Just the two of us

I LOOVVVEEE to cook! I am always looking for new recipes to try. I love to open a cookbook, find a recipe and go for it. Most things turn our great, but there have been a few that the hubby says to put on the "please don't cook this again" list. I also enjoy receiving new recipes and sharing my favorites with others.
So, following the lead of Shannon from Rocks In My Dryer, I've decided to start a new weekly feature. It's called "On the menu Monday" It will feature my families favorite recipes. I would love for all of you to play along. It will be a great way for all of us to build our recipe collection. If you want to join me each Monday, just let me know and I will link to you within my post. It doesn't have to be an original recipe. It can be your favorite recipe from your Betty Crocker cookbook, just make sure that you give Betty credit for it! If you have a story that goes along with your recipe, please share that also!! Bon Appétit!

This is one of my families favorites. It makes a lot (well at least for my little family of 3) and it can be made several days in advance and put in the fridge until ready to bake. It is a Taste of Homes recipe, but I made several changes.

Baked Spaghetti

1 lb of lean ground beef
12 oz of spaghetti or macaroni noodles
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 T butter
2 14.5 oz cans of Italian diced tomatoes
1 container of fresh sliced mushrooms, rinsed and drain
1 3.8 oz can of sliced black olives
2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
¼ c water
¼ c parmesan cheese

Brown the ground beef. Drain and set aside.
Cook the spaghetti, drain, and set aside (see pasta cooking tips at the bottom)
In a large skillet, sauté onion, green pepper, and mushrooms in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, olives and cooked ground beef. Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Place half of the spaghetti in a greased 9x13 glass dish. Top with half of the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Repeat layers (pasta,veggies/cheese). Mix the soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
10 servings, 419 calories per serving (save 50 calories per serving by using low fat cheese and low fat soup)

Pasta Cooking Tips:
· Since this pasta is going to be boiled and baked, you don't boil it until it's tender. Boil until flexible but still quite firm about the recommended cooking time. Otherwise, it will be gummy by the time it's boiled and baked.
· Do not add oil to your pasta to keep it from sticking. This actually coats the pasta and keeps the sauce from adhering to it.
· Do NOT rinse pasta unless the recipe says to do so (cold salads, etc). The starch that makes the pasta stick to itself also helps the sauce stick to the pasta.
· Don’t overdrain your pasta! Pasta needs to be moist to combine well. Unless you are adding sauce immediately, always leave a little bit of water to help keep the pasta from sticking.

If the kids don’t like the veggies in this recipe, you can puree them all together after you have sautéed them. Then add them to the tomatoes and puree again until you just have a liquid sauce. They will never know they were in there. It doesn’t look as good but it tastes the same.