Friday, December 28, 2018

Baked Spaghetti for Daaaaaays

Some days I dream about what to make for dinner the next week... other weeks fast food each day sound awesome. This week I planned out a week ago already, picked through my recipes and dreamed up what to make. Columbus Day was Monday so I knew I would be home with the kids and I could prep a bunch of meals for the week and not have to work so hard to actually cook. One of those meals was Baked Spaghetti. There was the possibility of company for dinner (which didn't actually happen), so when the baked spaghetti turned out huge - I was not sad.
This recipe was easier than my baked spaghetti, but since Andy ate 4 (maybe 5) servings and Nicholas ate 3, this one will be going in my list of things to make more often.
I like that you can pick your own sausage, your own sauce, heck you can pick your noodle shape! It's great to make ahead, but warning - the cook time will be SOOOO long when you start it out cold. We gave up and just ate around the edges, but since you are cooking everything ahead - it was fine.
I'll be honest, I used some extra garlic powder in the sauce and the noodles, a little onion powder, some parsley, some basil. So yes, a little tweak here and there - but it was delicious. I even have some for lunch today. YES... yum. How early can I have lunch?
This would be fine frozen as a freezer meal or baked up for a big giant get together. Oooh... a potluck dish - this would be perfect for!! Oh the possibilities.

Baked Spaghetti
INGREDIENTS:
1 (16-oz) package spaghetti
1 lb Italian sausage
1 (26-oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
5 Tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs
2 cups cottage cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.
While spaghetti cooks, cook Italian sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce. Check seasoning. Add salt and/or pepper to taste. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, parmesan cheese and melted butter. Add cooked spaghetti and toss to coat.
Place half of spaghetti mixture in bottom of baking pan. Top with half of cottage cheese, half of meat sauce and half of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers.
Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

No comments:

Post a Comment

01 09 10