Thursday, August 20, 2015

Pizza Pasta - Served over "Non-Watery" Zoodles

This evening I made "Pizza Pasta". What is pizza pasta you might wonder? It's pretty simple. I made zoodles (actually squoodles since I used yellow summer squash instead of zucchini). I used my foolproof method for "how to make non-watery zoodles." While they were sitting all salted and rolled up in paper towels to extract their excess juices, I proceeded to make the "sauce" which I modeled after what I would typically put on top of pizza. It's important when making the sauce to put over zoodles, that your sauce not be watery; the thicker the sauce the better. I made a thick meaty sauce using ground beef, onions, mushrooms, black olives, diced pepperoni and red pepper flakes. I used about 1-1/2 cups of one of my favorite jarred sauces that contains no added sugar; DelGrosso's Fireworks Pasta Sauce which is a little spicy but extremely flavorful. I topped our bowls of  "Pizza Pasta" with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano. It was delicious with all the flavor of pizza but the look, texture and feel of pasta. I snapped a couple photos below as well as the easy peasy recipe. If you'd like to see my little tutorial on "How to Make Non-Watery Zoodles", click here: Non-Watery Zoodles. Enjoy!




Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced or quartered
1/3 cup sliced black olives (I used Kalamata olives)
15-20 slices pepperoni, diced
1-1/2 cups pasta sauce
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Cooked zoodles

Directions:

In a large skillet or dutch oven, brown ground beef and onions in olive oil over medium high heat, breaking beef into chunks as it browns. Add mushrooms and continue to cook uncovered until juices are evaporated. Add olives and pepperoni; cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. Add pasta sauce and red pepper flakes; simmer on low about 10 minutes. Server over cooked zoodles.

*Note: Add or use your own personal favorite pizza toppings such as peppers, sausage, etc.

        

2 comments:

Darlene said...

I made a similar dish this week, with the addition of some Italian sausage that was cooked in the slow cooker. I just love using zucchini this way, and it's such a good meal for the hot days we've had this past week! Enjoy the weekend~

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Darlene,

I bet it was delicious with Italian sausage cooked in your slow cooker!!! You are right, it really is nice to enjoy this kind of meal for these hot days. It has been so nasty and humid too. Have you been getting all the crazy storms as well? :-)