**PICTURES UPDATED FEBRUARY 2022*

Pizza is very loved here at Casa de Campbell, I mean, my 4 year old even dressed up as Pizza for Halloween yesterday. We are always looking for ways to have pizza flavors in different forms. I have been making this recipe for years, I saw a simple version of it on Pinterest and made my own version with veggies added. Perfect for the freezer, bringing to a friend with a new baby or a surprise dinner, or a random weeknight. I usually make a double batch of this so I can have one hanging out in the freezer for busy nights. I love taking this to friends as a surprise, I always bring a bag of salad and some of THE Chocolate Chip cookies for the ultimate dinner. Kids devour it too, most think they are anti-fungi (wierdos) so just chop the mushrooms very small or leave them out.

We now use dairy free cheese for my little one because she has a milk allergy/intolerance. So adaptable to most dietary needs, swap pasta for spiralized veggies, use dairy free cheese, or gluten free pasta. And don’t forget the “puppyroni” as my little one says, it makes it really taste like the real deal. So make a double batch and give the extra one to the cold or to a friend, either way, it’s going to be awesome.

Pizza Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 Tablespoon Sausage Seasoning
2 Tablespoons oil
8 oz mushrooms, mixed (white button and cremini) Sliced or diced
1 large onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
12 oz pasta, we like rotini (substitute for gf pasta or veggie noodles)
5 oz pack pepperoni
1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives
1 cup shredded mozzarella (or dairy free cheese)
3 1/2 cups Marinara pasta sauce, divided
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
salt, pepper, and spray

- Preheat the oven to 400 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with oil.

- Spray a large skillet with oil and heat to medium high heat and add the ground beef. Season with the sausage seasoning and cook through until some is browned.

- Transfer to a bowl and add the oil to the pan. Add the mushrooms and cook for several minutes before adding the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper once everything is cooked and soft.

- In the bowl with the beef, add the vegetable mix along with 1 1/2 cup pasta sauce.

- While the beef and veggies are cooking, boil and cook the pasta to al dente. If using veggie noodles, do not cook. Drain pasta and then mix with the remaining 2 cups pasta sauce in the pot you cooked the pasta.

- Start layering with half of the pasta. Then do a layer of pepperoni, each one next to each other to cover all the pasta, sprinkle half the olives over the top. Next up is the meat and veggie mix, spread it evenly over the dish.

- Then use the remaining half of pasta over the meat, sprinkle the cheese over the top, evenly place the pepperoni over the cheese, sprinkle the remaining half of olives then the sprinkle of Italian herbs.

- Bake for 20 minutes and then broil for a couple minutes to get the cheese crispy.

- Alternatively, freeze before you bake, cover tightly with a couple layers of aluminum foil. Bake from thawed as directed above or bake from frozen with the foil on top for about an hour then remove cover and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.

Break the meat up with a spoon and cook for a little bit before adding the seasoning. This spice mix is incredible and I use it all the time!

This particular time, I made the mushrooms as small as I could because my oldest daughter is not a fan but loves every dish they are in. Go figure. I also decided to cook the shrooms separately because they let off so much liquid. I just season it with salt and pepper.

Apparently, this particular day, I was taking my time and cooked each component separately. If you do this, make sure to season each time because it would be bland otherwise.