Sunny Italy Hot Dish

Looking for a great way to change up your ho-hum spaghetti routine?  This recipe could be the winner for you!  It's all your regular spaghetti ingredients spiffed up some extra cheese and pepperoni and then baked.  Not only is it delicious, you can assemble it ahead of time - and then bake it later.  Yeah baby - that's my kind of recipe!  We are in full blown hockey season here, so I assembled this in the morning before I went work.  Later that day, I just popped into a preheated oven and voila!  Delicious dinner, happy hockey player.

Sunny Italy Hot Dish

Serves 6-8

1 LB Ground Meat (I use sweet italian sausage)

1 LB Shredded Mozzarella (approximately 2 cups)

1/2 LB Spaghetti Noodles

1 Egg

1 Cup Milk

28 OZ Spaghetti Sauce

Parmesan Cheese

Pepperoni

Step 1:  Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

Step 2:  Brown the ground meat and drain.  Meanwhile, cook the noodles as directed on the package.  

Step 3:  Drain the noodles and place in the 9x13 pan.  In a small bowl, mix together the egg and milk.  Pour it over the noodles.

Step 4:  Now, sprinkle the mozzarella over the noodles.  Then, sprinkle the cooked, ground meat over the mozzarella.   Pour the spaghetti sauce over the ground meat.  Top with pepperoni and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Step 5:  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes-1 hour or until hot in the center.

To make ahead, complete steps 1-4.  Then, cover the pan and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.  When it's time to bake it, you may need to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Yum.  Mad props to my girlfriend who originally shared this recipe many, many years ago.  My family loves, loves, loves it!