Hearty Pepperoni and Cheese Bake

The other day I was searching for a new recipe to try and came across one that I thought showed some promise.

1 ¼ pounds ground beef sirloin

Yes.

3 cloves garlic

Mm’hmm.

1 teaspoon sugar

Gotcha.

2 tablespoons soy sauce

I’m all over it.

2 tablespoons fish sauce

Halt.

I don’t know what fish sauce is. It could be quite delightful, or it could be as delightful as lutefisk. Either way, it appeals to me very little for various reasons. Chief among them: I’m guessing fish sauce comes in quantities larger than 2 tablespoons, so what would I possibly do with the remainder?

I once drove to two different stores trying to find a can of Old Bay seasoning that I used precisely once in five years. Maybe I'm too picky. Maybe I'm too American. Maybe I'm simply too practical to drag a toddler through a store looking for an ingredient that I'll likely never use again.

Whatever the case may be, fish sauce, our chances of connecting are very slim.

You will be replaced in this family meal by an old friend. Cheese.

Cheese I know. Cheese I love. Cheese Elli loves. Bring on the cheese.

Hearty Pepperoni and Cheese Bake

8 oz. mostaccioli or any bite-size pasta, uncooked
26 oz pasta sauce
3 oz sliced turkey pepperoni, cut in half
4 oz cubed Mozzarella or Provolone cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. In large bowl, mix pasta, sauce, pepperoni, cubed cheese. Transfer mixture to 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese bubbles.

I cut this recipe out of an American Beauty ad in a Sunday paper coupon circular. It’s now taped to an index card in the Family Recipe Box.

This was the first dish I ever made my husband, before he was my husband, when we were dating. We’ve loved it and each other madly ever since. It seems fitting that our daughter come to love it too.

Truth be told, I thought I would be cooking this meal alone because at the time I started boiling the pasta, Elli was engrossed in a music DVD. But she figured out what I was up to and came in the kitchen almost dismayed that I had brought the pans out without telling her.

So, I put her apron on her. She poked me in my stomach, commanding me to put my “apin” on as well. I obliged and helped her climb up her “steps” (step stool) to reach the counter.

As the pasta finished boiling, I had her help me transfer the cheese and pepperoni from the cutting board to the bowl.

Most of the cheese made it. What she didn’t put in the bowl she shoved into her mouth. She grew rather testy when I took the rest of the cheese away.

Did I mention she loves cheese?

She then helped me pour the pasta sauce into the bowl and stir up the ingredients. She is a stirring maniac.

When the pasta was done, I poured it into the bowl and mixed all the ingredients together.

“Ot! Ot!” Elli said, waving her hand over the bowl as the steam billowed off the pasta.

“Yes, hot,” I confirmed. “We don’t touch hot.”

“No tooch ot.”

“That’s right. No touch hot.”

Elli then helped me pour the pasta mixture into the baking pan.

Then she took a hold of the Costco-size can of Parmesan cheese, about half the heighth of herself, and sprinkled the cheese over the top of the mixture.

After that, the pan went into the oven, and Elli went back to watching her DVD, and I was left to warm up some frozen vegetables alone. Who would have thought a child would disappear from the vicinity of vegetables. That has to be a first.

The dish turned out just as tasty as my husband and I remembered it being those many years ago. And for Elli, who ate nearly all of her serving, it was a winner too.

Things Elli could do:
Stir ingredients together
Taste-test the cheese, and pepperoni
Spread pasta mixture in pan
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over pasta mixture

Hearty Pepperoni and Cheese Bake Ratings


Elli-friendly cooking: 4
Elli-friendly eating: 5
Simple: 5
Fast: 3 (borderline rating; it takes a good 40 minutes from start to finish)
Frugal: 5

Where I buy:

Aldi: Mozzarella block, pepperoni, pasta sauce
Costco: Parmesan cheese (we go through a lot), pasta