Pizza-Pasta Bake

I was on my way home from work the other day, and realized my husband was gone for work and we had nothing prepared for dinner.  We generally keep our meat in the freezer so we didn't really have anything to make quickly.  I began brainstorming and remembered we had some pepperoni and always have most types of shredded cheese stocked in the freezer.  I checked when I got home and we also had pizza and pasta tomato sauces, but nothing to make a quick pizza on.  So I made up my own dish and made my pizza on pasta!  (I'm sure it's nothing new, but it was to me, and I didn't use a recipe - so this is my creation!)  I am going to put a combination of what I used and what I would recommend since I was using what was available in the freezer/pantry, but you could get larger amounts at the store.

Gretchen's Pizza-Pasta Bake 
Serves 8

1 pkg penne pasta (I used organic brown rice pasta - gluten-free!!)
2 1/2 c. tomato sauce (pizza or pasta sauce, I used a little of both)
2 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella (or other Italian) cheese (mine was a blend of provolone and mozzarella, and I also added some grated parmesan on top)
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Italian seasoning (could substitute oregano and/or basil, but I recommend getting some Italian seasoning anyway if you don't have it already - I use it on everything!)
1/4 tbsp crushed red peppers flakes (optional, adds spice)

1.  Cook pasta al dente, according to package directions.
2.  Toss the drained pasta with the garlic, seasoning, and pepper.
3.  In a 9"x13" casserole dish (prepped with nonstick spray), layer 1/2 of the pasta mixture.  Then layer 1/2 of the sauce, followed by 1/2 of the cheese.  Create an entire layer of pepperoni (so they cover most of the cheese without overlapping) on top.  Repeat all four layers with the remaining ingredients.
4.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Step 3

Step 2

Step 4