Spaghetti Pie II – with Ricotta Cheese

This is normally how I make Spaghetti Pie.  I tried the sour cream and cream cheese version that I found on Pinterest a few weeks ago (recipe here) but I prefer this Spaghetti Pie.  For my family it was a toss-up.  They liked them both for different reasons.

My son hates ricotta cheese so I have to make one for him without ricotta (we think that it is just wrong to not like ricotta but for him it is a texture issue and I understand).  My daughter likes the alfredo taste of this one but also liked the bit of a creamier texture from the cream cheese and sour cream version.

I am cooking so I made the one I like.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. box of spaghetti, cooked according to directions
• 1 8 oz. container of ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup of butter melted
• 2 large egg
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. parsley
• 1 cup of your favorite homemade or jarred spaghetti sauce, more if preferred
• 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare an 8×8 casserole dish with nonstick spray.
2. While pasta is cooking to al dente, in a separate bowl mix ricotta, 1/4 cup of Parmesan,  1 egg, garlic, oregano and parsley until it is well blended.
3. When pasta is finished cooking drain and place pasta back into pan.  Mix in melted butter, 1 egg and 1/2 cup of Parmesan.  Mix well.  Place spaghetti in prepared pan and spread it around evenly to make the bottom of the pie.
4. Spread the ricotta cheese mixture over the pasta.
5. Top with spaghetti sauce, you can add more sauce if your family prefers it.  Mine prefers more of an “alfredo” taste to this rather than the spaghetti sauce.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and add mozzarella cheese over the top of the casserole.   Place pan under broiler for 2-3 minutes (watch it carefully as it can go from brown to burnt very quickly!) until cheese is melted and browning.
7. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.