Casserole for Dinner

Travis likes spam. You would think that he wouldn't, since he's not Hawaiian. You would think that I would, since I grew up in the South and on a budget. But it's the opposite. He likes it so much that he orders it off of menus, and I think it tastes just like it smells, which if you ask me is very reminiscent of cat food.

But a housebear aims to please and so last night I made a new recipe I found in the Costco cookbook called Pizza SPAM Casserole. I believe that this can also be found on the SPAM website.

Pizza SPAM Casserole

• 16oz (uncooked) elbow macaroni
• 12oz SPAM® Classic, cubed
• 4oz Pepperoni, cubed or sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1 onion, chopped finely
  • (I only used half an onion and I thought it was the perfect amount)
• 16oz pizza sauce
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4C grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

- Heat oven to 350ºF.
-Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.
-In skillet, sauté SPAM® Classic, pepperoni and onion until lightly browned.
-In large bowl, combine cooked macaroni, SPAM® mixture, and pizza sauce. Slowly stir in 3 cups mozzarella cheese.
-In casserole, place macaroni mixture; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Bake 45 minutes.

I also crunched up some Ritz crackers for the top so it would have kind of a pizza crust type taste. I imagine using Italian seasoned bread crumbs would be even better. I assembled the casserole ahead of time and popped it in the oven 45 minutes before dinner. It worked wonderfully. Travis and Caleb liked it very much. Travis said he would like another SPAM casserole, but with macaroni and cheese instead of pizza flavor next time. The recipe says it serves six, but the three of us had more than half left over.