three layers, with the top having less pepperoni. I think each bag of pepperoni is a little different, as sometimes I have quite a bit left over. No worries, the kids take care of it.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is nice and melted. I don't cover mine. Let set for five minutes before serving. Have bread sticks, garlic bread, a salad or a vegetable as a side dish (we like corn).

This fills us up nicely, and it's great if you're trying to reduce carbs, or can't have flour. You can use whatever cheese you like, add different meats, olives, mushrooms, whatever. I would say, if you add more ingredients, use a larger pan than mine. This will pretty much fill up the pan in the size I use.

The cheese is the most expensive part of it, but it's still pretty cheap, compared to take out pizza. If there's any left-over sauce, it makes a great base for spaghetti sauce.

1.99

3.29

.75

.50

6.53

So, not counting side dishes/bread/salad, it comes to $6.53, if you use all the cheese. This will feed four to eight people, maybe more if you really skimp on portion size or they are small kids, and have a big salad or lots of bread.

There you have it, Gentle Readers, another fairly cheap and simple recipe straight from the bland kitchen of House of Sheila. Take care, and enjoy the last hours of the three-day weekend (responsibly, people, responsibly).