Grammie’s Spaglasgna

GRAMMIE’S SPAGLASGNA
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal or beef
8 oz. chopped onion
2 T. minced garlic
1 T. dried basil
1 T. dried oregano
1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
¼ c. sugar
2 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temp
Salt, black pepper
Grated Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil, torn into pieces

1. In large skillet, drizzle a little olive oil and place over medium heat.
2. Add onions and saute until soft.
3. Add garlic and the meats. Break up meats into crumbles and brown thoroughly.
4. Add the basil, oregano, tomato paste and sugar. Stir to mix well and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
5. Add the cream cheese. Stir to mix and simmer another 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and set aside.
7. At this point I usually have made my marinara sauce and added chicken to it. That would be a meal. With the leftovers, I mix enough pasta with the leftover marinara/chicken sauce so that it looks like a casserole.
8. Then I start to layer to make the SPAGLASGNA.
9. First layer in 8×8” pan, place the meat mixture.
10. Then a layer of the Chicken Spaghetti.
11. Then a layer of Mozzarella, then parmesan.
12. Depending on the height of your pan you can repeat the layers. If not after you do the parmesan cheese, sprinkle with fresh basil. Cover with foil. You can bake at this point or freeze.
13. Bake 350 covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook another 10 minutes or until top is golden and bubbly.
    I gave my first batch to some family members and asked them to come up with a name. That is how they came up with the SPAGHETTICHICKEN/LASAGNA-SPAGLASGNA!
    Below are the recipes for my basic MEAT/MARINARA SAUCE AND CHICKEN SPAGHETTI. I make the new above recipe when I have leftovers from the recipes below.
    You can change up the meats, cheeses and add veggies like spinach, broccoli, etc. to the layers.
    ALICE’S MEAT SAUCE WITH SPAGHETTI OR MARINARA SAUCE
    3 lbs. ground meat
    1 (16-oz.) container of chopped onion mixture
    ¼ c. minced garlic
    2 bay leaves
    1 (12-oz.) can tomato paste (use a good quality one)
    1 (14.5 oz.) can stewed Italian tomatoes, optional
    1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, optional
    1 (24-oz.) jar (one of each) Prego Mushroom Sauce; Traditional Sauce, Tomato, Onion, Garlic Mix Don’t tell my ancestors I use this but I find it gives the sauce an extra thickness and it quickens the cooking process.
    2 t. garlic powder
    Salt and black pepper to taste
    1 T. dried oregano
    1 T. dried basil
    ½ -3/4 c. sugar, you can decide on the sweetness you like
    Water
14. In large pot, add ground meat and onion mixture and brown the meat. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. If you are just doing plain Marinara Sauce, skip adding the meat and follow the rest of directions.
15. You can drain off excess fat if desired. (only if using meat, go to step 3 if omitting meat.)
16. Add tomato paste, stewed and diced tomatoes. Blend well.
17. Add sugar, oregano, and basil and simmer over medium heat for 10-12 minutes. Stir to keep from browning on bottom. You will see the redness will darken a bit. This is what you want. It is the caramelizing of the onions and paste.
18. Add the 3 jars of Prego (if you do not like one of the flavors just use 3 of your favorite.)
19. Fill the 3 empty jars with hot water and plus one more jar of water and add to gravy. You want the gravy to be loose so that it can simmer for an hour. Blend well.
20. Add bay leaves and season with salt and black pepper and garlic powder.
21. Simmer for 1 hour or until thicken. If it gets to thick, just add more hot water. Season to taste again.
22. Serve over your favorite pasta.
    Always freeze your leftover sauce. Later you can add meatballs, whole chicken pieces or deboned and have chicken spaghetti. I will later show you how to do baked spaghetti with the leftover chicken spaghetti. Spaghetti gravy always gets better the next day.
    If you choose to leave out the ground meat, you will have the basic marinara sauce.
    ALICE’S CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
    Leftover Chicken from grilling, roasting or baking
    *See recipe for Alice’s Meat Sauce and Spaghetti
    Follow this recipe. You can leave out the ground meat if you like but it is fine if you leave it in.
    Add the cooked chicken about 1 hour after the sauce has simmered.
    Taste for seasoning.
    Serve over pasta. With the leftover spaghetti, I mix in the chicken with slotted spoon and gradually add the marinara sauce and stir to combine. It should look like a casserole at this point. Place in baking casserole dish. Top with grated parmesan cheese and heat in oven until hot. Remove from oven and garnish with more parmesan cheese, if desired. Before baking in oven, you can cover with foil and freeze for later use.