OK, Ladies...this is GOOD!

Almost everyone loves spaghetti, especially kids and men. Right? And almost everyone loves sausage and pepperoni pizza, too. Especially those same kids and men.

Imagine both those popular dishes in one dish. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical when Krissy pointed this out to me in our new cookbooks. Then she told me she made it, she and Andy and Cameron had it for dinner, and after dinner, Andy went back and finished off the whole thing! It's that good.


This recipe is on page 68 of this cookbook. This is one great cookbook. Southern Living's annual recipe cookbooks come to me automatically because I subscribe to the magazine, but if you don't, and this looks good to you, you can check it out by clicking on this photo of the book.

I tell you, Pam Todd of Birmingham, Alabama should get a gold star or something. I should have known this was created by a southern gal. Southern women can cook! And you won't believe how easy this is to make.

So here's the recipe exactly as it appears in the cookbook.

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole

~~ freezeable - make ahead ~~

PREP: 15 MIN., COOK: 15 MIN., BAKE: 40 MIN.

We preferred turkey pepperoni so you don't get a greasy appearance. Freeze the unbaked casserole up to one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator; let stand 30 minutes at room temperature, and bake as directed.

12 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (1-lb.) package mild ground pork sausage
2 oz. turkey pepperoni slices (about 30) cut in half
1 (26-oz.) jar tomato-and-basil pasta sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8-oz.) package shredded Italian three-cheese blend

1. Cook spaghetti with 1/2 tsp. salt according to package directions. Drain well, and place in a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.

2. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Add pepperoni, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until slightly crispy.

3. Top spaghetti in baking dish with sausage; pour pasta sauce over sausage. Arrange half of pepperoni slices evenly over pasta sauce. Sprinkle evenly with cheeses. Arrange remaining half of pepperoni slices evenly over cheese. Cover with nonstick or lightly greased aluminum foil.

4. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes; remove foil, and bake 10 more minutes until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

Makes 6 servings


Here's what you need and this is exactly
twice the ingredients called for because you know me.
I'm making a double batch.
By the way, those are 16-ounce packages of spaghetti
and I used that much in this dish rather than the
12 ounces called for. Didn't seem to make a big difference.

Cook the spaghetti, spray your casserole dish with Pam,
and put the well-drained spaghetti in the dish.

Sprinkle the cooked and crumbled sausage evenly
over the spaghetti. I used Jimmy Dean sausage, but you know,
I'm thinking this would be really good with Italian sausage too.

Pour the tomato-basil pasta sauce evenly over all
and place the pepperoni pieces all over. For the record,
I completely forgot to cut the pepperoni in half. That didn't seem
to make a big difference either.

Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over all.

And sprinkle the three-cheese blend over all of that.

I lightly sprayed the foil with Pam.
You know for sure all that cheese is going to stick
when you bake it, if you don't spray the foil.






One of these was dinner last Sunday night. I served it with a green salad and garlic bread. And the other one is in the freezer and will be a great (and easy) meal when Mandy comes to visit the first week of July.

There're no onions in this dish. Aaron truly hates onions. So I suspect Miss Mandy is going to want this recipe because she's her mama's daughter and cooking without onions just makes us get teary eyed.

I tell you, this is delicious and it's almost ridiculously quick and easy. I'll bet you anything, your husband and your kids are going to love this one!

PS...Wouldn't this make a great dish to take to a pot-luck? Or to serve at your Bunco party? You can make this a day or so ahead and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake it. Just make sure you let it come to room temperature before you pop it in the oven, so your glass dish doesn't explode. LOL