Spaghetti Pie

I HATED spaghetti pie as a child. Recently, for some unknown reason, I had a hankering for spaghetti pie. I could not find a recipe that looked appealing. So, I took bits and pieces of several recipes and made this dish my own.


Spaghetti Pie


Ingredients
1 pound spaghetti
2 eggs
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tbsp minced garlic (more or less depending on personal taste)
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (optional)
1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce (I make my own)
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 package reduced fat cream cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef/sausage. Drain and crumble. Put crumbled meat back in the skillet. Stir in salt, pepper, garlic, bell pepper and pasta sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. In a bowl combine sour cream, cream cheese and set aside. Coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine the eggs, butter, Parmesan cheese, and spaghetti. Form the spaghetti mixture into a "crust" on the bottom of the pan. Spread (layer) the cream cheese mixture over it, add the meat/sauce mixture and sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese.
5. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Side Notes
1. This dish reheats very well.
2. Depending on your personal taste, Cheddar cheese can be substituted for the Mozzarella.
3. If you like your "pie" a little more moist, you can combine the cream cheese/sour cream mixture directly with the pasta.
4. Mushrooms, oregano, thyme, and garlic pepper are all great additions to this recipe.

Enjoy!

Sterling