Spaghetti with meat sauce is my son Tripp's most-requested meal. Though Tripp could eat it almost every day, the rest of the family grows tired of the combination.
This week's Big Linguine Bake is a tasty variation that gets us out of the "spaghetti doldrums," and is just about as easy to prepare.
All the standard spaghetti ingredients are here. Lean ground beef is browned, drained, seasoned with garlic salt and stirred together with prepared spaghetti sauce and a can of diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic, oregano and basil. The combination is one I use to make a quick and chunky marinara.
The meat sauce is combined with cooked pasta and is spread in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. So far, this dish doesn't sound much different from Tripp's favorite spaghetti and meat sauce, but here's where the variation comes in. The sauced spaghetti is topped with a creamy, cheesy topping and then is baked in the oven.
The topping is a combination of reduced-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat sour cream. You can use regular cream cheese and sour cream, or, to cut the fat, you can substitute fat-free sour cream. I haven't had good results using fat-free cream cheese in the recipe, however.
This creamy combination is spread over the sauced linguine and bakes up in the oven for 25 minutes. After that, a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese goes over the top and the casserole hits the oven again until the cheese is melted.
Though the base for this dish is traditional spaghetti with meat sauce, you could omit the beef and add another can of diced tomatoes for a meatless variation. Or, dice and brown three boneless, skinless chicken breast halves in place of beef. A tossed salad completes your menu.
Big Linguine Bake
2 pounds extra-lean ground beef
Garlic salt
1 25- to 26-ounce jar tomato-basil spaghetti sauce
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic, drained
8 ounces linguine, cooked according to package directions
16 ounces reduced-fat sour cream
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
8 ounces reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef in a large nonstick skillet, breaking up finely, until no longer pink. Drain and return to the pan. Season the beef with garlic, salt to taste, and stir in the spaghetti sauce and drained tomatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the cooked linguine and spread in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Beat the cream cheese and sour cream together in a bowl with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Season to taste with garlic salt and spread over the linguine. Bake for 25 minutes, and then remove from the oven and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, until cheese is melted.
Makes 8 servings.
Nutritional information per serving: 683 calories, 34 grams fat (14 grams saturated), 116 milligrams cholesterol, 1, 084 milligrams sodium, 43 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams dietary fiber.
Nutritional analysis provided by registered dietitian Rachel B. Drew, nutritional education specialist for the Richmond County School Nutrition Program, in conjunction with the Augusta Area Dietetic Association.
COMING NEXT WEEK: Chili-Lada Bake combines the flavors of chili, enchilada sauce and corn chips for a child-pleasing autumn entree. See Karin prepare the recipe at noon Tuesday on WJBF-TV (Channel 6).
WRITE TO KARIN CALLOWAY IN CARE OF The Augusta Chronicle Newsroom, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, GA 30903-1928. Or send e-mail to karin.calloway@comcast.net. You can find previous Quick Cooking recipes through the online archive at augustachronicle.com/karin.
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