Well nobody said this was going to be easy. Week 2 started off with a bang last night. This is a picture of our lovely dinner. Ali's Spaghetti Casserole.
Looks beautiful right? Well this picture was taken exactly 2 minutes before our dinner went SPLAT all over our kitchen floor. Lovely. I am not going to lie. I threw a pretty big fit after that. At that moment, I could not imagine a worse feeling than cooking a beautiful meal for your family only to have it destroyed as soon as you take it out of the oven. Similar to the turkey scene in "A Christmas Story" only I didn't pack everyone up and take us out to eat.... No I called 5 second rule and scooped spaghetti directly off the kitchen floor onto our dinner plates. Don't judge me. You weren't there.
We all tried to put that incident behind us and enjoy our meal because this really is one of my family's favorite dishes. It came from my friend Ali Mayes. She and her husband brought this to us after Amelia was born. It was so delicious that we have been eating it almost once a week for the last 4 1/2 years. In fact, if you have had a baby and I have brought you dinner, you have probably enjoyed this spaghetti casserole yourself! I almost hate to pass on the recipe because now I will have to come up with a new "you just had a baby so here is a home cooked meal" dish. But I can't be selfish. I must pay it forward. Thank you Ali from the bottom of my belly! It is easy, cheesy and so yummy!
Ali's Spaghetti Casserole
1 lb ground beef (I use ground turkey. surprise surprise)
1 can Cambells tomato soup
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 packet of McCormick spaghetti seasoning
1 pkg thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 2cup pkg shredded cheese (I like mexican blend)
Brown meat. Combine other ingredients (except noodles and cheese) and simmer on low, medium for 30 to 45 min. (I never have time for this so I just heat it on medium for as long as it takes the noodles to cook and the oven to preheat)
Cook and drain noodles.
Pour noodles in casserole dish, pour meat sauce on top of noodles. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350º until melted.
I have done that before, but my masterpiece was chicken and dressing. I cried like a baby as I sat and looked at my beautiful, delicious mess all over EVERYTHING!!! My casserole dish broke into tiny pieces so there was no eating off the floor. We went out to eat and then to buy me a new dish. I'm impressed that you were able to collect yourself in such a timely manner and then have the good sense to make your family eat it. It looks delicious. I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeletePS...wonder if it would be just as good if you just put ragu in your meat instead of all that other stuff that just seems like a lot of unnecessary work?
im sure it would be good. I like the flavor that comes from the soup, tomatoes and seasoning. It is kind of sweet and really thick. different from our normal spaghetti that I usually just use bottled spaghetti sauce for. Let me know if you switch it up and it turns out good.
ReplyDeleteOh and don't be impressed. Steve banished me to my room until I could calm down. I joined the rest of the family to eat about 5 min after they started. Glad mine didn't break or there would be no calming me down. I guess my floor is really bouncy.
I'm trying this one tonight, AM! Thanks for the recipe.
ReplyDelete