So- here it is: Meat Lovers Pizza Casserole

The ingredients

Cook about 10 oz of the Ziti noodles

Chop up 1 cup of green pepper

Chop up 1 small onion.

Cook 1/2 pound of ground beef, green pepper and onion until meat is no longer pink.  Drain it and then set it aside in a medium bowl (which will be called the “meat bowl” for the rest of this post).

Brown 1/2 pound of sausage and add it to the ”meat bowl.” 

Cook 8oz of bacon, drain and add to the “meat bowl.”

Cut up 1 cup of fully cooked ham- and you guessed it- add it to the “meat bowl.”  Stir everything in the “meat bowl” until it is well mixed.

Add 12 oz of Spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture and mix well.

By now your Ziti noodles should be done cooking so you will need to drain them.

Cut 4 oz of Velveeta Cheese into little cubes and mix it with the ziti noodles.  Be sure to do this while the noodles are nice and warm and the cheese will melt very easily.

Now add the other 12 oz of Spaghetti sauce to the noodles and cheese.  Spread that mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Then spread the meat mixture on top of that.

Then grate 8 oz of Velveeta cheese (I didn’t know you could grate Velveeta cheese, but I tried it and it actually grated pretty easily).  Sprinkle that on top of your casserole.

Then add pepperoni to the top of your casserole.  Add as much or as little as you like.  Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Yummy Meat Lovers Pizza Casserole.

And again from a different angle.

And now in case you just want the recipe in regular format:

Meat Lovers Pizza Casserole

Ingredients:
½ pound ground beef
½ pound sausage
8 oz bacon
1 cup fully cooked ham
Sliced pepperoni (use as much or as little as you prefer)
10 oz Ziti noodles, cooked and drained
1 (24 ounce) jar Spaghetti sauce, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped green pepper
12 oz Velveeta Cheese, divided

Directions:

In a skillet cook ground beef, onion and green pepper until meat is no longer pink, drain and set aside in a medium sized bowl.
In a skillet cook sausage until meat is no longer pink, drain and add to bowl with beef in it.
In a skillet cook bacon, drain and add to bowl with other meats.
Add 1 cup of fully cooked ham cut into bite size pieces to the other meats and stir everything until well mixed. Then add half of the jar of Spaghetti sauce to the meat mixture, mix well.
After you have cooked and drained your ziti noodles- add 4 oz of Velveeta cheese that has been cut into small cubes. Be sure to add the Velveeta cheese while the noodles are warm so that the cheese will melt. Then add the other half of the jar of Spaghetti sauce to the noodles and cheese. Spread the noodles into a greased 9×13 inch dish.
Add the meat mixture on top of the noodles. Cover with 8oz of grated Velveeta Cheese and top with pepperoni slices.
Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Voting will start tomorrow and go until November 23rd over at Velveeta Casserole Challenge and I would love it if you would vote for me and my yummy Meat Lovers Pizza Casserole.  And you know what?  You can vote every single day. 

Also starting tomorrow and going through November 23rd I am going to be having all sorts of giveaways going on.  A new giveaway will start every couple of days as my way of bribing you to vote for me!  So make sure you come by here every day so you don’t miss any of the fabulous prizes I have lined up.

So, after much thinking (and wondering what I had gotten myself into), I planned out my recipe.  Since Rich and I both work from home, and clearly don’t get to spend enough time together, we all headed off to the grocery store together.  And I’m sure you ladies know how much fun grocery shopping with your husband and toddler can be.

The highlight of the grocery shopping trip happened when Rich and I had an argument about which Velveeta cheese to get.  Now you know if it’s Velveeta it’s going to be good, right?  Right.  That wasn’t the problem.  The problem is that when Rich goes grocery shopping with me we have to compare the per pound or per ounce prices of every single item we buy.  It drives me absolutely crazy.  Because sometimes I don’t want to buy 20 pounds of beef just because it’s cheaper per pound.  Or 50 rolls of toilet paper just because it is cheaper per sheet.

Anyhoo.  Where was I?  Oh, yes- the Velveeta Cheese.

Since part of the challenge was that I had to spend under $20 that meant I couldn’t buy things in bulk, like Rich prefers.  There was one package of Velveeta Cheese that was 16 oz for $3.99.  That size seemed reasonable for my recipe.  So, I put it in the cart.  Then Rich found a 32 oz package for $4.79.  Clearly a much better deal per pound, but when you’re trying to keep things under a certain price every penny counts.  And what would I ever do with that much cheese?

Well, Rich won and we bought the bigger package of cheese.  In exchange for that- we had to put the ground sausage back and settle on the boxed kind of sausage because it was cheaper.  And what did we do with all of that extra cheese?  It makes fabulous grilled cheese sandwiches, tastes good on broccoli and mashed potatoes, and goes great on pretty much everything you can think of.

