Baked Spaghetti

To save time and money, I usually create meal plans for our family to follow.  I prefer to do two weeks of meals at a time.  The less I go to the grocery store, the better.

Spaghetti is one of those meals we eat weekly or biweekly. Sometimes, it can get boring.  So, I thought I'd try something different.  After looking at several different recipes, I got an idea of what I wanted to throw together.  A lot of the times, I won't follow a recipe.  I like to "do my own thing" in the kitchen and see what I can create.  

First, I browned a pound of lean ground turkey with one diced onion and some seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, dried basil and oregano. Next, I added a large jar of spaghetti sauce to the meat.  I turned the heat to low and let the sauce simmer.

Meat & Sauce Mixture

While the sauce was simmering, I boiled 16 ounces of angel hair spaghetti noodles according to the package.  Also, I prepared the cheese mixture during this time.  In my Ninja, I blended about 16 ounces of cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and one egg.  After I blended this, I added about one cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and some more oregano.  It reminded me of the filling you use when making lasagna.  Instead of ricotta cheese, I just used cottage cheese that I put in the food processor. 

Cottage Cheese Mixture

I covered the bottom of a large casserole dish with about half of the meat and sauce mixture.

Then I added a little more than half of the cooked noodles.

There ended up being too many noodles.  Not to worry, I just put the leftover noodles in a bowl and added butter, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano.  My toddler will love those leftover noodles for lunch!

Leftover Pasta Bowl

 

Okay, so back to the noodles in the casserole dish.  Once I put the noodles on top of the sauce, I covered them with the cottage cheese mixture.  

Then I poured the remaining meat and sauce over the cottage cheese.  Lastly, I sprinkled some mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar cheese on top.

 

I baked this uncovered at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.  The final result was this casserole dish full of yummy, cheesy goodness that my family enjoyed!  

Baked Spaghetti