I want Slow Cooker Pizza in my Lunchbox

The theme at IHCC is….Lunch Box. And of course Pasta is always the theme at Presto Pasta Nights!



All over the country parents are preparing the kiddies to go back to school, gathering new lunch boxes and mentally planning an appealing lunch to pack for their offspring. Well, what kid doesn’t like pizza? Here’s a dish to tip into your Tupperware that will smack the taste buds of your pizza-gobbling munchkins.

This is a my variation on Mark Bittman’s pizza, published in his column in the New York Times, Dining and Wine.
It’s a Pizza Casserole. It gives you a break in the kitchen too as it’s a slow cooker meal.

Ingredients…….

1 ½ pounds Italian sausage (use beef or turkey if you prefer)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced, if you like them
Half a box of pasta such as rigatoni or shells….whatever you fancy – be sure they are COOKED

Sliced pepperoni (I used the 3 oz sliced package)
16-oz. jar pizza sauce or homemade pasta sauce
10 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
10 oz. cheddar cheese shredded

Brown the meat and onion in a saucepan, drain fat off. (I use a can for the grease and put it in the freezer to toss out later. That way you won’t have a potential sticky mess hanging about, waiting to defile your counter tops. )



Layer half of each of the following in this order. (Into the crock pot) Browned meat and onions; green pepper, cooked noodles, mushrooms if you like them; pepperoni, pizza sauce, cheddar cheese then mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers.




Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours.

Important tip! Keep the noodles covered with sauce or they will get crunchy and dry out a bit.




Surf over to I Heart Cooking Club and see what others have cooked up. Click HERE and you’ll be magically transported. This is also a good candidate for Presto Pasta Nights...go visit Allie of of Yum in Tum as she is the host this week :-)

Cheers!