Spaghetti Pie (Better Homes & Gardens)

This is a square spaghetti pie, but please do make it in a pie pan!! I also just used my own recipe for the spaghetti sauce and added spinach once too. Creative idea!

Recipe:

4 oz dried spaghetti

1 T butter or margarine

1 beaten egg

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz ground beef

1/2 chopped onion (1 medium)

1/2 c chopped green sweet pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 tsp dried oregano, crushed

Nonstick cooking spray

1 c low-fat cottage cheese

1/2 c shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.

2. Return spaghetti to warm saucepan. Stir butter into hot pasta until melted. Stir in egg and Parmesan cheese; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, garlic, and fennel seeds until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce and oregano; heat through.

4. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray. Press spaghetti mixture onto bottom and up sides of pie plate, forming a crust. Spread cottage cheese on the top and up the sides of pasta crust. Spread meat mixture over cottage cheese. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. To serve, cute into wedges.

[Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. 12th ed, 2002. 382]

Kitchen Hint: Store tomatoes at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator because they lose their flavor (BH&G, 531)