Last night I worked. I HATE my job. It’s mundane, drains EVERY last brain cell I have and is sooooooo repetitive. The cool thing about it is – CLOTHES. I work at a women’s clothing store in the mall. However, now the only good thing about my job is becoming bad too – ie: I have no money for clothing.
Anyway, b/c I am working a lot this week Colin requested I tackle the baked spaghetti casserole dish I make basically b/c it yields more leftovers than anything else I make 
So here we go…..
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dry spaghetti pasta (2 handfulls)
- 1lb ground beef (or protein of choice)
- 1/2 red pepper – chopped
- 1/2 green pepper – chopped
- 1/2 red onion – chopped
- 1 clove of garlic (minced)
- 2 cans of whatever tomato sauce you want
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup of butter (softened)
- pinch of basil oregano, parsley and thyme
- salt & pepper to taste
- one container of ricotta cheese (we didn’t have any so we substituted cottage cheese)
- 2 or more cups shredded mozzarella
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| demonstrating a “handfull” you need 2 of these |
Chop all the veggies (peppers, onion) and sauté them in a bit of olive oil.
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| I love this man….always posing soooo nicely in the name of the blog |
The onions were sooooooo fresh they were literally burning all of our eyes. This is how I had to stir them – no joke 
Sauté ground beef until brown and DRAIN! then mix the veg and beef into a large pot and add the herbs and spices (garlic, basil, thyme, oregano, parsley) while on low heat.
Meanwhile you mix the 2 eggs, 1/3 cup or parm and butter together and then mix in /w the pasta until evenly coated.
Pour the sauce into the pot /w the MEAT and veggies NOT the noodles….and heat on low stirring until everything is mixed. Add S&P to taste!
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| (that’s Colin’s hand NOT mine…I just wanted to tell you incase you thought I all of a sudden got man hands and hairy arms) |
Ok now the fun part!!! take a greased 9X13 baking dish (I don’t grease ours I just pour a bit of sauce on the bottom) and then LAYER all the ingredients like a lasagna!!!!
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| little L of course had to be involved! he just kept yelling “CHEESE” – and can you believe HE actually ran to get his step stool from the bathroom! the little dude just loves the kitchen |
OH MY GOODNESS….girl, that looks incredible and I know billy would love me forever if I made that for him! Bummer about your job! Are you on the look-out for anything else? Come work with me and we could be the best of friends!
@The Hungry Runner Girl
I wish
I think I would like living in the mountains AND teaching. I am on the look out for something else…and I still want to go back to school so I can get a better job! Life with a child is different though….so we'll see 
Okay, this is something I could and really would actually use! Thank you!!! I'm always looking for big casserole like dishes that can last for a while, because J eats like 5 meals a day! (I have to cook like we have a family of 5!!! I don't know what I'll do once we actually start having kids… we'll have to do things military style around here; big pots of beans and potatoes or something!)
And I love spaghetti! I think Italian food is my weakness… pizza, pasta… mmmmm….
And I cry every time I cut onions… even the little baby green ones. I keep thinking there has to be a better way…
That looks INCREDIBLE! That's a lot from me because normally when people post meals, I'm like "Ugh, well if that's what they like, more power to them" lol
@Kara
I think it looks good too. I am not a healthy eater…that's why I run! I like eating comfort foods and this is one of those meals!
than you Kara
@Jessica @ rerunrunning Let me know if you DO make it for him….and how long it lasts! lol I have to run to work so I'm gonna have some right now!!!
YUM! This sounds amazing right now! Love the pics haha
I have an onion trick!! And it mostly works! If you place a candle between you and the offending onions, the onion scent seems to either be burned off or absorbed or something. Either way, no crying eyes!
Mm that looks so good! i love baked spaghetti, I will have to try this recipe thanks for sharing. I hate when the onions make my eyes water.
I"m trying this one for sure! I wish I got some innate cooking smarts like you!
This looks awesome! I told my husband about it and am now going to make it for dinner. Thanks for the dinner idea! By the way, I love that you demonstrate what a hand full of pasta looks like.
Totally made me smile.
@MindyG That sounds like you may be onto something….next recipe I use fresh onions /w be prepared for a HUGE candle in the picture btwn me and the onion
thanks!
@pthomas hahaha your comment made me laugh, I guess that was kinda redundant
lol but people have different ideas about what a handful looks like. so better to be safe 
Let me know if it turned out and if the hubby liked it.
This looks delicious! What a great idea!
Just found this recipe and looks amazing! Can't wait to try it
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