Loralei's Spaghetti Pie

Since my friend told me she could make spaghetti, I thought that my “Spaghetti Pie” would be a good choice for my first recipe. Leftovers heat up nicely in the microwave.

Loralei’s Spaghetti Pie

8 oz. spaghetti (I use angel hair.)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 well beaten eggs
24 oz. container of cottage cheese (I prefer small curd.)
1 lb. ground turkey (I suppose you could use ground mammal meat.)
2 Tablespoons minced onion
3/8 teaspoon salt
dash of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning (this is a pre-mixed blend of dried herbs)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
6 oz. can tomato paste
8 oz. can tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese (for top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook spaghetti according to directions on box. Drain. In a medium sized bowl, combine beaten eggs, hot spaghetti, butter, and parmesan cheese. Toss so that the spaghetti is coated. Place in a greased casserole dish, and press pasta down slightly.

Place ground turkey and onion in a medium skillet. Cook turkey over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces, until no pink remains. (Drain if needed.)

Add salt, pepper, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, tomato paste, and tomato sauce to the turkey and onion. Simmer until sauce is hot. Set aside.

Spread cottage cheese over noodle layer.






Top with sauce.





Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella cheese.



Return to oven and bake until hot and bubbly and cheese is melted, approximately 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes.

My Tips
If possible, open both ends of the tomato paste can. That way, you can remove the top lid and push the bottom lid up, which will push the paste out of the can—and you don’t have to scrape out that narrow little can!

Rinse out the tomato sauce can with a little water and dump it in with the rest of the sauce.

When adding herbs, spices, or salt it’s always easier to add more than to correct too much. If YOU are going to eat it, season it to YOUR taste.

If you make the sauce without the turkey (keep the onion) and add 8 oz. of water (or one tomato sauce can full), it makes a pretty good homemade pizza sauce. It will cover 2-3 pizzas.