Spaghetti Casserole

What family doesn't love spaghetti?!  I'm sure there are a few out there, but my family is not one of them.  However, my husband is just now starting to like pasta and anything Italian so I figure that I need to try new recipes and ways of doing typical dishes so that he will love them too.  Let's face it; if he isn't happy then I'm not happy.  And then EVERYONE is unhappy.  And there is nothing happy about that.

I have tried baked spaghetti dishes in the past, and I have not been a huge fan.  This one intrigued me, though.  I have never seen a dish like this with its layer of cream cheese and french fried onions on the top.  While I am not a huge cream cheese fan, just about everyone else that lives here is a fan.  Well, except for Wil the Picky Eater.  He's truly only a fan of chicken, fries, pizza, and cheeseburgers.  Anyway, cream cheese and I have a love/hate relationship.  While I do not mind it cooked in things and I LOVE cheesecake, it is not my personal favorite.  But in my house majority rules and it was 3 to 2 on the cream cheese deal, so in it goes.  Plus we all know my rule about following the directions the first time and adjusting it from there.  I do think that I will keep it when I make this dish in the future because it would definitely be lacking in something without it.  Here is the link for Spaghetti Casserole.

The VERDICT:  Another winner in my house!!  We will keep this recipe in our rotation.  I could not get the Picky Eater to try this one, but 4 out of 4 others (one of my husband's friends came by) loved it.  I served it with salad, and I forgot to take pictures of the process.  But this dish was super easy and super fast, so a great choice for a busy weeknight.  Plus you could make it ahead of time and then put it in the oven.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 large can spaghetti sauce (26.5 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup chopped green peppers (I usually omit or substitute red peppers)
• ⅓ cup chopped onions
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
• French-fried onions (small can)

Instructions

1. Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain and set aside.
2. Brown ground beef. Drain excess grease. Add spaghetti sauce to skillet and heat.
3. Combine onions, peppers and butter in small glass bowl. Cover and microwave 4 minutes on HIGH until soft.
4. Add cream cheese and milk to vegetables and stir well. (If cream cheese is not soft, nuke it for 20-30 seconds to make it easy to spread.)
5. Using a 12 x 8-inch baking dish (or something close), assemble in the following order: thin layer of spaghetti sauce, cooked spaghetti, cream cheese/vegetable mixture, remaining spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese (amount subject to your own taste)
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Top with french-fried onions and continue baking 5 more minutes. (This is the secret ingredient–don’t let them burn.)