Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Another pepperoni pizza casserole recipe.

Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Hands on time: 20 minutes 
Total time: 50 minutes 
Serves: 12
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces (about 3 cups) uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed) or ground beef  (I used hot turkey Italian sausage)
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can mushrooms, drained (I left these out)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 (6-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (I used pre-shredded Italian blend cheese)

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On the stovetop, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain. Return the pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a saute pan over medium heat, cook the sausage; drain. Add the sausage, spaghetti sauce and mushrooms to the pasta and stir to combine. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and half the pepperoni slices.
3. Spread pasta mixture into a lightly greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices over top. Bake for 20 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

Pop-in-the-Oven Beef Stew

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup broth (I use low-sodium vegetable broth)
• 1/3 cup instant tapioca
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, including juices
• 2 pounds lean, boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 pounds baby carrots
• 2 large onions, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut in quarters or eighths, depending on size

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F degrees.
2. In a 5-quart Dutch oven, stir broth and tapioca until combined. Stir in salt, pepper, basil and garlic. Add tomatoes and stir until combined.
3. Alternately add beef, carrots, onions and potatoes to Dutch oven, folding and stirring to make sure everything gets coated.
4. Cover and pop in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until meat and vegetables are tender.