Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni

Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni

Dorcas Annette Walker

Need a main dish this summer for a family reunion that will be filling and an instant hit with both young and old alike? My Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni will fit the bill. I can’t remember where I first tasted pizza macaroni, whose recipe I’ve tweaked throughout the years, but whenever I make this casserole it always brings raves. Combining the taste of pizza with macaroni is an irresistible magnet to kids.

Macaroni is believed to have had its first origins in China. By the eighteen century, macaroni had become popular throughout Europe. Colonists brought recipes for macaroni to the New World and by the 1800’s macaroni and cheese recipes appeared in American cookbooks.

Thomas Jefferson served macaroni at the White House in 1802 after bringing back a macaroni mold from Paris. In 1937 Kraft introduced boxed macaroni and cheese that became an instant success with the start of World War II when rationing meat went into effect. As women joined the workforce boxed macaroni and cheese became a best seller with its ease of preparation and having the reputation for being a nutritious alternate to meat. Today Kraft sells more than one million boxes of macaroni and cheese a day. Even though there have been dozens of variations of boxed macaroni and cheese the basic combination is still the greatest seller. Macaroni and cheese can be served at lunch, as a light dinner, or added to the main meal. This comfort food had become an American staple.

My Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni is filled with spicy meat surrounded by tender macaroni swimming in a mouth-watering sauce and melting cheese making each bite a culinary delight that makes a main meal in itself. You can add and mix-match mushrooms, green peppers, or black olives to this basic recipe as you cater to your family’s individual taste buds. The Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni can also be prepared the day before and then heated up in a Crockpot or baked in the oven right before serving. My Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni takes twenty-five minutes to prepare and this recipe serves eight to ten.

Meat Lovers Pizza Macaroni

4 c cooked macaroni total
1 lb hamburger
1 lb sausage (your choice)
Cook macaroni in salted water while browning the hamburger and sausage.

Drain and mix together with:
1 (26 oz) jar of spaghetti or pizza sauce
1 c salsa (your choice)
Pour half of the macaroni meat mixture into a Crockpot or baking dish.

Layer with half of:
1 (4 oz) pkg pepperoni
1 (12 oz) pkg mozzarella shredded cheese
Add the remaining macaroni meat mixture and finish layering the rest of the pepperonis and shredded cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350º until the cheese is browned and bubbly or put on low and let simmer in the Crockpot for 2-3 hrs. Serve hot with garlic bread or a tossed salad!

Weekly tip: Adding a tablespoon of cooking oil when cooking macaroni prevents the macaroni from boiling over and becoming massed together!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcaswalker@twlakes.net. For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.com