Baked Spaghetti - Lasagna

A comforting baked Spaghetti-Lasagna with plenty of favor using Red Gold� diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano.  

Growing up as the youngest of four, I have many fond memories of being part of a large family. My parents had a stable income, but once the bills were paid there wasn't much extra for anything else. My brothers and I wore plenty of hand-me-downs, we packed our lunches for school and shared just about everything you could think of. Most of all I remember that we never went without and we were always happy.  

My parents didn't have a lot of extra money for eating out so when one our birthdays rolled around mom always cooked our favorite meal. I always chose spaghetti and my brother always picked Lasagna. I hated Lasagna and my brother hated spaghetti, but we always ate what we were served and we never complained. 

Oh, how I wish we would of had this delicious Baked Spaghetti-Lasagna instead because my brother and I could of enjoyed both of our favorites all-in-one dish. I guess you could call this recipe spaghetti-lasagna or glorified baked spaghetti. Either way my family loves this meal.  

The original recipe called for jarred spaghetti sauce, but I prefer to use a homemade meaty marinara sauce. I used to shy away from homemade spaghetti sauce because I could never get the flavor right. Well, all that changed several years back when I found Red Gold� Diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano. 

These diced tomatoes are absolutely the best canned tomatoes I had ever purchased and were a real game changer when it came to making my favorite Italian dishes. Red Gold� is a family-owned Midwestern company that makes the freshest tasting tomato products.  I love these canned tomatoes so much that my pantry is packed full of a variety of Red Gold� products.

My children know their way around the kitchen pretty well, especially now that they're older. My son is 13 and loves to cook, but my daughter isn't as interested as she used to be. Even though it isn't her favorite thing I still try and get her involved in the kitchen whenever I can because I know one day she will thank me.

Most times the hardest part is getting her in the kitchen, but once she gets going she has a lot of fun. The other night Mackenzie made this delicious Spaghetti-Lasagna recipe from start to finish and it turned out wonderful. So without further ado, let's get started on this easy spaghetti-lasagna meal.  

To start, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking the meat up as it cooks. Drain off any grease. 

Add the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, sugar and spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes. 

While the sauce simmers, cook the spaghetti per package directions for al dente pasta. Drain the pasta and set aside. Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a medium size bowl until well blended.  Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. When the sauce is done assemble the spaghetti-lasagna. 

To assemble spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non stick spray. Place three slices of butter in the bottom of the baking pan. Layer half of the noodles over the butter. Spread the cheese mixture over the spaghetti noodles using a spatula. 

Layer the remainder of the spaghetti noodles over the cheese mixture. Place the last three tablespoon of butter on top of noodles. Spread the spaghetti sauce mixture evenly over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Remove foil, sprinkle with Italian cheese blend or Mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 15 minutes. 

Remove from oven and serve warm with a garden salad and crusty french bread.  I hope your family loves this meal as much as mine does. 

Spaghetti - Lasagna 

1 - tablespoon olive oil 
1/2 - of a small onion, chopped
1 - garlic clove, minced
1 - pound lean ground beef or ground turkey  
1/2 - cup beef broth 
1 - (15 ounce) can Red Gold� crushed tomatoes 
2 - (14.5 ounce) cans Red Gold� diced tomatoes basil, garlic and oregano
1/2 - tablespoon sugar 
1 - teaspoon Italian Seasoning
salt and black pepper to taste 
8 - (ounces) dry spaghetti noodles (4 cups cooked)
6 - tablespoons butter (cut into one tablespoon portions)
2 - cups shredded Italian Cheese Blend or shredded Mozzarella cheese

Cheese filling recipe:
3/4 - cup small curd cottage cheese
3/4 - cup sour cream 
4 - (ounces)  cream cheese

Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent.

Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking the meat up as it cooks. Drain off any grease. 

Add the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, sugar and spices. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes (giving the sauce time to reduce). 

While the sauce simmers, cook the spaghetti per package directions for al dente pasta. Drain the pasta and set aside.  

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a medium size bowl until well blended.  

When the sauce is done assemble the spaghetti-lasagna. To assemble spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non stick spray. Place three slices of butter in the bottom of the baking pan. 

Layer half of the noodles over the butter. Spread the cheese mixture over the spaghetti noodles using a spatula.

Layer the remainder of the spaghetti noodles over the cheese mixture. Place the last three tablespoon of butter on top of noodles.

Spread the spaghetti sauce mixture evenly over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 15 minutes. 

servings: 6 -8
inspired by: The Cupcake Theory

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This is a sponsored post, created in partnership with Red Gold� Tomatoes.  All opinions above are my own. #RedGold #ABettertomato #kidsgetcooking #spon