Sausage Spaghetti Pie

Serves: 4

4 oz. spaghetti
2 eggs, divided, lightly beaten
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. cottage cheese
8 oz. ground sausage
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/3 c. green pepper, chopped
1 c. spaghetti sauce
1/2 c. (2 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

To make the spaghetti crust, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and rinse with hot water. Combine spaghetti, 1 egg and Parmesan cheese; stir well. Press pasta mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9" pie plate. In a small bowl, stir or smash the cottage cheese until smooth (see tips). Add 1 egg and mix well. Spread the cheese mixture on top of the spaghetti crust. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion and green pepper until sausage is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Spoon sausage mixture on top of cheese filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake about 5 minutes more.

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Tips: This dish was wonderful because it was such a change from the ordinary pie or pasta bake. We cut it with a pizza cutter then dished it out with a spatula. The original recipe called for the cottage cheese to be pressed through a sieve. All I have is a strainer so I don't think it worked quite the same but I think the outcome just needs to be a smoother spreadable cheese. To make this healthier, consider using turkey sausage and low-fat diary products.

Recipe adapted from Healthy Homestyle Cooking