Hey, hi! Happy Monday after a long, long weekend! Are you feeling refreshed and ready for the week, or tired from all the activity of the last few days? I’m somewhere in the middle, so today’s easy and cozy recipe of cheesy spaghetti is kind of a must. I spent my Thanksgiving back in Cleveland with my mom’s side of the family, along with all of my siblings, three of the brother’s girlfriends, and Merle, the puppy. From my dad’s side, I also saw my Mimi (dad’s mom), some aunts and uncles, and my cousins you hear me speak of often (Maggie, Abby and Matt), two of whom flew in from San Diego. From the minute our plane touched down on Tuesday night, I literally didn’t stop working/cooking/running around until I got back on a plane early Friday morning. It was so nice seeing all of my family, but the trip left me a little on the exhausted side. From grocery shopping late Tuesday night with my dad (honestly do not know what I would do without this guy), to being up early Wednesday for an Interview with my younger brothers, then straight back to my grandparent’s to cook…literally all day long (until about 10:30 pm). I baked some gluten free brownies with my little cousin, Lake (so cute!), then off to a surprise birthday party for my brother, Kai, then up early again to continue cooking on Thanksgiving. I had a quick pause for dinner, then back to the kitchen to clean with my dad and uncle, and finally some warm pie by the fire. Then it was off to bed and up early again to catch a flight out on Friday morning. Again, it was a really great trip, but next time, I’m thinking everyone just needs to come to Colorado for Thanksgiving! My life would be made a million times easier if that was the case. Just saying.
As soon as I got home on Friday, I headed straight for the shower, finished up a few things, made some food, and headed off to bed. Long story short, I’m still a little tired, and feeling like a one-pan pasta is just about all I can handle tonight. Anyone else with me or what? It’s a vegetarian meal, so it fits with meatless Monday, and l mean, it does have a whole jar of tomato sauce, so hey, there’s veggies! Cool. Cool. Dinner solved…one-pan spaghetti pie! Obviously.
Okay, for real though, let’s chat about this pasta. When I was growing up my mom would make what she called spaghetti pie. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the feeling it’s a mid west kind of dish? To be honest, I don’t remember it being my favorite, but I know my mom loved it. She recently brought it back to my attention, and I thought it would be fun to turn it into an easy one pan pasta recipe. For whatever reason I remember mom’s recipe using red sauce, but she informed me…after I had already made this, that her recipe actually does not include red sauce, except to pour over top. Ahh. But why? The red sauce, to me, is what makes this pasta. So even though mom’s recipe may not call for red sauce, mine does, and I love it that way. Here’s the basic run down. Simmer a little olive oil with garlic and herbs, add your red sauce, a little water, and your spaghetti. Boil until the spaghetti is just al dente. It’s important that the pasta still have a good bite to it because it will continue cooking in the oven. Next add ricotta, top with mozzarella, and bake. Then just add fresh herbs and eat, eat, EAT. Simple. Easy. Quick. SO GOOD. If you wanted to add something a little green to this, I’d recommend stirring in a few handfuls of fresh baby spinach or a couple of cups of chopped broccoli. I personally think either would be delicious, but one of my goals with this recipe was to make it one my brothers would actually eat, meaning no “weird” green stuff.
To sum things up, this recipe is great for a night when you need a delicious meal, but don’t feel like spending hours cooking. And yes, I will be making this tonight. One, because pasta on Monday is always the right thing. Two, because I just need a cozy meal tonight. Three, because I have all the ingredients on hand. And four, because it’s ready in under an hour and I’m going to reserve the free time I will now have for decorating my Christmas tree…
Watch the How-To Video:
Monday night has never been so exciting.
