Tuesday, May 8, 2012

yummy dinner

I can't believe I haven't shared this recipe yet! It's a favorite in our house. It's called Scooter's Spaghetti and it's easy and delicious. I love to do all of the prep work ahead of time and then just throw it in the oven at dinnertime. I also make mine with whole wheat spaghetti and my own homemade spaghetti sauce filled with veggies and spinach to make it even healthier. I have made it with ground beef or ground chicken and both were equally good. And we only add on the fried onions if we feel like being naughty. Easy peasy!




Ingredients 
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1/3 cup chopped onions
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
French Fried Onions (small can)

Directions 
1. Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
2. Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
3. Combine onions, peppers and butter in small glass bowl. Cover and microwave 4 minutes on HIGH until soft.
4. Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well. (If cream cheese is not soft, nuke it for 20-30 seconds to make it easy to spread.)
5. Using a 10 x 6 dish, assemble in the following order:
6. Thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish.
7. Spaghetti
8. Cream cheese/vegetable mixture
9. Spaghetti sauce
10. Parmesan Cheese (amount subject to your own taste)
11. French Fried Onions (added during last 5 minutes of cooking)
12. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with French Fried onion and continue baking 5 more minutes. (This is the secret ingredient–don’t let them burn.)

Notes
Make this ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze without the French Fried onions. Don’t forget to add them 5 minutes before casserole is finished cooking.

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