Side Orders: Spaghetti casserole makes enough for two dinners

Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti is creamy and makes enough to serve a crowd.
Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti is creamy and makes enough to serve a crowd.

Spaghetti casserole has never been more than than a by-product of any of my spaghetti-and-meatball dinners.

photo Anne Braly

Whenever I have spaghetti on the evening's menu, I usually make enough so I'll have leftover pasta and meat sauce. That way, I can put the pasta in a dish, top it with the leftover sauce, sprinkle on a generous supply of whatever cheese I have the most of - cheddar or Parmesan or both, for instance - then cover it securely and stick it in the freezer. I love doing this because there's nothing nicer than knowing I can pull it out in the morning and have dinner ready in no time when I get home after a busy day.

But, as I said, spaghetti casserole is always a leftover concoction. That is, until I found this recipe on tasteofhome.com and found myself making meat sauce and boiling pasta for spaghetti casserole only.

I'm normally not too wild about casseroles using canned soup, but something about this caught my eye - the addition of cream cheese. After all, wouldn't you agree that cream cheese makes everything a little better, a little richer just a little more perfect?

As it turns out, this is the creamiest spaghetti casserole I've ever had. And the fact that it makes so much, unless you're feeding a crowd, you'll have enough left over for another meal. It freezes beautifully.

Cream cheese is only one of the cheeses you'll find in this casserole. Add cheddar and Parmesan to the mix and you'll have a delicious family meal that's worthy of company. And, if you're in a hurry, you can forgo making the meat sauce and use a jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce, adding some browned ground beef. Or make it without meat.

Three-Cheese Baked Spaghetti

12 ounces spaghetti

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper, optional

1 tablespoon butter

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained, optional

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain and add cream cheese, stirring until cheese is melted and incorporated into pasta. Set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, oregano and ground beef. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Place half the spaghetti in a greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Layer with half of the meat sauce and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Repeat layers.

In a small bowl, combine soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. Makes 12 servings.

Note: Omit the ground beef for a vegetarian dinner.

PERFORMANCE PROCESSOR

For years, I diced onions and other vegetables the old-fashioned way - by hand, a time-consuming process often made risky by using a sharp knife when in a hurry to get dinner on the table. Then, when some clever person devised the Vidalia onion chopper, life became just a bit easier. But cleaning it is a pain.

Now, Black and Decker has come out with the Performance Dicing Food Processor that dices, slices, mixes and more. Never thought I'd see the day I'd find a food processor that I liked better than my KitchenAid, but I have.

And not only does the Black and Decker dice, it slices, mixes, shreds and chops. The slicer is adjustable, so you're not stuck with a single thickness.

The Performance Dicing Food Processor brings food prep to a new level and, at a price of $149 on amazon.com, it does the work of other much higher-priced processors.

AND FINALLY...

Don't forget that today is the day to dine out in support of the Land Trust for Tennessee's "Eat Green for Tennessee" campaign. Eat lunch or dinner at Alleia, Niedlov's, 1885 Grill, 212 Market, Lupi's Pizza (all locations), Mojo Burrito (all locations), Good Dog, Puckett's or Slicks. Also, in Sewanee, Tenn., you can dine at Crossroads Cafe, Shakerag at Sewanee Inn or Mountain Goat Market. And eat up - the restaurants will donate at least 15 percent of their day's proceeds to the Land Trust.

Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.

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