Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie comes from another one of my favorite cookbooks Family Dinners. It's one of those cookbooks that I can read over & over again. It has great crowd pleaser recipes and they are generally healthful - perhaps you are trying to do the New Year, New You program like my family. It's a great variation on the weekly spaghetti dinner & served with a green salad & crusty bread it's a perfect meal.

The sauce on this pie is a little tangier than the usual jarred spaghetti sauce. I love it because it tastes fresh & a little peppier than Prego. I also love how the egg & Parmesan cheese mixed with the spaghetti gives it structure so it is really like a "crust". Patrick & Will love the layer of ricotta cheese.

My favorite thing about this recipe is that everyone likes it. In my family that means everyone is eating the same food at the same time. Will uses his fork and every once in a while says, "Mmmm", Patrick gets up himself to get 2nds and then 3rds, Audrey eats virtually anything but seems to really enjoy this pie, and Mommy smiles to herself that everyone if simultaneously happy & hopes it will last a long while...at least until dessert.

6 oz whole wheat spaghetti, cooked & drained

2T butter

1/3 c Parmesan cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c onion, chopped

1/4 c green pepper, chopped

s & p

1 can (8oz) tomato sauce

1 can (6oz) tomato paste

1T sugar

2t Italian seasoning

1/2t garlic salt

1 c ricotta cheese

1/2 c grated mozzarella cheese



Heat oven to 350F. Return cooked & drained spaghetti to cooking pot. Put butter on hot spaghetti. Add Parmesan cheese & eggs. Mix well. transfer to 10" pie plate. In a large skillet, cook onion & green pepper. Lightly season with s & p. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, Italian seasoning, & garlic salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Spread ricotta on spaghetti crust. Put tomato mixture over ricotta cheese. Bake uncovered 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Kristin