Pizza Pasta Crock Pot Magic!

One of my new year's resolutions was to master the kitchen. Ambitious I know. I love to cook, but I moreso love to EAT! I feel that the crock pot is the most amazing invention ever in that I can throw things in there and set it to go...and there will be food for weeks! I just completed my first shopping trip with a purpose and completed my first recipe: Pizza Pasta in the crock pot. Let me just say that it smells DELICIOUS and tastes amazing! Here's the recipe!

Inside the crock pot. :)

Crock Pot Pizza Soup – prep/no cooking, freeze in zip lock bag (split recipe in half between two bags)

–1 jar (14 oz) of pizza sauce

–3 empty jars full of water

–1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

–1/2 red onion, chopped

–1 cup sliced mushrooms

–1 cup baby tomatoes, cut in quarters (or 1 can diced tomatoes, drained)

–2 cooked Italian sausage (I used chicken Italian sausage)

–1 cup sliced pepperoni, sliced in quarters (Hormel turkey pepperoni is labeled gluten free)

–8 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1/2 T dried)

–1 T dried oregano

–1/2 to 1/3 cup of dried pasta (if your pasta is tiny, use 1/3 cup. if it’s big, do 1/2. I used 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s brown rice penne) (I didn’t add any pasta to this one, it might actually be great with garlic bread… mmmm!)

–shredded mozzarella cheese (to add later)

The Directions.

Use a 5 or 6 quart crockpot for this recipe. Serves 4 hungry adults, or 2 hungry adults and 2 kids with enough leftovers to feed them all again.

Wash and prepare veggies. Dump them into the crockpot. Cut up the sausage into small pieces–I sliced, then cut the pieces in fourths. Add to crockpot. Cut up the pepperoni, add it, too. Add basil and oregano. Pour in the pizza sauce, and follow with three empty jars of water.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours. Everything in this is already cooked, so you are really only heating through and allowing the flavors to meld.

Thirty minutes before serving, add the dry pasta, and turn to high. My pasta only took 20 minutes to soften quite nicely.

Garnish/top with shredded mozzarella cheese