Spaghetti, an argued dilemma at our house. How can spaghetti be a dilemma? Well, I come from the family that put the sauce on top of the spaghetti right before serving, as for leftovers, they remained separate, the noodles in one container and the sauce in another. OK, I admit, part of this is my food OCD, but it does pose a problem. On the other side of the house, the preference is to mix the spaghetti noodles and the sauce together. Now, I am all about leftovers and saving money, but here is where I have a problem. When you mix it all together it is terribly dry the next time and just not appealing.

Here is a great way to serve leftover spaghetti regardless of how you serve it the first time! The best part, it truly is a new dish and not the dreaded “leftover.” My inspiration came from a wonderful 1980’s recipe that floated around households like wildfire. I have omitted the traditional ricotta cheese or cottage cheese as we all agree, we do not like that about lasagna or the original Spaghetti Pie recipe, feel free to add that layer if your family prefers it that way.

Spaghetti Pie:  Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• Left over pasta (enough to cover a 8″ square or 8″ pie pan)                                                      
• 1 lb. ground beef
•   1 egg, beaten                                                                                                                                      
• 1 can diced tomatoes
•  1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (either fresh or in the shaker container is fine)                              
• 1 small diced green pepper (optional)
• 1 c. shredded Italian Cheese blend                                                                                                 
• 1 can (15 ounce)tomato sauce                                                                                                                                      
• 1 small garlic clove or 1 tsp. garlic powder    
• 1 small onion diced                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

Directions:

1. Spray pan with non-stick spray, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place pasta ( with or without sauce), egg and Parmesan cheese in large bowl and toss until combined. Press the mixture in the prepared pan to create a crust.

3. Brown ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic until no pink in meat. Drain fat off of ground beef.

4. Add diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce  ( if you have leftover sauce, you may add it to this mixture). Depending on consistency, you may need to add more tomato sauce. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Pour sauce over pasta crust and top with shredded Italian Cheese. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. If you would like the cheese to brown, you can place under broiler for 3 to 5 minutes, watch carefully as it will brown quickly.