Baked Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients

• About 1 lb lean ground beef
• Italian seasonings, to taste (I use black pepper, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder)
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I tend to go with tomato basil or sweet basil from Barilla or Newman's Own)
• Cream cheese (I use anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 a block)
• Thin Spaghetti Noodles (I almost always use whole grain, and I typically use about 4 servings worth, though this is a guess... because really I just throw some in and hope for the best.)
• Shredded cheese (whatever kind you want... I almost always end up using a Mexican blend because it's what I have in the fridge)
• Parmesan cheese topping

Maybe you're noticing a trend? I don't actually measure any of this stuff. I invented this recipe as a way to use up some leftover spaghetti noodles and sauce, and the hubby liked it so much that I have been making this *instead of* spaghetti for quite a while now. So... bear with me on the measurements. 

I don't think you can really mess it up, so don't worry and just go with it.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Throw the ground beef in a pan, season it to your preferences, and cook it until it's good and brown.
3. Go ahead and start heating the water to cook the noodles. I follow the instructions on the box, but typically add a tiny bit of salt and olive oil to the water. Drain the noodles when they are done cooking and set them aside for later. (While this is listed as "step 2," I always just sort of make the noodles while working on the sauce, so really it's not a linear step.)
4. Once the meat is cooked, dump the jar of spaghetti sauce over it and heat it all up (I wouldn't turn the stove over medium heat once you add the spaghetti sauce unless you want to boil the sauce and end up with red stuff on your ceiling... ask me how I know.)
5. Add the cream cheese. (I started with about 2 TBS, and have increased it. Hubby likes it with more, so now we do more.) Stir it up and continue to cook until the cream cheese is completely blended into the sauce.
6. Dump your cooked-and-drained noodles into the sauce pot and mix it up until it seems pretty uniform.
7. Dump the mixture into a casserole dish and spread it out evening, smoothing the top a bit (I just use an 9x9 baking dish, but you can use whatever you want). 
8. Sprinkle shredded cheese, Parmesan cheese topping, and black pepper over the top.
9. Put the casserole in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese starts to brown on top.

Creates anywhere from 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are. I like to serve it with garlic bread and eat a couple of nights in a row.