Loaded Pizza and Pasta Casserole

By AzGrannie3

Ingredients

• 10 ounces fusilli or fusilli bucati pasta or similar, about 4 cups
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 pound lean ground beef, at least 85%
• 1 medium onion, red or yellow, chopped
• 1/2 cup red or green chopped bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil or about 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 jar (about 14 ounces) pizza sauce or about 2 cups of homemade pizza sauce
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 or 2 cans (about 2 1/4 ounces each) sliced ripe olives
• 4 to 6 ounces sliced pepperoni or mini pepperoni
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 12 to 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese or a pizza blend of cheeses, divided

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 65mins
Adapted from southernfood.about.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

 Lightly grease a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Heat the oven to 350° F.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water following package directions; drain well and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and saute until golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside.

 Add the ground beef and onion to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent.

Add the bell pepper and garlic and continue cooking, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink. If necessary, drain and discard excess grease at this point. 

To the beef add the basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, pizza sauce, and tomatoes, along with the olives, pepperoni, and the reserved cooked sliced mushrooms. Heat until the sauce begins to simmer. Taste and add salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed.

Combine the beef and pepperoni sauce mixture with the drained pasta. Toss to blend thorougly.

Spoon half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the shredded cheese. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over the cheese layer and finish with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until hot and bubbly and the cheese is thoroughly melted.

Makes about 8 servings.