Cheesy Layered Baked Spaghetti Casserole

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 35 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 12 ounces spaghetti (cooked to al dente)
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground lamb
• 2 -3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried chili pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 -2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
• 2 -3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
• 1 (10 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/2 cup sliced green olives (optional, can use a bit more)
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• salt and black pepper
• 3 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided (can use more or less)
• 2 (10 ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1/3 cup milk or 1/3 cup water
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Recipe

• 1 grease a lasagna baking pan.
• 2 place the cooked spaghetti in a bowl and toss with salt, pepper, eggs and 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese; set aside.
• 3 for the sauce (this sauce is better if made a day in advance!).
• 4 brown the ground beef and lamb in a medium heavy pot along with the dried oregano, basil, chili flakes, onion, one green bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, garlic and mushrooms; cook until the beef and lamb are browned and the veggies are tender (about 12-15 minutes) drain fat, then add in the olives and crushed tomatoes; simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes.
• 5 season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
• 6 at this point you can cool to room temperature then refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• 7 place half of the spaghetti in the bottom of the baking dish/pan.
• 8 top with the half of the meat sauce, then about 1-1/2 cups mozza cheese.
• 9 repeat layers once ending up with the mozza cheese on top.
• 10 sprinkle a chopped green bell pepper on top of the mozza cheese.
• 11 in a bowl mix together the soup with milk or water, then drizzle on top of the casserole.
• 12 top/sprinkle with about 1/3 cup (or more or less) parmesan cheese (the pan will be full so i advise you to place the pan on a baking sheet to catch spills).
• 13 bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly (if desired sprinkle some mozza cheese on top the last 5 minutes of baking).