Million Dollar Spaghetti

Do you ever want to become a tycoon? Not exactly the right one. But, at least you can feel like a millionaire. Well, this ''rich'' pasta deserves to carry boastfully that title and will quickly assist you with that. I believe I should start each post about pasta with the same sentence: “I love to eat pasta". A lot! When I was cooking, this pasta it felt like I was dressing it in an elegant suit as if I had MILLION DOLLARS in my pocket. No, I’m not saying this spaghetti costs a million dollars to make! It’s just so good that it tastes like a million bucks!

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 Tbsp of salt
1 (16 oz) package spaghetti noodles Barilla 
1 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 (16 oz) jar spaghetti sauce Prego
1/2 C. butter, sliced - divided
1 C. cottage cheese
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened Philadelphia
1/4 C. sour cream Daisy 
1 (8 oz) package shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a 9x13-inch casserole dish with parchment paper or foil and set aside. 

1. While the oven is preheating, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti in the boiling water, occasionally stirring until "al dente" (cooked through but firm to the bite), approximately twelve minutes. Drain.

2. Add a few drops of olive oil to your skillet then place ground beef into the pan. Next, turn on the stove to medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until brown and crumbly, five to seven minutes, drain and discard grease. 

3. In a large bowl, combine spaghetti sauce, pasta, and ground beef and stir well. In another bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese until well blended. Place half the slices of butter into the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Spread half the spaghetti into the baking dish.

4. Top spaghetti with creamy mixture. Layer remaining spaghetti over smooth mixture. Top with remaining pats of butter. Pour ground beef mixture over spaghetti and spread to cover casserole. Bake in the preheated oven for thirty minutes. Spread Cheddar cheese over pasta and continue baking until cheese has melted and is lightly brown about for fifteen more minutes.

5. Enjoy! :)  

Recipe adapted from Sugar Apron

Cooking tips: Before you pour the spaghetti noodles into the boiling water cut them into halves so that you don't make a big mess.I sometimes will set two separate timers whenever I bake something. I especially do this when I'm not in the kitchen or near the oven.

 God laid it on my heart to share with you today being bold and courageous does not only apply to cooking, but it applies to our daily lives too. You might ask how do you know He wanted me to share that with you?

Since I'm a Christian, I can hear Him speak to me. Even though He's invisible, I know he's there. This is a great way to live! Sound interesting? I'd love to talk to you anytime. 

I understand all of you either have had or are still currently experiencing nervous scary moments of doing something or opening up about a certain subject. I also know how frustrating it can get sometimes. I, myself, have had several experiences in my past when I would get so terrified of talking about certain things or being fearful of doing something! I admit I still get fearful and worry about numerous of things just like you do. However, whenever I do sense fearfulness or something bothers me, I always go to God for help and pray about it.

For example, one of the big concerns I've had for a long time is opening up about Cerebral Palsy to certain individuals because I worry about what they might think of me and how they will treat me. However, whenever I do start to worry about people's opinions of me I often say one of my favorite verses inside my head ''Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139:14.'' I love it because it always helps my worries go away, and gradually I have learned not to worry about what others think of me.

I do not know what you're going through right now, but I need to let you know that God does care about you and your trials. I also wanted to let you know that I will be praying for you. :) :) My prayers for this blog are not only to help you improve your confidence to cook, but I also hope and pray that my blog will make a difference in your life.

 Thank you so very much for reading my extremely long post. Have a great night and I hope you have a great weekend!