Church Cookbook Bake

Is it just a southern thing to have a plethora of church cookbooks in the kitchen? I use my church's cookbook all the time. People don't put so-so recipes in their church cookbooks - they put the tried and true, real-deal family favorites, and that's why church cookbooks are awesome! One of our go-tos is the spaghetti bake. It's particularly good on a rainy, gloomy day (like today), when you just want comfort food.

The finished product. YUM.

The simmering sauce

The goodness that turns plain spaghetti into spaghetti bake

This is comfort food at its finest

FBC Spaghetti Bake

1 lb ground beef

1 med onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

garlic powder to taste (I use fresh garlic, 1-2 cloves)

pepper to taste

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (15 oz) crushed tomato

*Italian seasoning to taste 

*fresh herbs of your choice (I use rosemary and basil in season)

8 oz spaghetti noodles of your choice

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Brown onion and then beef. Drain excess grease. Add the salt, garlic, pepper, and tomatoes, seasoning and herbs. Simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile cook spaghetti according to package directions. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese and sour cream. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Put drained spaghetti in bottom of casserole dish. Spoon meat sauce over spaghetti, then spread the cheese mixture over the meat sauce. Top with grated cheddar. Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly. (Contributed by Missy Alexander)

*These ingredients are not original to the recipe and are added by me to amp up the flavor even more. 

Enjoy!

L