January Gone!

I made it through January - whew! I had some fun health issues - woke up one day with my fingers swollen up like sausages! Life can sure throw you some interesting curves. It turned out to be a reaction to something I touched. I am blaming my husband's chlorine-drenched swimming suit and have stated that this is the sign I shouldn't be doing laundry anymore, but all that happened was a box of disposable gloves ended up next to the washing machine. I got a laugh and it is all okay again.

The day I woke up with the problem was a day I was not able to use my hands very much so it was a good thing I had prepared my menu before hand. It was a night I was supposed to fix Spaghetti Pie (which was delicious the next night) but I had planned a whatever/leftover night. The family survived and we enjoyed Spaghetti Pie (recipe courtesy of my friend Cheryl which I tweaked) the next night. This is a pretty easy recipe and money saver.


Spaghetti Pie (courtesy of Cheryl Phipps)
6 oz. vermicelli (cooked, drained, and chopped) - I used thin Healthy Harvest Spaghetti
½ clove garlic, minced
¼ c butter
½ c Parmesan
1 lg. egg, beaten
1 t. dried basil
1 c. ricotta cheese or sour cream - My family doesn't like texture of ricotta, I used cottage cheese
6 oz. shredded mozzarella

Filling
1/2 pound lean ground beef - I didn't have Italian sausage so I used 1 1/4 pound ground beef
3/4 pound Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
15 1/2 oz. prepared spaghetti sauce

To make crust, combine vermicelli with next 5 ingredients. Chop the mixture and press into a 10” pie plate. I used a 9x13 pan - it made a TON

To make filling, cook ground beef, sausage, and onion together. Drain fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and heat thoroughly.

To assemble pie, spread ricotta cheese on crust. Top with filling and cover with mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 6.