Day: February 14, 2013

Recipes

RECIPE: Spaghetti Pie Casserole

Tara

Spaghetti Pie Casserole (8 servings)

  • 1 package (8 ounces) spaghetti
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces each) shredded cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

  1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and sour cream until blended; stir in green onions. In a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish, layer the spaghetti, cream cheese mixture and meat mixture. Top with shredded cheese.
  3. Bake, covered, at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is bubbly.

Recipe Source: Taste of Home

photo (1)

Personal Review: When my latest issue of Taste of Home came in the mail Nathan went through it and immediately picked out this recipe. I had made another version of spaghetti pie in the past before, but neither one of us really cared for it. But I was up for trying another version.

This one was very easy to throw together. But when you have to layer the cream cheese/sour cream part … well, it doesn’t spread at all on top of the noodles. So it was pretty well just in a big glob in the middle of the casserole. Oh well.

Another issue I experienced was that I didn’t have an entire jar of spaghetti sauce. In an effort to clean out my refrigerator, I used what I had on hand – and unfortunately it wasn’t enough for the recipe to really live up to its potential. The overall result was a little bit of blandness.

I think the next time I make this I will use my usual way of making spaghetti (I buy the Kraft Spaghetti Classics box and add some fresh garlic and red pepper flakes) and use it instead of just spaghetti sauce. I think that will give this more of the flavor we were looking for in the recipe.

Served with garlic bread and a caesar salad (or regular if that suits your tastes better) and this is a great meal.

Weekend Cooking