Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake

Kid-friendly, mom-approved pretty much sums up pizza casserole. Nope...it's not traditional holiday fare, but it will make a great addition to your menu leading up to the holidays or when you have guests, especially if you've got family and friends with little ones visiting! I based my recipe off of this Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine I was rummaging through over the weekend but made a few adaptations to suit my tastes and what was in my cupboard. You can print off the original recipe with the link above from Taste of Home and try it that way or with the modifications I describe below:

Start by browning your meat. The original recipe calls for 2# of hamburger. I love beef, but I love sausage, too. So I used 1# of each instead. Add in one large diced onion while browning the meat. Now here's a secret: I hate chopping onions. I cry like nobody's business and hate when my fingers smell like onions forever no matter how many times I wash them. So I use this:

 I'm my onion chopper. It's one of those kitchen tools I can't live without. You may have seen them on tv. I picked mine up in Berlin (Ohio) at Ms. Gadgets kitchen store. Just peel off the onion paper, one quick slice in half, pop it into the chopper and...

 Voila! Onion chopped! All into cute little equal-sized pieces. Easy peasy.

 Toss it in w/the meat and you're good to go. When the meat is all browned, drain it. Then toss in some garlic salt, Italian seasoning and the pizza sauce and remove from the heat.

While that's going on, boil a box (1#) of spiral pasta. Cook according to package directions. I mean, everyone can boil pasta, right?

 Mix together your eggs, milk and Parmesan cheese. The original recipe called for shredded Parmesan. I had grated Parmesan on hand, so that's what I used. It worked fine. I'm sure grated would have been better. But by all means, do whatever works for you.

 Mix your egg and milk mixture with the cooked pasta in a large bowl.

 Spread the pasta mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Top that with a layer of your meat mixture.

 Now comes my favorite part. A normal recipe would call for 2 cups of cheese or something like that. This baby calls for 4 whopping cups of shredded mozarella. I so love all you dairy farmers out there. I thank you, my family thanks you, and my taste buds thank you. Yum!

 Here she is with all that yummy cheese!

 Toss a layer of pepperoni over the top & back 20 minutes covered in foil. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes.

Now I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, but I do  have an excuse: it was 8:50 a.m. when I pulled it out of the oven and was trying to get it and the family out the door for Sunday school and the following church dinner. But trust me, it looked yummy, it tasted yummy, and the pan was empty when we came home. All in all a good deal and great for the kidders.