Miscellaneous Momma's Million Dollar Spaghetti

After perusing and trying a million different Million Dollar spaghetti recipes, I tweaked them to come up with this one.  This is where it's at, ya'll.  Trust me.  I did the work for you.  My middle schoolers can make it, so can you.  It is perfect for feeding a lot of people and it freezes well if you like to make meals ahead of time.  I like to make a pan and freeze a second pan for a busy week.

I wasn't planning to blog about this when I made it, so this

is my one and only picture... I'll have to update this when I make it again.

Miscellaneous Momma's Million Dollar Spaghetti

      Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 1/2 c. onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp. salt 
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 24 oz. jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 16 oz. spaghetti 
• 4 T. butter (1/2 a stick), sliced
• 8 oz. cream cheese (1 block), softened
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese 
• 1/2 c. ricotta cheese
• 3 c. (or 12 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 c. (about 4 oz.) freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Parsley for garnish

          

      Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Make the Meat Sauce: In a large skillet, cook and crumble the ground beef and Italian sausage along with the onions and green peppers. Remove most of the grease (but leave a little, because FAT IS FLAVOR!!). Season the cooked meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.  Add the minced garlic and cook for a few additional minutes. Add one full jar of spaghetti sauce (reserve the other jar for later) to the mixture.  Add 2 tsp. sugar.  Stir to combine.  Set aside.
3. Prepare the pasta: Cook the spaghetti in salted water according to the package instructions, just until “al dente”. Drain. Then return the hot spaghetti to the pot along with the sliced butter and the 2nd jar of spaghetti sauce.  Toss to combine.
4. Make the Cheese layer: Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and ricotta cheese in a bowl and mix well. 
5. Assemble the spaghetti: Butter a 9x13” pan.  Pour about half of the pasta into the pan. Smooth the cheese layer on top. Spread it as evenly as you can. Then, layer the remaining spaghetti.  Add the meat sauce on top and smooth into an even layer. Top with the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. 
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley. Wait at a few minutes before cutting. It should make about 12-15 servings.  You can also Freeze this and bake at a later time, just increase the baking time to about 60 minutes and wait to add the top layer of cheese until about 30 minutes into the baking time. Enjoy!