For as long as I can remember my mom has been making spaghetti pie. It brings back all kinds of childhood memories. It is one of those comfort foods that just brings warm and fuzzy feelings even if I just think about it.
People I know even request this dish when they come over. My husband has a friend who lives out of state who requests it every time he is in town. He also asks for my pizza grilled cheese, but we will save that one for a later post!
I was recently going through some boxes that were in the garage from when we moved and I hit a goldmine: RECIPES! Particularly some old ones from my Gram. Among them I found the original spaghetti pie recipe that my mom said she hadn’t been able to find for years (Fortunately my mom has basically memorized it so it did not stop her from making it). You could tell it was the original printed copy because it had the old book smell that I love.
I added this to my meal plan for the week, but I was planning on making it low carb by using spaghetti squash since I am supposed to be watching my carbs/sugar this pregnancy. We went shopping today and we could not find a decent looking squash that wasn’t beat up looking so I ended up making it with angel hair spaghetti. I will try it with spaghetti squash in the near future though so keep an eye out for that!
I did not completely follow the original instructions to the letter because I used jarred sauce as a time saver, added some spices and doubled the mozzarella cheese. That is one of the awesome things about spaghetti pie; you can tailor it to your taste.
Make your own sauce, add more veggies, use a different meat or omit it all together, try different cheeses the combinations are endless!
Every family has at least one dish that reminds them of home and brings you comfort when you eat it. What recipe is that in your family? Leave a comment or contact me personally; I would love to give it a try!
Here is the recipe the way I cooked it:
Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
- 6 Oz Spaghetti
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1/3 Cup Grated parmesan
- 2 Eggs Well beaten
- 1 Cup Cottage cheese
- 1 Lb Ground beef
- 8 Oz Favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 Cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.
- Stir butter into hot spaghetti. Stir in Parmesan cheese and eggs. Form spaghetti mixture into a "crust" in a buttered 10-inch pie plate and spread cottage cheese over bottom of spaghetti pie crust.
- In skillet: Cook ground beef until browned. Drain off excess fat. Stir in your favorite pasta sauce.
- Spread meat mixture onto spaghetti crust. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Add extra herbs if desired. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese melts. If desired, turn on the broiler for one to two minutes to brown cheese.
- Let rest for 10 minutes. This helps the casserole set up.
Notes