Here is my receipt from our fun filled shopping trip, and as you can see I came in at $19.33.  BUT- I didn’t use all of my ingredients.  I could have made almost 2 casseroles with my ingredients, I would have needed a bit more of a few things- but most of the items I only used about half of what I had.

On October 30th I am going to post my recipe- and you’re not going to want to miss it because it was delicious.  And the voting will start over at Velveeta Casserole Challenge so I’m going to be begging and pleading for your votes.  And, I’ll also be bribing you with all sorts of fabulous giveaways that I have lined up.  So, be sure to come back!

I am taking part in a fun and fabulous Velveeta Casserole Challenge.  I was selected (and also paid!), along with four other bloggers, to be a part of this challenge.  I wasn’t allowed to say anything until today, so I have been practically bursting trying to keep this news in.  So, what is the Velveeta Casserole Challenge exactly?  I’m glad you asked.  I had to create a casserole- yes, make up my very own recipe- that would serve 8 people, cost less than $20 and use Velveeta Cheese.  Now you may be aware that my cooking abilities are, shall we say, lacking.  But you know what- this casserole that I came up with- it’s really good.  I mean- really, really good.  When Rich took his first bite of it he said, “That’s really good.”  And the last time he said something like that about my cooking was… well… never.  (Although, I have to be perfectly honest and tell you that Rich helped me quite a bit with my recipe.)

Now for the best part about the Velveeta Casserole Challenge: The five of us who were picked- we get to share our recipes.  Then we will all beg our readers to vote for our recipe so that we can win the challenge.  The winner gets some fabulous Cuisinart cookware and a $500 grocery gift card.  And you know what?  I really want to win.  But you know what else?  The other ladies really want to win too.  Now the voting doesn’t actually start until October 30th, so I have plenty of time to come up with ways to bribe you into voting for me. 

Throughout October I am going to share with you how I came up with the recipe that I made.  Here’s a little hint about my recipe- we love pizza and we also love meat.  But if you want to know anymore than that, you’re going to have to stay tuned.  Then once the voting begins on October 30th I will start my begging and pleading to get you to vote for me.  Oh- and I’ll have some fun giveaways too, so it won’t all be begging.

Just in case you’re curious- and I’m sure you are- here are the other 4 participants:

Confessions of An Apron Queen
Miss Zoot
My Wooden Spoon
Suburban Bliss

Be sure to keep coming back because you’re going to want to try the recipe when I post it. And of course, you’ll want to enter my giveaways and vote for me.

For this month, Pam has asked us to share a family favorite recipe.  I’m not sure this is really a family favorite.  For one, Rich doesn’t like it because he doesn’t like pineapple.  But I love it so that makes up for his dislike.  And people in my family always tell me they like it when I make it.  So, I’m going to go ahead and assume that they really do like it and share it with you.

Hot Pineapple Casserole

Ingredients
3 (20 ounce) cans chunk pineapple, drained
1 cups sugar
5 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
I sleeve crushed Ritz crackers
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Directions
Mix sugar and flour in mixing bowl.
Drain Pineapple, add cheddar cheese – mix thoroughly.
Combine dry and wet mixtures, pour into greased pan.
Crush Ritz crackers and and add melted butter to them. Pour this mixture over pineapple and cheese mixture.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until bubbly.  Then place under the broiler until golden brown.

Stop by and visit Pam to see what everyone else is sharing this week.  And WOO HOO- I get to meet Pam IN REAL LIFE this weekend. 

So, instead I am going to share my regular favorite side dish.

Baked Corn Pudding

Ingredients:

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine sugar and flour. Whisk in the eggs, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Stir in the corn and cream-style corn.

Pour into a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Yield: 10 servings

Stop by Pam’s blog to see the rest of the participants.

(Picture taken from Taste of Home.)

If you haven’t entered my latest giveaway yet be sure to enter to win a Living the Dream shirt from LTDChix.  It ends today, so make sure you stop by and check it out!

For this weeks recipe exchange Pam asked us to share a drink recipe.

My favorite drink ever is one that my mom makes.  I emailed her and asked her if it was okay if I shared her recipe with the entire world wide web.  She hasn’t answered me yet so I assume that means I can share it   (edited to add- my mom never got my email asking her permission to share this recipe.  But, she read my post and said that I could share it with you all)

Pineapple Slush Punch

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups water
1 12 oz can frozen OJ
1 12 oz can frozen lemonade
1 46 oz can pineapple juice
3 cups water (again)
4 quarts ginger ale or lemon lime soda

Directions

Put 3 cups water and sugar in 6 quart sauce pan over high heat and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the OJ and lemonade. Add pineapple juice and 3 cups of cold water. Stir until blended. Put in a cake pan and freeze.

