Spaghetti pie offers no-fail dinner solution
In my cooking repertoire are several standbys. One is this no-recipe recipe for Spaghetti Pie, adapted from a dish demonstrated on NBC’s “Today” show.
I’m really loose with the ingredients and preparation, but this is pretty much no-fail, no matter what you put in. I make it without meat, but will not take offense if you add some cooked ground turkey, ground beef or cut-up sausage links.
>> Step 1: Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 10-inch pie pan or cast-iron skillet with cooking spray.
>> Step 2: Cook about 12 ounces of pasta (whole wheat, if it’s handy) and set aside.
>> Step 3: Heat a generous slosh of olive oil and maybe a little butter in another skillet over medium heat. Add some chopped onion, garlic, a handful of mushrooms. When they start to smell good, add a couple cans of chopped tomatoes and maybe a can of water. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
>> Step 4: At this point, you might want to add some chopped broccoli or spinach and maybe a can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans or another kind of beans.
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>> Step 5: Taste and season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, maybe a dash of cinnamon.
>> Step 6: Whisk 2 eggs and stir them into the pasta, along with about 3/4 cup each (more if you’d like) Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses.
>> Step 7: Pour half of everything from the skillet into the prepared pie pan or cast-iron skillet. Add the pasta; pat it down evenly and add the rest of the sauce. Top with about 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese.
>> Step 8: Bake 30 to 35 minutes.
>> Step 9: Cool 10 minutes for easier slicing.
This is even better the next day, but there probably won’t be leftovers.