Easy As Pie

Last week I had some left over spaghetti thawing in the fridge and some macaroni noodles just sitting there waiting for inspiration. I knew I could come up with something more interesting than just another spaghetti dinner, so I checked my cookbooks and looked online and found a recipe that sounded really easy and truly yummy! It's Spaghetti Pie!!

This meal turned out a lot better than I expected. Its perfect for this time of year as well; its a warm and hearty meal that pretty much everyone in the family should love.
Here is the recipe- I tweaked what I found online - hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) package spaghetti (I used macaroni noodles- use whatever you have)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons butter (depends on you)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (more if you want to sprinkle it on top)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 pound lean ground beef (I used lean ground turkey)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 oz of cream cheese
• 2 tbsp of ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375○ 

Brown your meat or meat substitute.

Add spice. Chop onion and garlic -add to meat. Pour in spaghetti sauce, let simmer for 10 minutes while the water boils for the noodles.

Then in a large bowl, mix cooked noodles, butter, egg and Parmesan cheese, incorporate well and press into a large dish or 10 inch buttered pie pan. You're making a sort of "crust" or base for the pie (I don't have a pie dish that large- so use what you've got, it still turns out well either way).

Spread ricotta and cream cheese over the noodles.

Then top with the meat sauce and then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese -and more Parmesan if you like! Bake for around 20 minutes or until the top is brown.

What is so great about this dish is its just as good reheated for another meal!