Monday, June 13, 2011

Spasagna

Is it spaghetti? Is it lasagna? It's Spasagna! 

Sometimes the meals I make are inspired by my favorite restaurant foods.  If you've ever been to a Cheddar's restaurant then this will be a familiar dish to you. If you've never heard of it, well, it's about time you do. 

Basically, it is cooked spaghetti noodles tossed with alfredo sauce, baked in the oven, and then topped with a meaty red sauce. 

After I tasted this years ago, I knew I had to recreate a version of it at home. 
Now, you will never hear me say that something tastes exactly like it does in a restaurant. Because the truth is, I can never get anything exactly like it is in the restaurant. But I can come close sometimes and I think the end result of this one turns out pretty darn good, even if it isn't an exact match.

For this recipe, I've used some convenience foods to save time (and dishes!). But if you have the time and don't mind dirtying up a few more pots, you can definitely have fun with this recipe by making your own alfredo sauce and meat sauce from scratch.
Ingredients:
1 (26 oz) Jar of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce
1 (16 oz.) Jar Garlic Alfredo Sauce
1 lb. spaghetti noodles
1 pound of ground beef
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup milk (2% or higher)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried parsley
I love the Garlic flavored Alfredo sauces. Also, I had already dumped the
 cheese into the bowl when I remembered to take a picture. Bad food blogger!
(not pictured: milk, oregano & parsley)


Directions:
Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. 
Drain noodles very well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)

Spray 9x13 baking dish with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine alfredo sauce, mozzarella, milk, oregano and parsley.
Stir well to combine.
 Add cooked and drained spaghetti noodles and toss to coat them completely.


Place entire mixture into baking dish

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

While it cooks, start browning your ground beef in a medium sauce pan.
Once beef is brown and crumbled, drain well to remove excess grease.
Over low heat add spaghetti sauce and mix. Put cover over sauce pan and allow the mixture to keep warm until pasta is ready.

After pasta is finished cooking, remove foil and allow to cool for 8-10 minutes.

Unless you are completely impatient like me. 
Then you just cut out a slice and pour spaghetti sauce mixture on top, sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese, if you like, and then dig in.

I will warn you, if you don't allow the mixture to cool a bit before slicing, it can get just a bit runny on you (see below picture) but the taste is still fantastic!

Cook's Notes: If you like a lot of red sauce, you may want to purchase two jars.

Enjoy!


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51 comments:

Sabrina said...

what a quick and hearty meal! I love this idea and it looks fantastic!

Aimee said...

Looks like a great meal, thanks for sharing!
Aimee

jill@MadAboutMacarons said...

Dada! Brandie, you are brrrrilliant. I love this and will have to make spasagna for a real change. FANTASTIC. Have a great week :-)

Kate said...

Love it!! I may give the boot to something on the menu this week to try it...

Pretend Chef said...

We have a Cheddars on the other side of the freeway but I'm partial to Cracker Barrel. I really need to be more adventurous when dining out. Haha! This recipe title reminded me of the first time I heard of spaghetti tacos thanks to a show called iCarly. This dish looks delicious no matter what it's called. Yummy!

Siggy Spice said...

My whole family, myself included LOVEEE any kind of pasta that you get to mix Alfredo AND meat sauce. I first started eating the 2 mixed together when I was pregnant with CHloe...my tummy couldn't handle straight red/meat sauce on spaghetti, but I would crave it like mad. So, at Olive Garden, I would order a bowl of spaghetti with 1/2 Alfredo and 1/2 meat sauce. They always thought I was nuts-o, but you never want to deny a preggo. Long story short, I cannot WAIT to make this, I already know we would LOVE it!

spcookiequeeen said...

I couldn't figure out what it was by the name, until I looked closer. How cool it is spaghetti in a lasagna form, I don't think I've ever seen that. I like it, hope all is well with you.
-Gina-

Lizzy said...

Love the name of this one, Brandie :)
It reminds me of the spaghetti pie I make...so yummy...I know yours is, too!

Ang said...

I'm book marking this one for sure. I think I'll take the long route though and do the Alfredo sauce(since my husband is a sucker for it) and maybe change up the beef for ground Turkey. I'm so excited about this, can you tell?? Thanks for sharing! luvs

Holly said...

You KNOW this is my kind of food!! LOVE THIS Bran. I will be making this one asap!

The Farmers Wife said...

Oh Bran... I really like this recipe! I will have to give this a try since Pasta is my little man's favorite food!

Patti said...

I love anything with meat sauce and this looks great Brandie! When one of my boys were small, he could never pronounce lasagna..He would call it zalagna! - When I saw the title of this recipe it reminded me of that! :o)

Veronica Gantley said...

Oh yeah, its like spagetti pie. I love it and I will bet it freezes well. Great job on the recipe.

Angie said...

Love it!!! You are so creative, Brandie!!! We are having Chili spaghetti tonight & I am going to have left over noodles, now I know exactly what I am going to do with them. ~Angie

Steph@PlainChicken.com said...

I will be making this very soon! Love that it has alfredo and red sauce. It is the best of both worlds!

Erin said...

What a great idea! This looks creamy and delicious!

carolinaheartstrings said...

Wow does this recipe look fantastic. I cannot wait to try it out. Yum.

Annie's Dish said...

Brandie, I wanted to say thanks again for the support on my "decision."

I sometimes like to make a lasagna using spaghettu noodles and thought that's what this was at first but was pleasantly surprised to see that it isn't. I love everything that is in it. Especially the Alfredo sauce. My family would love this!

AndiWinslow said...

Love pasta, adding this to my next pasta making day. Looks wonderful thank you for sharing Andi

scratch-made wife said...

