Baked Spaghetti

 Ingredients:

2 hot italian sausage, casings removed

2 mild italian sausage, casings removed

1/4 pound ground beef

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, diced

1 package of thin spaghetti

1 (28 oz) can of tomato sauce

8 oz of crushed tomatoes

1 TBSP tomato paste

1/4 cup olive oil, plus 2 TBSP

1/4 cup parsley

4 oz cottage cheese

4 oz cream cheese

2 cups mozzarella, 1 for mixing in, one for the topping

1 cup parmesan, 1/2 cup for mixing in, 1/2 cup for topping

Optional: Pepperoni's for topping!

Seasonings:

garlic powder

red pepper flakes

italian seasoning blend

salt

pepper

Directions:

1. Boil spaghetti according package directions

2. Add about 2 TBSP olive oil to the pan. Add onions and cook until translucent. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper.

3. Add sausage and meat, season some more with a little bit of everything. Break up meat and cook down until brown. 

4. Add tomato paste and garlic. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

5. Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, remaining olive oil, more seasoning. Simmer for about 10 minutes or even more if you have time. 

6. Spray a large cake pan or a deep casserole dish with cooking spray. 

7. After you drain the pasta, toss in 1/2 of your parsley, cream cheese, cottage cheese, mozzarella and parmesan. Add 2-3 ladles of sauce and combine. Mix all together using a pasta spoon and another spoon.  Make sure to get the cheese melted and mixed through and the pasta starts absorbing the sauce. Add in a little more sauce until you have about 3 ladles left of the sauce. You want to reserve some for topping. 

8. Smash all of the spaghetti in the dish. Use the back of the spoon to push it down. 

9. Top with a little more sauce, remaining mozzarella and then pepperoni (if you are using)

Sprinkle with a little more italian seasoning. 

10. Put in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

11. Garnish with parmesan and parsley.  

Enjoy!

Today this was definitely enjoyed with a nice Red Wine:

Ferrari-Carano

Siena

2013

Sonoma, CA