Not Your Ordinary Spaghetti

Today's dish I'm sharing with you is a spaghetti dish that I make about 2-3 times a month.  I think it's pretty common that most families have a "spaghetti night"  regularly because it is usually a cheap meal and can yield enough leftovers to last another night.  According to my husband, I "can never do anything 'regular'"--and I guess the same goes for our "spaghetti night" dish. haha  I'm just not a big fan of regular old spaghetti.  I found this dish on one of my favorite recipe sites and it's been in my repertoire ever since.  It's really just dressed up spaghetti & meat sauce.  Enjoy!

TURKEY SPAGHETTI PIE

Ingredients:

2 ounces uncooked spaghetti, broken in half 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 3 tablespoons sour cream 1/2 pound ground turkey 1/4 cup chopped green pepper

2 tablespoons chopped onion 1 teaspoon butter or margarine 1/3 cup tomato sauce 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano salt and pepper to taste 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1.	Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. In a bowl, combine the egg, Parmesan cheese and spaghetti. Press spaghetti mixture onto the bottom and up sides of a greased shallow 2-cup baking dish or 7-in. pie plate. Spread with sour cream.
2.	Crumble turkey into a skillet; add the pepper, onion and butter. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato sauce, garlic salt, oregano, salt and pepper. Spoon into spaghetti crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover edges loosely with foil. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Tips & Mods:

- Skip the whole sauce making and just use 2/3 jar of Ragu sauce.  I use the sauteed onion & garlic flavor.

- I also add about a teaspoon of sugar to the the turkey & sauce.  It cuts some of the "sharp" taste that tomato sauce can have.

- Sometimes I add hot pepper flakes for a little kick, if I know that my son won't be eating it--which he usually doesn't. He'd rather have PB & J or hot dog. *sigh*

- I always use whole wheat pasta.  It's like quadruple the fiber and it doesn't taste any different from regular pasta.  Before it's cooked, it looks slightly brown, but once cooked it pretty much takes on the color of regular pasta.

- I use a lot more cheese than is listed.  I use about a cup of parmesan in the pasta, and I COVER the dish in mozzarella.