During the years past when I had three student athletes in the house it was so important to make sure that their intake was good. Meaning they could eat a lot… And at times I could get overwhelmed with the task for finding something that would fill them up. I decided to try a few new recipes that allowed me to utilize the resources I had an abundance of. We raise beef cattle and so ground beef is something we have access to on a regular basis. I wanted to create a meal that was not costly that would satisfy the masses.

We are a family of six. Currently, I have the farmer, four kids who are all still active and busy on the farm and three in college. When everyone is home this recipe does not disappoint even today. After hours of hard work outside I can always depend on this meal to keep everyone full and happy. Please see the recipe, photos and directions below.  When making this particular meal, I compliment it with a big Caesar salad and homemade french dinner rolls. When I am on the go, I utilize what ever bread I have in the drawer with plenty of butter.

“Baked Spaghetti”

Ingredients

2# of ground beef – browned and seasoned with salt and pepper

1/24oz. jar of spaghetti sauce

1can of diced tomatoes

4 cloves of fresh garlic diced

1 large container of small curd cottage cheese

3# bag of grated mozzarella cheese

12oz of dry spaghetti pasta – when cooked will be double

Directions:

You will need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While oven is heating brown and season the ground beef. Add tomatoes, garlic and sauce to the ground beef and let it simmer on low. Add additional salt to taste.

Take a 9 x 13 inch pan and begin by adding a small layer of cooked pasta on the bottom of the pan and then spread half the cottage cheese on the noodles, then ground beef mixture, then mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layering of each item in order so that you have two complete layers.

Upon completion, cover with foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle on another layer of cheese and let the dish set up for 15 minutes. Then serve.