Thursday, July 10, 2008

Back Home

Don't you just love coming home again after a vacation? It is so fun to go, but even more fun for us to come home. Every thing always looks new again to me for some reason, that is after all the bags, boxes and bins are unloaded.

The food that we took worked out well. It is so much easier with little ones to have meals in instead of making them sit through long dinners out. The preshopping and cooking really helped all of us to be able to make the most of our time with minimal effort expended to feed everyone.

Baked Spaghetti from the recipe that Phyllis Hoffman has in her book Gracious Tables was the favorite so I thought I would share it here for you.

Baked Spaghetti
Yield: 8 servings

1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground Italian sausage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces uncooked linguine pasta
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 cups shredded Colby-Jack cheese blend

1. In a Dutch oven, brown ground chuck, sausage, garlic, bell pepper, and onion over medium-high heat, until meat crumbles and vegetables are tender; drain.
2. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil and sugar. Reduce heat and simmer, 30 minutes.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions, draining well.
4. Preheat oven to 350.
5. Place pasta in individual baking dishes or a 13X9X2-inch baking dish.
6. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, and green onion. Spread evenly over hot pasta. Top with meat sauce.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until heated. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

.........................

Baked spaghetti is a meal in itself, needing little in the way of sides. Garlic or cheese bread sticks plus an easy-does-it tossed green salad are plenty.

~~~~~~~~~~

To feed our group of 13 I doubled the recipe and we had some left over for lunch the next day. The boys really enjoyed this hearty dish. Sorry I don't have a picture to show you ;(

The picture above is a kind of weird colored picture take in our dining room looking through to the living room. It is really much lighter and brighter in real life.

Hugs,
Sue

9 comments:

  1. I feel the exact say way...as much as I love to go, see, and do...I always love coming back home!

    I'm gonna try the baked spaghetti this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My husband loves spaghetti... he could eat spaghetti every day (if I let him):) and this recipe sounds wonderful... I would have to try it...

    Thanks for sharing it with us...

    Have a lovely day, Sue!

    Cielo

    ReplyDelete
  3. The spaghetti casserole sounds yummy - I will have to give it a try someday.... Mine is usually made with leftover spaghetti dinner fixings, which mean around here Ragu! I recognize Pat's shop - I almost went for the toille bedspread, but decided the 3 I have already for one bed is probalby more than enough! Aren't her striped walls fabulous?! The boys look so big - just little guys hanging out at the Marina...
    Glad you had fun. Welcome home!
    Love - S

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:59 PM

    Coming home is almost as good as the starting of a trip! I hate all of the washing of dirty clothes, tho! The recipe sounds really good and glad you've had a good time.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I crave spaghetti on a frequent basis, thanks for this baked recipe. The sour cream and cheese kicks it up several notches. Glad you had a nice vacation, Sue.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Sue!

    Glad you had a nice vacation! If ya ever want to borrow my trailer for extra room, just give me a howler! LOL!

    Thanks for the yummy recipe! Sounds really good and I know my family will love it for a future Sunday family dinner!

    Hugs,
    Maryjane

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yum! This recipe sounds wonderful. I love one-dish recipes like this- add some french bread and a salad and you're done. I will have to save it for when my DH comes home.

    ReplyDelete
  8. hello sweet darlin' glad your vacation was good, but i know the feeling of commin' home....ahhhhhh home! i always say to daddy-o, my house looks so new! thanks for the comment on my trailer...oh honey its gonna be some work...but what gals not up for a decorating challenge...blessings cat

    ReplyDelete
  9. Made this for supper tonight and it was a big hit! Thanks for the recipe!
    God bless.
    Terri

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment. I so appreciate it when you take the time to leave a bit of encouragement.
Hugs,
Sue