Italian Style Baked Spaghetti Recipe

Oh hey! I showed up twice this week! Granted, that is my current posting schedule, so I'm doing good. Bonus, this is a food post. Not just any food, like, really really good food. Hubs has been begging me to make this again every day since I made it the first time. It makes A LOT, so it's perfect for large families, a pot luck, or to have leftovers for two days after. It's also a great freezer meal you can put together ahead of time. This is not a low fat or low calorie dish... but it's not terrible if you choose lighter versions of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

+ 1 box of pasta - Spaghetti, rotini, penne, bow tie, whatever floats your boat.

+ 1 lb of Ground Italian Spiced Turkey - You can also use regular turkey/beef and add your own Italian spices.

+ 1 Jar of Spaghetti sauce - I use traditional, but other flavors would work too.

+ 2 tbs olive oil

+ 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese - the shaker stuff works well for this

+ 1 cup Shredded Italian Blend Cheese

+ Seasonings to taste

What you need:

+ Large glass baking/casserole dish - preferably with a lid to store for later

+ Aluminum Foil

+ Non-stick cooking spray

+ Large mixing bowl

+ Skillet

+ Medium/Large Pot

+ Cooking utensils

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Spray your baking dish with some nonstick spray and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on the bottom. This makes a nice little crust and keeps the pasta from sticking to the pan so bad.  

Cook your pasta. While that's going, brown your meat with you chosen seasonings and add about 1/3 of the jar of sauce to the pan to simmer for a few minutes. Once the pasta is done, drain it and pour into a large bowl. Put 2 tbs of olive oil, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup shredded cheese and mix well. Then spread the coated pasta on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle a light layer of shredded cheese then add the meat sauce you just made. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce evenly on top of that. And, of course, another lovely thick layer of cheese. 

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 mins. Remove the foil, and bake for another 5-8 mins until cheese it browned and melted to taste.

Slice and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese, add a slice of garlic bread, and a glass of wine. BOOM! Gourmet dinner! What's great about this dish, is that it's still just as good re-heated the next day.

A nice step up from plain old spaghetti right?