Pizza Casserole

🧂 Ingredients

• 16 oz. bag wide Amish egg noodles

  or rotini noodles
• 48 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

  (or any tomato/spaghetti/pizza sauce you prefer)
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese

  shredded (or more, if desired)
• 1 to 2 cups ricotta cheese

  if desired (I used 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

  or Italian sausage
• 6 oz. pkg. sliced pepperoni
• 1/2 cup onion

  diced
• 1 cup bell peppers

  diced
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

  fresh preferred
• 1/2 cup ripe olives

  drained and sliced, if desired
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning

  or more if desired
• 2 tsp. dried basil

  or more if desired

Instructions

• 1 Preheat the oven to 350°.
• 2 Brown the meat in a large skillet until no longer pink; drain.
• 3 Use a hamburger chopper to break the meat into small pieces while frying.
• 4 Boil noodles in large stock pot until al dente.
• 5 Drain in colander; add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and stir to combine.
• 6 Set aside.
• 7 Pour spaghetti sauce into a mixing bowl. Add onion, peppers, mushrooms, olives,
  Italian seasoning and basil to the mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
• 8 Spread a thin layer of tomato/ spaghetti/pizza sauce on the bottom of a
  deep-dish 9x13" baking dish or roaster pan.
• 9 Second layer, spread half of the noodles over top of sauce layer.
• 10 Third layer, spread half of the cooked ground beef over top of the noodle layer.
• 11 Fourth layer, spread half of the remaining sauce over top of the ground beef
  layer.
• 12 Fifth layer, spread the remaining noodles over top of the sauce layer.
• 13 Sixth layer, spread half of the Ricotta cheese on top of the noodle layer and
  half the mozzarella cheese on top of the ricotta cheese.
• 14 Seventh layer, spread the remaining cooked ground beef over top of the
  mozzarella cheese layer.
• 15 Eighth layer, spread the remaining sauce over top of the ground beef layer.
• 16 Ninth layer, spread the remaining mozzarella cheese and remaining Ricotta cheese
  over top of the sauce layer.
• 17 Tenth layer, spread the pepperoni over top of the mozzarella cheese layer.
• 18 Cover with foil, and bake for 60 minutes.
• 19 Remove the foil and bake for another 15-30 minutes.
• 20 Cook until the casserole is bubbly, cheese is melted and the middle of the
  casserole is thoroughly cooked.

Nutrition Info