Baked Spaghetti, Mid-Western Style

FINALLY!!!! We have spring in the mid-west!!!

Daffodils are blooming, along with Forsythia! The grass is greening up, and I'm ready to set up my garden bed this week (no planting until after Mother's Day, though - it isn't THAT warm yet!).


On Thursday our church hosted a meeting of area pastors and church leaders from our denomination...and since we live in the Black Hills, and most of them live in eastern South Dakota and Minnesota (think prairies), many brought their families for a mini-vacation.

After lunch, our pastor's wife and I took any non-meeting-attendees who desired up to see the boys on the Hill. 

And this guy was gracious enough to pose for a picture: 

Even with all of our fun tourist activities, we got back to the church kitchen in time to stick our pre-assembled casseroles in the oven. They were delicious, and I thought you'd love the recipe as much as I did.

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

2 - 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes

2 - 8 oz cans of tomato sauce

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced green pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons Seasoning Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 small bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage

8 oz uncooked angel hair spaghetti

2 cups grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

In a stockpot, cook the Italian sausage until done. Drain the meat. Return the meat to the pot and add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasonings, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so the sauce simmers. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the bay leaves after cooking.

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.

Cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan with sauce. Add the spaghetti, and then cover it with about 1/2 of the cheese. Top with the remaining sauce.

(At this point you can refrigerate or freeze the casserole. Just be sure to add about 10 minutes to the cooking time if you're starting with a cold dish.)

Bake the casserole for 30 minutes, then sprinkle on the remaining cheese and return it to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

This was a great casserole for a crowd (we actually had six pans like this for all the people we fed!). It was full of flavor and had a nice spicy kick.

We needed a break after that busy, busy Thursday, so on Saturday, we went to the Badlands.

(If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you can see the ladder on the left.)

We love it there, but it really challenges your definition of beauty. Most visitors take the driving tour through the park, stopping at scenic turn offs to enjoy the view, but we like to get off the beaten path and away from the road.

This trail is labeled "strenuous."

We hiked about five miles on Saturday, using these trail markers to guide us:  (Can you see marker #2

off in the distance? You may need to click on the picture to enlarge it.)

And where else can you build a snow man in 90° weather?

It wasn't the quietest way to rest up from our Thursday activities, but oh, it was great.

Like Our GAL Julie says, I live in the coolest place on earth :)


And just for Kav, here are some four week old puppy pictures! We get second choice of one of these boys - it will be a hard decision!

Blue-collar Boy

Orange-collar Boy

Green-collar Boy