Thursday, December 27, 2007

Cheesy Beef Spirals

This is a good, faster alternative to lasagna. I often substitute Italian sausage for 1/2 or all of the ground beef. You can also eliminate the process American cheese and sour cream and simply replace it with 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese called for in the recipe. Parmesan cheese also adds a nice flavor to this dish. I usually serve this with Caesar salad and garlic bread.

2 cups uncooked spiral pasta (shells or macaroni pasta are fine as well)
2 pounds ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 4 ½ oz. jar sliced mushrooms, drained
½ cup sour cream
½ lb. process American cheese, cubed
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the beef, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and mushrooms; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Place ½ cup of meat sauce in a greased shallow 2 ½ quart baking dish. Drain pasta; place ½ over sauce. Top with half of the remaining meat sauce; spread with sour cream. Top with American cheese and remaining pasta and meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Uncover & bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

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