So, I’ve been a bit lazy lately about getting up regular posts the past week or two. The weather has finally gotten warm on the east coast, which means I’ve been spending a lot of time prepping my vegetable garden and getting my flower beds up to snuff.
There’s one spot on the side of our house that is always covered in weeds. It’s one of those out-of-sight, out-of-mind locations. It’s also an area that is subject to the brutal heat of the afternoon ~ direct sunlight for most of the day. This year, I decided to plant a whole row of blueberry bushes in the hope that I can finally transform that area. Blueberry bushes are supposed to thrive in direct sunlight, so fingers crossed!
Then I turned my focus on the backyard where weeds are already going to town in my flower beds. I’ve recruited my son to help me pull weeds. Then we put down lasagna and mulch. If you haven’t heard of lasagna for your weeds, it’s a game changer! It’s all about laying down cardboard boxes to suffocate the weeds below the cardboard. With the mulch on top, the cardboard will biodegrade and the weeds will be dead through to the roots.
In my yard, you can tell the difference of where we laid down cardboard over the past year or two to where we haven’t. In the spots where cardboard was placed down last year or the year before, there are a few weeds popping out here and there. In the areas that we haven’t laid down cardboard in several years, the weeds are everywhere! So, I’m telling you, game changer. And we just use boxes we normally would put out to recycle! Pulling off any tape that may be attached. I’m not a big fan of using laminated cardboard (think diaper boxes, cereal boxes, Kleenex boxes, etc.). I find they don’t break down as well, but they will work if that’s all you have.
Anywho, that was quite a tangent from today’s recipe! The point is, I’ve been keeping very busy in my yard and haven’t been focusing enough time on writing up my recipe posts! Today’s recipe is quite far from a Meatless Monday recipe. Instead, this is a meat lover’s pizza casserole loaded with chicken, hot Italian sausage, and Genoa salami. All thrown together into a casserole for a super easy weeknight meal!
You may be wondering, why make a pizza casserole when you can just make a pizza? Well, pizza dough takes a good amount of effort and time to rise. This has all the best flavors of your favorite pizza without all the work!
This isn’t a one pot meal, unfortunately, but it is only two pots… so, you aren’t using all the pots and pans in your kitchen to throw this together. If you don’t have a large, ovenproof sauce pan, a Dutch oven would work just as well. Unfortunately, if you have neither… you’ll be using one more dish because you’ll need a baking dish to pour everything into in order to melt the cheese under the broiler.
This dish is super versatile. I opted for green peppers, onions, and mushrooms as my veggie “toppings.” If you like olives (we don’t!), feel free to add those! It’s so easy to tweak this dish to use the toppings you normally love on your pizza.
This really couldn’t be much easier or quicker for a convenient weeknight meal!
Easy Weeknight Meat Lover’s Pizza Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Pizza, Pasta
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
16 oz short cut pasta, cooked al dente according to the package & rinsed in cold water
1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
½ lb Italian hot sausage, removed from casings
4 oz Genoa salami, halved or quartered
1 – 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1½ cups homemade or store-bought marinara sauce
1 TBs balsamic vinegar
½ sweet onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 TBs fresh basil, roughly chopped
2 tsps dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
8 – 16 oz Kraft creamy melt mozzarella
Instructions
In a large, ovenproof saucepan over medium heat, cook the Italian sausage until mostly browned, breaking up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on the outside. Remove the chicken and sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon.
Add the onions and green peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, or until just starting to soften. Lightly season with salt. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms begin to reduce in size ~ about 3 to 5 minutes.
Return the sausage and chicken to the pan. Add the whole peeled tomatoes, breaking up each tomato by hand or with a wooden spoon and removing any hard bits, if desired. Add the marinara sauce, balsamic vinegar, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Genoa salami. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Turn the broiler on high.
Add the pasta and basil to the pan. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the desired amount of cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese has melted and lightly browned ~ about 3 minutes, keep an eye on it!
Remove from the oven and serve immediately! Enjoy!
Keywords: pizza casserole, meat lover’s pizza, meat lover’s pizza casserole, weeknight casserole, easy casserole, easy pizza casserole
