meat lover’s pizza casserole

so, a couple weeks ago Earthfare had an amazing coupon to the folks who are signed up on their mailing list—2 free handmade, organic sausages from their meat department. i jumped at the chance for free meat (carnivore, duh), but i don’t usually cook with sausage. irregardless, i turned in my coupon for one hot sausage & one chorizo. i gleefully came home & put them in my freezer. these beauties have gone untouched…until last night.

twas the night after christmas, & all through my house, i was craving pizza…but was broke as a louse. so i decided to make a pizza casserole! brilliance! combine both my craving & the delicious treat hiding in my freezer. i decided to use the hot sausage first (chorizo…we shall meet again).

for the casserole, i wrangled up these ingredients:

  • 1 sausage
  • pepperoni—as much or as little as you like
  • crumbled bacon—as much or as little as you like
  • 1 cup italian blend cheese
  • 2 cups of shell noodles
  • 2 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce

prepare the shell noodles as you would for any pasta dish. when they are done, place them into a baking dish. add your other ingredients, but only use 3/4 cup of the cheese. mix the noodles & your other ingredients together in the baking dish. sprinkle remaining cheese on top. cover with foil, then place in oven. bake for about 25 minutes @ 350 degrees.

y’all….this turned out to be incredible. it reminded me of a more delicious, spicy version of this pepperoni casserole i used to eat by the pound at pizza hut when i was a kid. i have plenty of leftovers for when i go back to work, & it smelled so good that my BFF sara almost canceled on her date with her boyfriend to eat my concoction (just kidding…sort of). this would be great for a potluck, or just cooking for pals.

so dig in! & enjoy!