Who doesn’t love alliteration? Well this recipe has that and it tastes great! Did I mention Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake is also thrifty? This recipe is a mashup of several different 1970’s recipes.

I added up the cost of the ingredients. With eight large servings, this family friendly and good enough for company recipe comes to less than $1 a serving AND everyone will eat it!

Have you tasted any form of frozen pizza recently? The last one we had was not good. Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake is a very good substitution for any frozen or carryout pizza. This Pizza Pasta Bake is easy, thrifty, and you can pronounce all of the ingredients.

Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake

Tools You’ll Need:

• 9X13 Pyrex Baking Dish
• Pot to Boil Pasta
• Colander
• Medium Bowl to Mix Sauce
• Large Bowl to Mix Sauce Into Pasta
• Wooden Spoon to Mix Ingredients
• Non-stick Spray

Pepperoni Pizza Bake Ingredients:

• 1# box Penne pasta, prepared
• Saute´ 1 t minced garlic in a dash of oil
• 1 can pizza sauce
• 1 C. whipping cream
• ½ package (or 20) of 6-ounce pepperoni
• 1 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 C. shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350˚. Boil pasta and drain. Mix sauce ingredients together, saving ½ C. of mozzarella to top. Add sauce to pasta. Pour into sprayed 9X13 Pyrex. Top with ½ C. mozzarella. Bake in 350˚ oven for 40 minutes.

Pepperoni Pizza Bake Cooking Notes:

• Target sells a bronze extruded Pennoni that’s much better than the under $1 a pound Penne. You will notice on the label that this pasta is “Bronze Cut”. This means the pasta was extruded through a bronze extruder, which creates rougher pasta, which holds sauce better. But here’s the deal. If you can’t spare the $2 for the difference in price, the cheap Penne will be just fine! The recipe photos are the cheap $1 a pound Penne.
• If your family loves pepperoni, use the entire 6 ounce package (40 pepperoni) instead of ½. This will only add an additional $1.30 to the cost.
• If you want extra cheese, sprinkle 1 C. of Mozzarella on top of the bake. This will only add $1.50 to the total cost.
• Adding the fancy pasta, additional pepperoni, and cheese will increase the cost per serving to $1.50. That’s still cheaper than any carryout pizza anywhere, and you don’t have to tip!

Quick Bruschetta Tomatoes

I LOVE bruschetta! Remember, our garden harvest is later than most, so I had tomatoes well after the frost. I mixed up a batch of Quick Bruschetta Tomatoes  to top and fancify my Pepperoni Pizza Pasta Bake. Of course, fresh herbs are best, but if you don’t have fresh, I’ve put the dried measurements first. You can also add this to warm plain pasta.

Quick Bruschetta Tomatoes

Tools You’ll Need:

• Bowl With a Cover to Mix and Store
• Spoon to Mix
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Measuring Spoons

Ingredients:

• 8 tomatoes (2#), coarsely chopped
• 2 t minced garlic
• 1 t dried oregano (2 t fresh)
• 3 T dried parsley (1/4 C fresh, chopped)
• 2/3 C olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Basil to taste

Directions:

Mix tomatoes, garlic, oregano, parsley together. Add olive oil, and toss to combine. Cover and let stand on counter for 2 hours to blend flavors.

Be Blessed!