Monday, March 7, 2011

a new spin on a classic

Does your family love spaghetti and meat sauce, but get tired of it?  Do you get tired of making it the same way everytime?  I threw my crew for a loop the other night when I changed up our regular spaghetti recipe.  Here is what I used and how I did it:


1 lbs ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
olive oil for sauteing
1 jar of pasta sauce
4 oz cream cheese
1 lb pasta of your choice, I used spaghetti
6 oz Monterrey jack/cheddar cheese for topping

Saute veggies first, set aside.  Brown beef, drain and add the veggies into the beef.  Pour in the pasta sauce and then throw in the cubed cream cheese.  Stir until the cream cheese is fully melted.  Let the beef mixture hang out and mesh while boiling the pasta.  Drain and place into the beef mixture.  Pour into a baking dish and top with cheese.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

I took these pictures with my iPhone and used instagram to edit them.  It is a fun iPhone app that lets you play with the look of your pictures.  It's fun!


One of my favorite smells ever...veggies sauteing in the skillet!


I edited this picture so the sauce looks more red. The white is the cubed cream cheese before it melted.



I added the pasta, stired it up and put it into a baking dish.


Then I topped it with cheese. 



The kids loved slurping the spaghetti noodles.  And see that bread stick on Hayden's plate.  All I had in the house was canned biscuits, so I rolled them long and baked them up.  They tasted just like garlic bread sticks.


How is that for a different way to make spaghetti and meat sauce?  I love cooking up new and different things!  We get bored with food so easily...I love experimenting.  Usually my Guinea pigs will try it...and they will be brutally honest too if they don't like what I serve.

What have you done to change up boring recipes lately?

10 comments:

Kelli W said...

The cream cheese is an interesting addition. Did it make the mixture creamier? I've made spaghetti pie before, but I really just cooked the spaghetti like I normally do and then put it in a pie plate, added cheese, and baked it:)

Laura@The Oily Cupboard said...

ur such a creative mommy! must try this....(my oldest hates spaghetti) i feel when i bake anything in the oven w/cheese its a new meal haha

Kelli said...

Anything with cream cheese is a yes in my book. This looks wonderful and so easy!!! I think I have everything too to make it which is a plus. Thanks...I always love your recipes.

Unknown said...

I am SO hungry right now and that cream cheese spaghetti deliciousness did not help with that ;)
That looks so good!

Anonymous said...

Looks good!

Traci said...

YUM!!!! Anything that you put cream cheese in is DIVINE!!!

shortmama said...

That looks so good! In fact I think I will make something similar tomorrow night

LeAnna said...

I added a few little pats of cream cheese and a spoon full of bacon grease to our mashed potatoes the other night. I was out of butter AND milk (used almond milk) and no one would have ever known the difference, those potatoes were so darn good.
I like to add a dash of red wine vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar to my pasta sauce, kinda brightens it up a bit. Im so ready to be able to eat lots of cheeeese!

Unknown said...

Looks SO good! I'm going to try it! Thanks for posting! :)

Sally said...

Just made this for dinner tonight and my family devoured it! Woohoo! Veggies and all! Thanks so much for posting and keep the recipes coming. I love trying out new things, especially when they taste so good :)