In the Kitchen with Jason (and David): Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake

This recipe was very good... too bad Bug didn't see it that way. In her opinion, the noodles were good and everything else just got in the way. That is why we don't let the 16 month old decide what is for dinner.

The noodles went together good with the meat and cheese, though it didn't really give me a pizza feel. But who cares - I enjoyed it quite a bit and would gladly make it again.



Noodles + Cheese + Pizza sauce + Pizza toppings = Delicious!

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 12 oz dry penne or zeti (the recipe calls for a 12 oz box but I have never seen a box of pasta that is smaller than 16 oz.)
• 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 14 oz jar of pizza sauce
• 1 8 oz jar tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 lb sliced pepperoni
• 1/4 cup diced Canadian bacon
• 1 tsp Italian seasonings
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1/3 cup grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese 

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 2 1/2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Bring a pot of boiling water to a boil.
• Add salt and noodles to the boiling water and let cook for 8 minutes.
• Drain noodles and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add sausage and onions to skillet.
• Cook for about 7 minutes.
• Drain any drippings to the best of your ability (I didn't have any but I'm sure that I just got lucky).
• Combine remaining non-cheese ingredients along with sausage mixture in a large bowl and stir.
• Stir in the pasta.
• Transfer to prepared baking dish.
• Top with cheese and cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for 15 more minutes.
• Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if you would like.

Please enjoy!

-Chef Jason