Pizza Casserole

ragdollcatlady

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I just have to share this recipe. I call it Pizza Casserole.

I was trying to come up with a way to use up left over garlic bread. We love it and use a lot of it, but once it is refrigerated, it gets too hard to use/eat again. I prefer to use real butter, fresh garlic and seasonings so it is very flavorful. We don't usually have the really soft bread, this is the thick crust / firm/ whole grain type of sourdough bread. We also freeze it, so sometimes, I end up with freezer burned bread. I hate to throw it out even though it is fine in the compost and the animals make good use out of it. I used a strata type base for this.

My kids like my cooking, but this one got serious compliments, especially for a "leftovers" meal.

I filled a casserole pan with cut up, 1/2 inch squares of garlic bread and added a little plain sourdough to fill it up (about 3/4 of the pan full).
12 eggs
3 cups of milk
Scramble up the eggs and milk and pour over the bread. I let it set at least 1/2 hour while I prep the rest of the filling, turning/mixing and making sure the egg/ milk mix gets soaked in well. You could also let this set overnight in the fridge if you wanted.

2 cups of cubed pepperoni, I buy the butts from the discount store in a big package for $4.99 and it will make 2 casseroles and still have some left over. I cut the cubes around 1/4 inch or so.

One can of black olives. I use small olives and I crush them rather than slice to save time. I just hold them between two fingers and squish! :D It takes me about one minute to crush a whole can.

One can of diced tomatoes.

One cup of shredded mozzerella.

I use my hands to gently and barely mix the rest of the ingredients into the casserole. I try not to let all the filling fall to the bottom. Cover it with foil and bake at 375 for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and add one more cup of mozzerella over the top and bake for another 1/2 hour.

Let cool and serve! YUM!

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ragdollcatlady

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If you want to make this with softer bread try reducing the milk by one cup and the eggs by 4....so basically you would use 2 cups milk and 8 eggs. Softer bread seems to need less egg/milk and will become very soft and squishy.

You can add any and all pizza toppings, this recipe ends up having about one piece of pepperoni for every bite so if that is too much I would reduce the pepperoni by about half.

Onions, bell peppers, sausage and fresh basil or fresh tomatoes would be delicious!

For serious sauce lovers, top with warm sauce or use sauce for a dip. You could also stir a little swirl through the casserole before baking. I wouldn't stir it in well, just leave a few big swirls/streaks so the flavor is in concentrated little rivers......
 

ragdollcatlady

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The kids have requested I make this again I just haven't rounded up all the "toppings" yet. Last week when I told them I was making ravioli casserole they paused for a minute, trying to figure out if this was what I meant..... The ravioli one turned out good, but they requested I make this pizza one again.
 

Chevoner

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As "head chef" and a pizza lover, this is definitely one I plan to try! Thanks!:)
 

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