Spaghetti Pie

I seem to have quite the streak of main dishes going here. Don't worry. I've still been doing my fair share of baking :-)

The ingredients in this recipe remind of of a mix between spaghetti and lasagna. The noodles are cooked on the stove and then mixed with a little butter, Parmesan cheese, and an egg to form a "crust" on the bottom of the pie. This is actually the second time we've tried to make a spaghetti pie. The first time (with a different recipe) the spaghetti-crust didn't hold together at all. It ended up more like a baked spaghetti dish. I'm not quite sure what was different this time around because the idea of this recipe was the same, but it worked out a lot better for us.

One thing that I did like about the other recipe was the use of turkey sausage rather than ground beef. The sausage just gives the dish a little more flavor, and I would swap it in for the ground beef next time. Overall, we really enjoyed this spin on spaghetti, and it's definitely something we will make again.

(Printable Recipe)

Spaghetti Pie
Adapted from www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients: 
6 oz. whole wheat spaghetti 
2 Tbsp. butter 
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 lb. lean ground beef (or 1 lb. ground turkey sausage)
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper, any color
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 c. fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. Stir in margarine, Parmesan cheese, and eggs while spaghetti is hot. Press spaghetti mixture into a greased 10-inch pie plate to form a crust.

In a skillet, cook the beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Drain any fat and stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and oregano. Heat through. 

Spread the cottage cheese over the spaghetti crust then pour in the beef and tomato mixture. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 minutes longer, until the cheese melts.

Servings: 6 per original recipe