Italian Pasta Casserole

[MrsLMB]

Italian Pasta Casserole

1/2 lb sweet italian sausage
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1 c fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/3 cup onion chopped
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 tsp italian seasoning
8 oz elbow pasta, cooked for only half the recommended time, drained
1 8 oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives, halved
　
Spray an 8 x 8 square baking dish with non stick spray.

In large skillet, cook Italian sausage and ground beef until it is no longer pink. Remove meat from skillet and reserve the drippings.

Saute mushrooms, onions, bell pepper and garlic in the meat drippings until just under tender-crisp. Remove and drain.

In large bowl, combine meats, vegetables, sauce and seasoning.
Place 1/2 of the pasta on the bottom of the baking dish.

Cover with spoonfuls of sauce mixture. Top with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat .

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Remove cover.
Sprinkle remaining cheese and the olives over top of casserole and return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Let casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Really good the next day too !

 

[Dawgluver]

This sounds yummy! Thanks, MrsLMB!

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Sounds a little like a big-crowd dish we made back when the kids were in scouts and sports. We called it "Pound Of" because you used a pound each of sausage, ground beef, only 1/4 pound of pepperoni, three different pasta shapes (one pound box each), mozz cheese...and then enough sauce to get it all as sloppy as you wanted it. I never put the mushrooms or onions in then, but I think I'll try it next time I make a much smaller version for us. OOoo, and the olives too!

 

[pacanis]

Didn't we used to have a drooling emoticon with the puddle?

I'm on top of this, LMB. I've got some It sausage and some burger in the freezer that have been looking for a home.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Sounds wonderful, a real crowd pleaser, with endless variations!

This would be a great dish to tote to a potluck!

I would add some ricotta and swap the elbows for stovepipes or rigatoni.

 

[pacanis]

I would make it with lasagna noodles... and add some ricotta... and maybe another layer and some parm on top...
Hey, wait a minute

 

[Aunt Bea]

I would make it with lasagna noodles... and add some ricotta... and maybe another layer and some parm on top...
Hey, wait a minute

Ok, ok, I get it!

What can I say, I'm never satisfied!

 

[Kayelle]

Nice recipe Mrs....right down my alley.

 

[Dawgluver]

I bet this would go well in the CP too.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

"Spray an 8 x 8 square baking dish"

For some reason when I make something similar like this, I need a bigger pan. Mighty tasty.

Edit:
Never mind. You're using half pounds and sensible sized ingredients.

 

[Kayelle]

"Spray an 8 x 8 square baking dish"

For some reason when I make something similar like this, I need a bigger pan. Mighty tasty.

Edit:
Never mind. You're using half pounds and sensible sized ingredients.

I thought the same thing at first too Whiska...

 

[MrsLMB]

"Spray an 8 x 8 square baking dish"

For some reason when I make something similar like this, I need a bigger pan. Mighty tasty.

Edit:
Never mind. You're using half pounds and sensible sized ingredients.

ROFL Whiska ... I've done it the non sensible way and it is twice as good !!

First time I made this I did it in a 9 x 13 ... thinking it would be similar to lasagna ... NOT !!

This is WAAAAYYYYYY more filling than lasagna. But I would sure do it that size for more than just the 2 of us !

We had leftovers of this ... super yummy .. and actually this recipe - as posted - made 4 meals for the 2 of us.

If any of you try this and make additions .. let me know ... would love to see how this recipe can grow.

 

[GotGarlic]

If any of you try this and make additions .. let me know ... would love to see how this recipe can grow.

DH and the other five staff members in his office are going on a strategic-planning retreat for a couple of days and I was thinking of making this for them. I like to have a variety of pretty vegetables in dishes like this, so I would probably use at least one whole red, yellow, orange and green bell pepper. Maybe some fresh Roma tomatoes, too.

 

[jennyema]

That looks delicious!!!!

Will be making it soon. THANKS!

 

[Termy]

Why sweet sausage ? What's wrong with mild ? I would get hot if sweet was the only other option.

Well I would get hot anyway, but somewhere there has to be some people who do not like sweet in everything.

Other than that the recipe looks good. The only other thing is that I do not use spray oils.

T

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Why sweet sausage ? What's wrong with mild ? I would get hot if sweet was the only other option...

In some areas of the country, mild Italian sausage is called "sweet" rather than "mild". Same with capicola, soppressata, etc. Sweet indicates that the sausage was made with black pepper rather than red.

 

[msmofet]

In some areas of the country, mild Italian sausage is called "sweet" rather than "mild". Same with capicola, soppressata, etc. Sweet indicates that the sausage was made with black pepper rather than red.

+1!! Exactly!

 

[taxlady]

In some areas of the country, mild Italian sausage is called "sweet" rather than "mild". Same with capicola, soppressata, etc. Sweet indicates that the sausage was made with black pepper rather than red.

I assumed it was mild and not actually sweet, when I read the recipe. I'm one of those people who don't like sweet in everything and usually not at all in savoury food. Heck, I won't eat most BBQ sauces because they are too sweet for my taste. When I still ate tomatoes, I used Heinz chili sauce instead of ketchup. It's not nearly as sweet as ketchup.

 

[pepperhead212]

Around here, where Italian sausage is popular, due to the Italian neighborhoods in Philly ages ago, spreading out to the suburbs, sweet sausage refers to the seasoning mix, almost always containing fennel seed. I always prefer this to the seasoning in most hot Italian sausages, so I just get sweet, and add my own hot! And one pepperoni I used to get frequently, from Claudio's, in the Italian market, had a lot of fennel in it, making it my favorite.

 

[larry_stewart]

Around here, where Italian sausage is popular, due to the Italian neighborhoods in Philly ages ago, spreading out to the suburbs, sweet sausage refers to the seasoning mix, almost always containing fennel seed. I always prefer this to the seasoning in most hot Italian sausages, so I just get sweet, and add my own hot! And one pepperoni I used to get frequently, from Claudio's, in the Italian market, had a lot of fennel in it, making it my favorite.

Boy do I miss the Italian market. been almost 2 years since Ive been back to Philly. Im due.