How have I missed this on the Cheddar's menu?! Actually, we're quite new to Cheddar's - we just got one in the town next to us and that place is packed 24/7! But we really like going there. Hhhmmm ... I think I'll have to look this dish up! Your version looks delicious, and I bet your version, even if it isn't *exactly* like the restaurant's dish tastes pretty darn good! :)

Kristen said...

I love the name. I love the idea. I am definitely going to have to try this.

Andrea @ From the Bookshelf said...

THis looks great! What a terrific idea!

Brooks at Cakewalker said...

My word, this is my kind of dish! Ingenious, but simple. Can't say I've come across a dish like it, but I think restaurants in the east have something going on that I need to check out. Thank you Brandie for sending this recipe out west.

Muriel Miller said...

Seriously Yummo! Brandie this looks soooo good! I am so making this for dinner this week!

Avril said...

Such a great dish! Goodness, I can not wait to make it!!! Thank you so much for sharing! :-)

Kim said...

I made this recipe last week for a Pampered Chef party that I hosted last week. Everyone loved it and I even had a little left for my husband to try. I would make this again!! I found your blog though a post by Pillsbury. I am so happy to have found your blog and the great recipes!

countryliving said...

Loved it!

Jess said...

I made this for dinner, and everyone loved it! I was hesitant about the mixing of alfredo and spaghetti sauce, but it was great. This is definitely a keeper. Thanks!

The Country Cook said...

Thank you so much to those of you who have come back to comment on how much you enjoyed it. It really warms my heart to know y'all are making this food and enjoying it. Or else I wouldn't be doing this blog! So it is so nice to hear - thank you!

Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates said...

Yum! I really have to make this - my family would love it! And nice to have a little twist on regular old spaghetti. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I always order the spasagna topped with spicy alfredo at Cheddar's. I LOVE it!

~*Brandi*~

Loy said...

I am coming over from Friday Favorite Finds via Feed My Family. I have printed this out and think that it will be dinner tomorrow night. I may, however, use Italian sausage instead of the ground beef. It look delicious.

Eccentric Kitchen (Steph) said...

O M G! I just saw this post...and my mouth is watering! This sounds awesome!

Stacey Little said...

Hi Brandie!
Just wanted to pop over and tell you that we tried this tonight and were amazed! It's absolutely delicious! It's going into our "favorites" box right now!

Kelly said...

This looks fantastic, what a great idea!! Just printed this recipe out, love it!! :)

Anonymous said...

Well of course just because I wanted to try this, I didn't have enough spaghetti, and of course, the only shred cheese I had was cheddar,but I did it anyway. I used shell macaroni. I also made my own spaghetti sauce. It was really good this way. Can hardly wait to try it with all the correct ingredients!!!


Tania

wvlady1960@yahoo.com

Gnat's Mom said...

I made this tonight and my hubby requested that I not make my "regular" lasagna anymore, only this one! It was a big hit!

The Country Cook said...

Hi Gnat's Mom! Thank you so much for coming back to let me know how it turned out for you!! What a wonderful comment and I am just thrilled to know this meal made your family happy!!

Angel said...

This was soo yummy! Thanks for posting:)

Anonymous said...

I'm making this tonight for dinner! I'm wondering, can I top the entire casserole with the spaghetti sauce as opposed to topping each individual piece? I was thinking I could top it with the sauce and then another layer of cheese after the initial 30 minutes and then bake for an additional ten? Any thoughts?!

The Country Cook said...

Hi there! I don't see why you couldn't do that. We just love a lot of red sauce on our individual pieces. Also, when you bake it all together, the red sauce tends to seep down in with the alfredo. If you're okay with that - then go for it! :) You can never have too much cheese either!

Anonymous said...

Yum can't wait to try

MoMto1ToT said...

can u make this with a home made alfredo sauce? and what about a home made spag meat sauce????

The Country Cook said...

Momto1tot - you can certainly make it with your own sauces if you like :)

Sarah O'K said...

Made this tonight and everyone in the house liked it- that never happens! Thanks for sharing the recipe. It was really easy and I could clean up along the way, so it was the best kind of recipe!

The Country Cook said...

Thank you for letting me know Sarah!! So happy to hear the whole family enjoyed it!!

Anonymous said...

I make something very similar. I am going to try the alfredo sauce tho...sounds delish!

What I do, is brown ground beef and mild Italian Sausage together for extra flavor, drain well and then cook in the fav red sauce.

Cook noodles. While the noodles are cooking, I mix together Ricotta Cheese,Parmesan & Mozzerella Cheese, egg, parsley flakes, a pinch of salt and pepper.

Spray a 9X13 pan, put noodles in the bottom, spread the cheese mix on top of the noodles, then put the sauce mix on top, cover with more cheese and bake in the oven for 30 min covered. Pull the foil and bake another 10 min. Let sit for 10 min before serving.

Yes, it can be frozen. I do that alot and make up smaller batches to give to friends who have just had babies, people that have been sick or had a death in the family. I use foil pans for those instances then the family doesn't have to worry about getting a dish back to me.

Jady said...

I made it with Spaghetti Squash.... Ahhh-mazing!

The Country Cook said...

Hi Jady! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out with the spaghetti squash!! that is really good to know that you had good results too. I get asked about different types of squash on occasion so it's good to know you liked it with this recipe!!

Liz dwelley said...

This was a hit in my home homr

Anonymous said...

Yum! This is similar to the Greek lasagne dish called pastizio, they use long ziti which is like macaronis as long as spaghetti!
Thank you my sister raved about how her family loved this dish and she sent me the link!