Mozzarella Bake

It is a crazy week!! I am so happy to be reaching the end of my work week, and since we have had one of those weeks where we are not home, it seems extra special to be able to stay home and cook dinner tonight. Clint has been out of town at an ag conference, Nate was wrapping up his wrestling season late last night and I have been playing single parent which means much easier dinners and an occasional (ahem) dinner out.

So tonight I was super happy to be able to bring back an old favorite and am making Mozzarella bake. This is my absolute favorite baked spaghetti casserole. It is easy to throw together in advance, can be modified for your families taste and likes, and can be refrigerated for a couple days before actually baking. I have taken this to multiple sports banquets, potlucks and etc. Always a hit with the teens!

So if you decide to try this for your family as well- I would love to get some feedback!

Start by gathering your ingredients!

 

Whisk one egg before adding cheeses

 

Tonight I chose to brown 1 lb. hamburger with 1 lb. mild Italian sausage

 

Mix cheeses with egg

 

Ready for the oven!

This is easy to modify- my family likes mushrooms so we used a mushroom based spaghetti sauce, but you can use whatever sauce you prefer. You can also modify and use turkey instead of hamburger, or all hamburger, or like in this case I used Italian sausage and hamburger. Mix it up to your liking!

 

Done! I had a glass of Iowa blush wine with mine… Perfect!

(Side note… This was the first time I had tried sausage instead of all hamburger in mine which my family did not care for as much. Even though I used mild… They thought the sausage flavor was too strong…) Next time I will go back to just beef.

Good luck and stay warm!

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 20 minute prep, 30 min. bake time
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (I use 2 pounds)

12 oz. cottage cheese

16 oz. spaghetti sauce of your choice (we like mushroom)

8 oz. mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp. minced onion

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. garlic salt

3 oz. parmesean cheese

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 egg beaten

8 oz. sour cream

5 oz. thin spaghetti cooked and drained

Brown ground beef and drain. Add spaghetti sauce and seasonings. Simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Beat egg in large bowl. Add sour cream, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Blend well. Stir in noodles. Place half of the noodle mixture in 9×13″ pan sprayed with cooking spray. Top with 1/2 of the ground beef mixture. Repeat layers. Sprinkle parmesean cheese lightly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 6-8

Source: Webster County Catholic Churches cookbook “Catholic Team Parishes of Webster County 150 years of faith and food”

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