When ready to serve cut the frozen pineapple mixture into squares. Pour 4 quarts of soda over squares.

Serves 30

Stop by and visit Pam to see what everyone else is sharing this week.

If you haven’t signed up yet for my momAgenda giveaway make sure you do it today- it ends tonight at 11:59pm (EST).  And be sure to come back tomorrow to see my what my next giveaway will be.

For this weeks Random Recipe exchange, Pam challenged us to share a picnic recipe.  With this being Memorial Day weekend, and the unofficial start to summer you know there will be lots of BBQ’s going on. 

The recipe I am sharing is for a potato salad that my mom makes.  It isn’t like your regular mustard type of potato salad.  And I am not exaggerating when I tell you I could eat the entire recipe by myself.  It is that good.

Potato Salad

Ingredients:
2 pounds small red potatoes, cooked
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing (I’ve made it with other brands and it is not the same.)
Black pepper
8 slices bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

Directions:
Cut slightly cooled small red potatoes into 1 inch cubes. In large bowl combine potatoes, green onions and ranch dressing. Toss gently and dust with pepper. Garnish with bacon. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Stop by Pam’s blog to see what everyone else is cooking up this weekend.

Make sure you have entered my latest GIVEAWAY for a Hip-T.  It ends tonight at 11:59pm (EST).

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

This week for the Random Recipe exchange Pam asked us to share a lunch recipe.  My most common lunch
recipe would have to be- open a can of soup, add some water and cook. While the soup is cooking, get 2 pieces of bread out, add some ham, cheese and mustard or mayonnaise.  But, I’m pretty sure that’s now what Pam had in mind for this exchange

So, here is my recipe for lunch.

Cheeseburger Loaf

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 loaf (1 pound) unsliced French bread
1 tablespoon butter, softened
8 ounces process American or Mexican-flavored cheese, sliced

Directions:

In a large saucepan, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add soup, garlic salt, salt and pepper; simmer, uncovered for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the top third off the bread. Hollow out bottom half of loaf, leaving a 3/4-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Spread butter on cut side of bread. Place loaf on an ungreased baking sheet and broil 4-in. from the heat until lightly browned.

Spoon beef mixture into shell; arrange cheese slices on top. Broil 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Replace bread top. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Stop by Pam’s blog to see what everyone else is cooking up this week.

(picture from Taste of Home)

It’s time once again for the Random Recipe Exchange.  Woo Hoo!  I have gotten several fabulous recipes from this recipe exchange. If you’re not participating yet and you want some new recipes (and who doesn’t?) stop by Pam’s blog so that you can join in the fun.

So, this week Pam’s assignment for our recipe exchange was post an appetizer or drink recipe.

So, one of my favorite appetizers is something my cousin Beka always makes at our New Years Eve parties.  If you’ve never had it before, it might sound a little odd- but I can assure you that they are delicious and I usually stand right next to the platter so that I can eat them all up.  Now, I didn’t actually get this recipe from Beka, and mine have never turned out like hers so I’m sure there must be some secret.  Anyhoo, here is my appetizer recipe.

Pickle Ham Roll Ups

Ingredients
1 package smoked cooked ham slices
1 jar kosher dill spears, drained
1 8oz package Philly Cream cheese, softened some

Directions
Pat ham & pickles dry with a paper towel
Spread ham slices each with about 1 tablespoon cream cheese, enough to cover the ham slice.
Top each slice with 1 pickle & roll up.
Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight
Slice each pickle roll into 5 to 6 pieces

Stop by Pam’s blog to check out the other yummy recipes.

For this weeks Random Recipe Exchange Pam told us to just post “any recipe you would like to share.”  This was really hard for me because I have lots of favorite recipes.  But I finally decided on this recipe.  If you like Alice Springs Chicken at the Outback- you will love this recipe. 

Aussie Chicken

Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
6 slices bacon, cut in half
1/2 cup prepared yellow mustard
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Rub the chicken breasts with the seasoning salt, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until crisp. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the mustard, honey, corn syrup, mayonnaise and dried onion flakes. Remove half of sauce, cover and refrigerate to serve later.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the breasts in the skillet and saute for 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until browned. Remove from skillet and place the breasts into a 9×13 inch baking dish. Apply the honey mustard sauce to each breast, then layer each breast with mushrooms and bacon. Sprinkle top with shredded cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and chicken juices run clear. Garnish with parsley and serve with the reserved honey mustard sauce.

It is easy to make and yummy to eat!  Now go stop by Pam’s blog to see what the other participants are cooking up this week.

(picture from allrecipes.com)