Baked Spaghetti

Spaghetti is spaghetti is spaghetti...right? I mean, it's pretty hard to mess up something as simple as spaghetti. I've had my fair share of mishaps, though. My friend Christina lived with me for a couple of months when Russ was overseas. I have no idea what we ate those two months we lived together, but it couldn't have been decent considering the only meal I remember was spaghetti and when I pulled the spoon out, all the noodles came with it. Reminiscing aside, I've learned a little (thank goodness) since that tiny duplex we shared, and now spaghetti is a staple in my house. I think the reason it continues to be so popular is because spaghetti is the only meal that both of my children will eat without complaint. It does not matter which version I make (I like to switch it up occasionally), they still eat it. My regular version just wasn't doing the job of stretching our money like I was desiring to do, so I started making baked spaghetti.

My family has this certain sauce everyone uses. I've never heard anyone say it was a secret so I have no issue giving it out. It's certainly cheaper than Ragu, Prego, or all those sauces, but you have to work with it to get the taste you really want. Plus, it's probably really bad for you, but...well...I don't care. haha It is as follows:

• one can of tomato sauce (14.5 oz)
• a big dollop of ketchup- probably an 1/8 of a cup...maybe?
• dried onion flakes, basil, oregano, thyme, whatever you want to add.

Seriously, that is it. It's pretty good too. If you tend to use more than one pound of meat, I would suggest using one large can of tomato sauce and one small can. Sometimes I do use a ready made sauce, but the homemade is cheaper and everyone just eats it so much better!

Okay, now on to baked spaghetti. We love this meal because it is a 2-nighter. I make this with a salad on the side and occasionally a bread of some sort. We have the exact same thing the next night too and it's enough to feed all of us just fine. It's a LOT of food, so if you have a small family and do not like leftovers, skip this recipe. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!

Baked Spaghetti

• 1.5 lb hamburger meat
• one box of spaghetti noodles (1 lb pkg)
• 1 can of Ragu, Prego, or the Baine sauce recipe above

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the noodles and sauce as you normally would for spaghetti. Once the noodles are al-dente, drain and pour back into pan. Mix finished spaghetti meat together with the noodles and spread into a 9 X 13 baking dish. Cover with shredded cheddar cheese and put into the oven for 15 minutes. Serve. Should make 6-8 servings. Serve with salad and bread to pull it to a 2 day meal. (Our salads usually have one chopped bell pepper, one chopped tomato, one or two chopped carrots, and some sort of cheese with very little dressing.)

Happy Cooking! :)