Pizza Pasta

In the mood for Italian? Pizza Pasta got a thumbs-up from the hubby. So it will again appear on the County Line dinner table in the not-too-distant future.

This recipe is from one of Jill's friends who has a blog over at www.doodlesandcompany.blogspot.com. Chelsie has lots of good recipes to try, so check out her blog.

I only made half a recipe. Randy is good about eating leftovers, but he does have his limits. It goes together really quickly, which is a thumbs-up from the cook around here.

Pizza Pasta

1 lb. spaghetti or pasta (We used farfalle noodles as suggested by Chelsie)
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 32-oz. can pasta sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. dried minced onion
1 8-oz. pkg. sliced pepperoni (can use turkey pepperoni)
3 cups shredded cheese (I used a fiesta cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente; drain. In a large skillet, brown beef with minced onion; drain well. Beat milk and eggs together until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Place pasta in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour milk mixture evenly over pasta. Pour pasta sauce over that. Distribute beef mixture evenly over pasta sauce and sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder and pepperoni slices. Top with shredded cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Note: Chelsie added a can of sliced olives to the meat layer. (The cook at the County Line doesn't like olives, so that was out!) She also suggests adding green pepper to the skillet while you brown your hamburger.

As I said, I made half a recipe in an 8-inch-square pan, so I just used a smaller can of pizza sauce instead of the large jar/can of pasta sauce and halved the rest of the ingredients. It worked out just fine.

Serve with a fruit salad or a tossed salad and a little garlic bread (if it fits into your calorie count for the day). You have a tasty meal in less than an hour!