Bare Cupboards Dinner Party Casseroles |
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Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 120 Minutes |
Ready In: 150 Minutes Servings: 20 |
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This makes two hearty Italian style pasta casseroles with beef and spinach for very little money and makes good use of ingredients you might have lying around your house. This comes from my Aunt's recipe collection, updated a bit for my tastes. She had originally clipped this from an article in Family Circle in 1973. I wanted to share the story behind this recipe as well as the recipe itself. Basically, a mom of six children had, on the spur of the moment, decided to invite guests over for supper on a Sunday. Apparently, no stores were open on Sundays, so she was unable to buy any ingredients and was faced with only using her meager household staples, and relied on her Italian family background for inspiration. This was what she created. This makes two big casseroles, one you can eat now, and one you may freeze and reheat later if you are not having a bunch of guests over. I think if you don't have any spinach, you could substitute another veggie like roasted red peppers, sauteed mushrooms...really whatever you have handy is the point here. Also, when you make this...you might say this could use some more cheese ...go ahead and use extra cheese if you want, melting some on top during the last 5-10 minutes of baking. Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs lean ground beef |
1 tablespoon olive oil or 1 tablespoon canola oil, as needed to keep meat from sticking to pan |
2 large chopped onions (about 2 cups) |
2 stalks celery & leaves, finely chopped (about 2 cups) |
3 large carrots, finely grated (about 1 1/2 cups) |
2 (35 ounce) cans italian-style tomatoes |
2 -3 teaspoons salt, to taste |
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano, crumbled |
1 teaspoon pepper, to taste |
1 teaspoon garlic powder, to taste |
1 1/2 lbs pasta noodles, cooked and drained (she used macaroni and tiny seashell shaped pasta) |
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry well (or use other veggies) |
1 cup grated parmesan cheese |
Directions:
1. Brown meat in enough oil to keep meat from sticking, about 5 minutes; drain fat.
2. Add onions, celery, carrots, and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add tomatoes, salt, oregano, pepper, and garlic powder (all seasonings to taste).
4. Bring sauce to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour.
5. Meanwhile, cook your pasta,timing it so that it is ready when the sauce has finished simmering.
6. Mix pasta, sauce and spinach all together, then pour into 2 greased 9x13 casseroles.
7. Sprinkle each casserole with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly (uncovered).
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