Gracie Hassa House!

And Lisee is blogging twice in one week! Mark your calendars, kids. ;)

So since I live allllll the way on the other side of the country from my lil Gracie, I can't attend her house warming party. *sniff* Actually, a lot of Gracie's blogging friends don't live near enough to go make a personal visit, so she came up with a perfect idea - a virtual house warming party! Everyone is invited to go check out her new digs and everyone is bringing a dish. Now that's my kinda party. :D

As soon as I read her invitation, I knew exactly what I was bringing. I have made this dish several times now and I can tell you with 100% honesty, if you see that I've made it you better get yourself some ASAP because I have a HUGE problem with sharing this stuff. I made it for my birthday party last week and I begrudgingly allowed my guests to take small slices home. And then I finished the leftovers (little more than 1/4 pan) THE NEXT DAY. I shite you not. *slurp*

and *burp* ('scuse me)

What dish am I talking about? Baked Spaghetti people!

I found this recipe on Recipezaar and chose it because there was cream of mushroom soup in it. *gasp!* I know you are saying, "Cream of mushroom soup??? WTF??" Well, I've made many baked spaghetti dinners in the past, including a recipe that came from the mother of my babies (I wish), The Queen of Butter Guzzlin', Paula Deen. And her version doesn't come close to this. Forgive me, Paula!!

Well here.. look:

Didn't I tell you?? Can you see the layers? Can you see the ooey gooey cheese? Can you JUST IMAGINE this with a garden salad and a nice garlic roll? I've left napkins on the table to your left - I'll wait while you mop up that drool runnin' down your chins. Helene honey? Take 2. =)

Super easy to put together, it makes a lot and it's as delish the next day (if not better) than the night you serve it. It's the perfect potluck dish and I can not recommend it highly enough. Try to look past the mushroom soup if it squicks you or makes your blood pressure soar with the amount of sodium in it.. buy the fat free/low sodium kind if you must, but don't leave it out.

Below is the recipe with my changes. If you'd like to make it as it's written on Recipezaar, go here.

Baked Spaghetti

Serves 10
(9 people served themselves some big portions and some went back for seconds and I still had a little more than 1/4 of a 9" x 13" left over.)

1/2 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped green peppers
1 TBS. olive oil
2 to 3 c. of your favorite marinara sauce
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom slices
1 (2 oz.) can sliced ripe olives
2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 lb. ground beef, brown and drain
1 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente (You'll be baking it too, so don't boil for too long) and drained
1 wedge (1/2 lb.?) of Fontina cheese, sliced (Italian Fontina, it's semi-soft and melts perfectly.)
Or any other good melting cheese - mozzarella would certainly be just as good.
1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup (using fat free or low sodium would be fine)
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. grated Pecorino Romano or Asiago

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In a large skillet, saute the onion and green pepper in olive oil until soft, then add the ground beef and cook until browned. Add mushrooms, olives, oregano and enough marinara to coat it all. You want it saucy, but not swimming in marinara.

Simmer for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine 1 - 1/2 c. of marinara with the al dente spaghetti - again, you want enough sauce to coat it, but not so much that the spaghetti is swimming in it.

Place half of the sauced spaghetti in a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan (I use Mazola cooking spray). Top with half the meatsauce. Layer half of the sliced Fontina over the meatsauce. Repeat layers.

Mix soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Romano cheese.

Bake, covered, at 350º F for 25-30 minutes, until heated through, remove foil and bake another 5 minutes, or until top has started to turn goldeny brown and delicious.

My Notes: Depending on what kind of marinara you use, you might have to season the meatsauce with salt and pepper. I don't need to season with mine so I didn't add S&P to the recipe. I like to serve with a bowl of extra sauce so everyone can spoon extra over the top if they'd like.

Okay, well I'm off to the party! I'll be the one standing over her dish doling out very thin slices. :P

What will YOU be bringing?

Congrats Gracie! Love you!

xoxo