SLOW COOKER LAYERED SPAGHETTI & MEAT SAUCE CASSEROLE

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil (garlic olive oil if you have it)

1 pound lean hamburger

1  (12 oz.) package spaghetti pasta (I used veggie pasta)

2  (24 oz.) jars of Marinara Sauce (I use Bertolli 5 Cheese Marinara Sauce)

Onion Herb Mrs. Dash- to taste

2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)

Garlic powder  - to taste

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese (divided), grated – I use low fat cheese

1 cup Parmesan Cheese (divided), grated

1 ½ cups Cheddar Cheese, grated – I use low fat cheese

1 cup croutons  - about half a bag (coarsely chopped) – to cover top of cheese

Directions:

Line a slow cooker with a slow cooker liner.

Boil water, salt and olive oil in a large pan

Add the package pasta to the boiling water and cook until it is very firm (approximately 8 minutes)

Brown a pound of hamburger in a sautuesse pan.  Remove any excess grease from browned hamburger. (I use some paper towels  and blot it as seen in the picture below)

Add 2 jars of Marinara Sauce to the browned hamburger.  Season with fresh minced garlic (optional), garlic powder, and Onion Herb Mrs. Dash.

Drain Pasta and add to the meat sauce.  Pour half of the Pasta and Sauce into the slow cooker.  Add ½ cup Parmesan and 1 cup Mozzarella to the top of the Pasta and Sauce.  Pour the remaining half of the pasta and sauce over the cheese.  Now, add 1 cup mozzarella, ½ cup Parmesan and 1 cup cheddar cheese and put over the pasta and sauce. Cook on LOW for 3 ½  hours.

About 30 minutes before serving add the coarsely chopped croutons to the top of the casserole and turn the slow cooker on HIGH.  Sprinkle ½  cup cheddar cheese over the croutons.  Cover and serve after 30 minutes.  Once the cheese has melted, only cover the casserole part way with the lid.   Serve and graciously accept the rave reviews.

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

Pasta

Adding Pizza

All Mixed In

Cheese On Top

Melted Cheese On Top

Chopped Croutons

Sprinkled Cheese on Top of Croutons

Ready to Serve

Half Lidded

LAYERED PIZZA SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:

2 Jars of pasta sauce (I used Bertolli 5 Cheese Pasta Sauce)

1 pound lean hamburger

2 cloves of garlic, minced

16 oz. of spaghetti pasta (I used Ronzini Garden Delight)

2 – 3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

1 package Canadian Bacon, or

1 package pepperoni

1 sausage link, cut into wheels

DIRECTIONS:

Boil water for pasta in a large pot  In a sauteuse pan, brown hamburger.  Remove excess grease (I use several paper towels).  Add desired pasta (marinara sauce) to hamburger.  Add minced garlic to sauce and hamburger mixture.  Season as desired.  Let simmer on low heat.  Add spaghetti pasta to the boiling water (add a little olive oil to the water).  Boil as directed on the pasta box. Drain Spaghetti Pasta.  In a large mixing bowl, combine sauce (reserving a little bit to pour on top of the pasta) and pasta with a pasta server.  Into a large rectangular baking dish, add the contents of the mixing bowl.  Pour reserved sauce onto the pasta mixture.  Add the grated cheese on top of the sauce, thoroughly covering the sauce.  Top with the pepperoni and sausage or the Canadian Bacon.  Bake in a  350 degree F oven for 20 – 30 minutes until the cheese has melted and the casserole is hot all the way through.  For best results, cut  square servings out of the baking dish with a knife, then use a spatula to plate it.

Ingredients

Browned Hamburger

Meat Sauce

Pasta and Meat Sauce in Mixing Bowl

Cheese Layer

Canadian Bacon and Pepperoni Layer

Ready to Cook

Just Out of the Oven