Easy Cheesy Baked Spaghetti

(Sorry; I know that’s not the best photo ever. By the time I realized that, half the dish was already gone and it was too late. But that should say something about the taste at least 😀 )

I’ve never been a person for making New Years resolutions. They seem a perfect way to set oneself up for failure and turn yourself into an emotional punching bag- “Man, I resolved to lose 40 pounds this year and look at me! I gained weight instead! I’m such a loser!” (Not that I haven’t done that to myself; just not because of a resolution) or “I resolve to sock away 15% of my income this year and use it for a family vacation to Disney Land”, and then the car breaks down or you need to call a plumber and all your savings (of which there wasn’t much anyway because..well, life) are gone and you again feel like you failed.

I did however, a few weeks ago (so, before the new year; neener neener) make a decision about something; a decision I truly hope I can stick with and that doesn’t have that pesky little thing called life interfering. I realized that I need to spend more time here with all of you. More than once a week or less. I want to post at the very least two times a week, preferably even more. I want to promote my little blog on social media better as well as just chat on Facebook with all of you, though with facebooks plans later this month to basically hide all small page owners pages, I’m not sure how well that will work. But I want to try. I love my blog; I love those of you who faithfully follow my ramblings, but I don’t show it enough. So call it a resolution if you will…. but I am HOPING to be more of a presence in your lives from now if you’ll have me. It will be me, you, and you, and you, and lots of fat and calories. Ok, ok, at times I’ll be nice and throw something lower fat and lower calories your way, but c’mon, I’m a baking blog primarily. I bake. With butter. LOTS of butter. And sugar. It’s how I keep sane. Fine; semi sane.

I also plan to add a recipe index here. But that will take time, so bear with me during my renovation. ANDDDDD… I want to start doing a bit of non food posts; things like body scrubs, lotions, fun stuff for the ladies. 🙂

Did I mention that today is NOT one of those low fat, low calories sort of days? I’m assuming the photo made that clear, however. 😀 This is cheesy, it’s gooey, it wonderfully messy and it’s also extremely easy. You could make this even quicker if you wanted to by subbing in jarred sauce for the homemade. But really, there’s no need to. This is pretty quick.

Easy Cheesy Baked Spaghetti

• 12 ounces spaghetti, cooked as directed (just until al dente), drained and set aside in a large bowl
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (hey, I like garlic. Use more or less as desired)
• 2/3 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 lb ground beef, cooked, crumbled and drained (you could also sub ground turkey or chopped chicken, add some sausage or even use no meat at all; make this your own)
• 2 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted- use your favorite)
• 1 14.5 ounce jar of Prego Alfredo sauce
• 2 tablespoons squeezable Basil paste (found in the produce section of the grocery store)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar (cuts the acidity of the tomatoes)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, tossed with
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Lightly grease a 3 quart baking dish.
2. Pour the olive oil into a medium pot. Over medium heat, stirring frequently,saute the chopped onions, garlic and green pepper until soft and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add in the ground beef, the 2 cans of diced tomatoes, the Alfredo sauce, the basil, oregano and the salt and sugar. Stir to combine.
4. Bring to a simmer over just barely medium heat, stirring often to prevent sticking to the bottom.
5.  Simmer for about ten minutes, just long enough to let the flavors meld. Pour the sauce over the pasta and carefully stir to combine them.  Add in half of the cheese mixture and stir again.
6. Pour the mixture into the baking dish.
7. Sprinkle with the rest of the combined cheddar and mozzarella, then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Bake at 350 until bubbly and lightly browned on top, about 25 to 30 minutes.
8. Serve with garlic bread and lots of napkins 😀

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