Growing up we ate a lot of casseroles and more Jello than should be humanly possible. In a family of four kids, it's not very often that everyone is happy with the entire meal. Even a casserole isn't always perfect, but the beauty of it is that you can eat the mix-ins you like, and leave the ones you don't on the side of your plate. Pizza casserole was no exception too this rule. As a kid, I liked the smell of green peppers (any pepper, really) but didn't prefer the taste as it always seemed too bitter. As an adult, I can't get enough of them and am well versed on how to bring out the natural sugars of this nightshade, and numerous other vegetables. My Dad was always pushing the peppers to the side as well, but his reasons were dietary, not about the taste or texture.
I've parented for well over a decade and I can count the number of casseroles I've made on one hand. It's just not my thing. I use so many dishes, pots and pans, utensils, etc... to put one dish together that it hardly ever seems worth the trouble. And for a dish like this one, unless I sub out for Gluten Free and Dairy Free ingredients, I can't even eat it and have to make a separate meal just for myself (which only means more work and more mess).
My general rule for dinners is that they should take as long to prepare as they do to eat/time spent at the dinner table. My tweenagers scarf down their food in record time each evening, and it seems impossible to spend equal amounts of time on the prep and consumption. Outside of the realm of Lala's Legacy, I prefer to use my pressure cooker (I'm not paid for you to click this link, I just want to share what I use in case it may make your lives easier as well). Dinner is prepped in minutes instead of an hour +, and I can spend that extra time focusing on my family, walking the dog, sitting on the sofa and reading the latest magazine to arrive.
For now, I'm staying true to the recipes as Lala wrote them. I can already see what these will look like in a GF/DF version, or made in the pressure cooker as a one pot meal. Pizza Casserole is an especially easy conversion.
I do not like using store bought Parmesan Cheese that is already finely ground. It often contains cellulose, which is a leftover product from trees after paper mills have their turn. Kraft has a plant in our community, and I'm sure my children have peers at school whose parents earn their living at this factory. While it's proven safe for human consumption (although even this could be debated), my preference is to (dirty more dishes and) grind my own. I buy a wedge of Parm, chop it up, and place it in the Magic Bullet (again, not I'm paid if you click the link, purchase this item, or for any other reason). Seconds later I have finely ground Parmesan Cheese for my family to enjoy. I encourage you to do what works best for your household.
I purchased a 5 ounce wedge of Parmesan and it yielded just over a Cup of ground cheese. I used it all in the Pizza Casserole as I interpreted "Heavy" to mean A LOT!
I chose to add the onions and peppers (I prepped green, red, and yellow peppers last week and had enough leftover for this meal) to the ground beef as it was cooking. You can cook apart or together. I sautéed the meat and veggies while the pasta was boiling on the next burner.
Most of my cooking involves using what I have in the house. I happen to have Mozzarella Cheese in the fridge, but not a complete bag (it was maybe 2/3 full). If I were to make this again, I would top with more flavorful cheeses in addition to the Mozzarella (Smoked Gouda!). I left the casserole in the oven for about 20 minutes. I wanted to leave it longer to let the cheese crisp up a bit but was concerned that the pasta underneath would dry out since I didn't have enough cheese on hand in the first place.
The kids did a lovely job setting the table. This was a one dish dinner by the time it arrived to the table, but don't let this fool you. I used a lot of dishes, pots and pans, etc... as previously mentioned. The kids were happy to eat this meal, claimed it was worth the wait, and even helped with some of the prep. It may have exceeded my rule of prep to consumption time, but it allowed us to spend time together making a meal (almost) everyone can enjoy. I can't ask for more than that.
If you make this, please let me know how it turns out in the comments below. And as always, remember to follow Caught Red Threaded on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive offers and ideas.
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