Easy Peasy-Extra Cheesy Baked Spaghetti

Easy Peasy-Extra Cheesy Baked Spaghetti


 

Adapted from Healthy Baked Spaghetti


Ladies and Gents, my apologies for taking so long to post here. However, your waiting was not in vain, because boy, do I have a winner for you!

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of baked spaghetti...until now. Maybe it's because I remember it always being dry or covered in grease. That's not the case with this recipe! Here it is:

Serves 6--freezes well!

Ingredients:
1/2 lbs ground pork
1/2 lbs extra lean ground turkey (99% fat free)
1 medium/large white onion, chopped
6 oz whole wheat thin spaghetti
2 t olive oil
1 jar of light tomato basil pasta sauce (I used Ragu no sugar added)
1 cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 t italian seasoning
2 t parsley
1-2 t oregano
1/2 t crushed red pepper (optional)
2 t garlic powder
1/2 -1 t black pepper
salt, to taste (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375
1. In a large pot, prepare pasta according to the instructions on the box; drain and return to pot.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add in onion and cooked for 2 minutes, or until almost soft.  Add in both meats, breaking it up until browned/cooked through.

3. Add in all of the seaonsings to the skillet. Mix well, and cook with meat for a few minutes.

4. Pour tomato basil sauce into the pot with the spaghetti. Mix to coat. Turn the heat up to medium, and allow flavors to "get to know one another."

5. Add meat/onion mixture into the pasta pot.  Toss and combine thoroughly.


6. In a large, well greased baking dish (I used 13x9), spoon half of the pasta mixture--making sure you form a fairly even layer. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese on top.

7. Spoon the remaining pasta mixture over the cheese, until completely covered.  Spinkle top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese with the parmesan cheese.

8. Cover the baking dish loosely with aluminum foil. Be careful that it doesn't touch the cheese! You want to keep all of that cheesy goodness on the pasta :) To facilitate this, you can spray the foil with cooking spray, if you wish.

9. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly.  Let the dish stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with a nice salad. Enjoy!

Nutritional Information (calculated on myfitnesspal.com)
**nutritional information may vary based on your ingredients**
Per serving:
Calories: 394
Fat: 18
Carbs: 31
Protein: 28
Fiber: 6


Weight Watcher Information (calculated on weightwatchers.com)
**points may vary based on your ingredients**
Per serving: 10pt+


All pictures are mine, so don't be a thief. After all, no one likes a thief. Also, if you reference this recipe, please attach a link back to my blog! :)