Pepperoni Casserole

We’re in the midst of trying to sell our house. Our realtor has expressed that it’s not a good idea to make anything with strong smells as that can often be a deterrent for prospective buyers. With this in mind, my grandmother and I wonder about buying out more than making anything out of fear that some kind of lingering smell might hang around like a buzzing insect.

Yesterday, Monday, the day my cousin comes over so that we can watch Teen Wolf together, I was prepared to order pizza. At the moment, I am unable to stomach the stuff anymore. We’ve ordered so much of it I’d be happy to never see a cheese-and-pepperoni-saturated pie again. Yet, while I was getting an oil change earlier in the day, and the only thing worthwhile to watch and engage my interest in (aside from my phone) was cooking shows on Food Network.

One show in particular struck me, I suppose, at the right time, at the right place, when I was in the right mood. I was not planning on making anything for dinner that night and had even texted my cousin to let her know we were ordering pizza (the bane of my existence) instead. She was fine with it. I was planning on getting extra cheese and pepperoni, and one of those pasta bread bowls from Dominos, and be done with it. But then, as I watched Sandra Lee, she was making pepperoni casserole and garlic bread. Looked easy enough, not overly complicated, only a few ingredients to keep it under about five dollars, making it about $1.50 per serving. I quickly jotted down the instructions on my phone’s notepad, saving it for a rainy day.

I milled around at home, imagining that humble pizza pie, and annoyed as hell by it. I really did not want pizza, but I also did not feel like cooking and stinking up the house – by an hour or so before she arrived I was standing at the crossroads of whether to charge forward and declare pizza as the main soul food for the night! Or take the less traveled path and make the casserole. Inwardly, hating pizza, felt that almighty pull toward the casserole. A few simple ingredients, no time spent prepping at all except to dice up onions and zucchini, and chose casserole as our poison for the evening with fresh garlic bread to tie it all together. We were having pizza without the dough and the mess of tomato sauce – but thrown together as a neat pasta dish.

Sauteed onion and zucchini, chopped up pepperoni, bit of basil, salt and pepper to taste, and let that soften up on the stove while the rotini pasta turned al dente. The rustic nature of the pepperoni against the zucchini really made it pop, turning it from dark red to a bright orange. It culminated all these little ingredients together, cutting the sweetness of the caramelized onion and zucchini with the hint of spice pepperoni is signature for. Rotini added and shredded mozzarella cheese (I added more than the cup requested – I’m a cheese fan, after all.)  Adding a layer of bread crumbs for an extra crunchy texture, the casserole went into the oven for 20.

I opened the oven once and motioned my cousin to come over and we breathed in the aroma. Such an easy dish to make with no time spent prepping an extreme amount of ingredients. No time at all and the garlic bread was a hit – my aunt demanded I sent some home to her, so unfortunately, I get a little bowl of leftovers for the next night.

In all, the whole thing cost less than ten dollars! Ordering pizza would’ve been double that! 

Pepperoni Casserole