Lancelot Acres

Baked Spaghetti recipe - w/ pictures

This is one of my favorite dishes.  It's great for feeding a large amount of people and you can make it ahead and freeze it or keep it in the fridge for a day or two before cooking it. 

I usually make one large deep dish baked spaghetti in my large Pampered Chef deep-dish stone, but this time I made one medium size (in a standard cake pan) and a small (in a disposable square pan).

Baked Spaghetti

you will need:

1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground sausage (sage is good...we had our own home-grown to use)

3 cans of spaghetti sauce
2 pounds of shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
1 1/2 pounds of thin spaghetti

optional:
2 green peppers - diced
2 onions - diced
2 cans of mushrooms
(I just used green peppers this time)

*Start your spaghetti water and cook your spaghetti.  Set aside.

*Dice all of your veggies.

*Cook the ground beef, sausage and veggies.  Set aside.

I always drain and spray the meat after it cooks, to get all the excess grease off.  I put the meat mixture back in the skillet I cooked it in (as I need the collander for spaghetti noodles). 

*Now you just have to layer the ingredients in your pan(s). 

I start with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the very bottom...I think it helps keep the food from sticking.

Then add a layer of spaghetti (I used half of the spaghetti as I planned on just two layers in these shallow pans).

Then another layer of sauce.  (I did spread the sauce a bit to cover the spaghetti)

Then a layer of meat (use all of your meat mixture on this one layer). 

Then a layer of cheese.

---oops, no pic of that---

Then the remainder of spaghetti.

Then the remainder of your sauce.  (I always tuck the edges down so that all the spaghetti is covered with sauce...otherwise I get dried spaghetti around the edges after it bakes).

Then top with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and dish is heated through.

I did have two people tell me that they really liked it but would have liked more meat in this dish this time.  I always use the same amount so I'm not sure what was different.  Just feel free to add more meat if you are feeding meat lovers.  LOL

This is always the dish I make when I have company coming over as I can make it a day or so ahead of time and just pop it in the oven when it's time, leaving more time for visiting. 

It's also great as a dish for a new mom...they just have to pop it in the oven :)

I really think it tastes better if you let it sit in the fridge for a day before baking it, the flavors mingle a bit I guess.

Hugs,
Lisa

Baked Spaghetti

{ 12:32, 2008-Apr-28 } { Posted by haflinger }

Lisa great job on the tutorial! It looks so good I will have to try yours..I will put it in my try file..

How are the girls and Lance dad?

Have a blessed day..
Blessings Sister Brenda