Cooking Thursday

 I came across this recipe for a spaghetti dish that promised to be a pasta that everyone would like.  It has 4 types of cheese, sausage, fresh basil...  That sounded like a winner to me!  It's kind of a mix between lasagna and spaghetti and it was really good!  Another bonus is that it freezes well.  I made half - which was still enough for 2 meals for us, and froze the other half.

Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole

3/4 pound dried spaghetti noodles
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
1 pound Italian sausage
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. ricotta cheese
24 oz. jar of marinara sauce
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a large 3-quart casserole dish or 9x13 pan.
Cook Spaghetti to al dente, drain and return to pot.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the eggs, parmesan cheese and chopped basil.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour this mix over the cooked pasta, along with butter and mix until well coated.
Transfer pasta to pan.
Add ricotta and cream cheese to the pot and melt on medium heat, stirring continuously. Pour melted cheese over the noodles and smooth it out.
Add onion, garlic, bell pepper and sausage into the same skillet you have been using. Cook over medium heat until veggies are tender and meat is cook through. Drain grease.
Add marinara sauce and stir in sour cream,  Mix well and pour meat sauce over the cheese and noodles and smooth out.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top evenly.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.n the pot after draining the

Wordless Wednesday

 

Sleepover...

 We had Alaina and Ruby overnight last weekend and had our usual fun time!

When we picked them up, they had to show us Franklin the turtle.  He was Alaina's class pet last year, and the kids from the class get to take turns watching him in the summer if they want to.  They were thrilled to have him at their house.

We stopped for ice cream on the way home.  The girls chose play dough ice cream.  It looked like play dough which didn't look great to me, but they said it was good!

We watched a movie and they went to bed a little before 10.  (They get to stay up late at Grandpa and Grandma's house)

On Saturday morning, they played outside while I did some baking.  Bob had to work, so it was just us three.

Fun times!

Then they played downstairs, in the playhouse Bob made for our kids when they were young. They had a great time setting things up and called me down to see what they had done.

We made a flag craft for the 4th of July.  These are paint stirrers, painted red and white, then glued together and blue painted in the corner.  Then they added white dots for stars.

Our town was having some fun Independence Day activities in the park.  We stopped and got hot dogs for lunch.

There was a car show.

Even better, there was a petting zoo.

So many cute little animals.

There were pony rides!

On the way out, we stopped and got some real lemonade which they thought was pretty good, with the lemons floating in it.

They wanted to stop and see Great grandpa and great grandma on the way home.  They brought them some popcorn from the park and had to sit outside on the swing for a little bit.

After that, I took them home.  They were still full of energy, I was tired!  :)  (But happy!)