#172: Pizza Spaghetti Style

I've made, and frozen baked spaghetti's before, so when I stumbled upon this recipe, I figured it would be one my family enjoyed, and wanted to give it a try.  I put this into a 9 in pie pan, and it FILLED the pan!  I probably should have put it in a 8x8 or 9x9 instead!

This was yummy!  Or at least, Brian, Allison and I thought so.  Chloe however, did not eat very much of this.  Who doesn't like spaghetti???  We only ate half of this for dinner tonight so we'll be eating the other half for dinner tomorrow.  I love when that happens, because now another meal gets bumped on our menu and we can extend our number of meals made another day.  No cooking for me until March 3rd now!

1 lb. ground beef (I used 3/4 lb ground turkey)
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped (I omitted)
8 oz. pkg. button mushrooms, sliced OR 2 more bell peppers, chopped  (I omitted)
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 lb. spaghetti pasta, broken into 2" pieces (I used 1/2 lb)
3/4 cup whole milk  (I used 1/2 c skim)
2 eggs, beaten (I used 1 egg)
1 (5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni  (I used 10 slices, chopped and mixed right into the sauce)
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I omitted)
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I used 1 c mozzarella instead)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil for cooking spaghetti. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms in heavy skillet over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring to break up beef. Drain well and add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning; stir well and let simmer while preparing spaghetti.

Next, combine eggs and milk in large bowl and beat until blended. Drain spaghetti and toss with egg and milk mixture. Spread half of spaghetti/egg/milk mixture in a 13x9" glass baking dish. Top with half of sauce and beef mixture. Repeat layers.

To freeze, cool casserole in refrigerator at this point. When cold, wrap well, label, and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until thoroughly heated. Uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts and edges of casserole bubble.

To refrigerate overnight and bake the next day, cover the casserole and chill for 2-24 hours. When ready to eat, bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until hot. Then uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts.

If baking without freezing or refrigerating, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Top with pepperoni, then cheese, return to oven, and bake for 10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Let stand 5 minutes to set, then cut into squares to serve. 10 servings.