baked spaghetti

tonight's recipe... baked spaghetti!
it is time now for some honesty... baked spaghetti is not what i made for dinner this evening. no, tonight i made a sort-of breakfast quiche. sounds good, right? i know. so good, that i was gonna blog it. i took lots of pictures. i even made my own pie crust... believe it... i did. the pictures turned out fantastic. the quiche... well, not so much. really. it's been very upsetting for me. i like my cookin' to turn out the way i imagine it should, but occasionally it doesn't. like tonight. it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. so, it's back to square one with the quiche recipe... more to come when i've worked that one out.
ok, back to the baked spaghetti...

12 oz. spaghetti (use whatever type of pasta you've got on hand or prefer)
1 lb. hamburger
1 onion, chopped (whatever type you've got is just fine)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes (i usually use the italian style)
1 can mushrooms, diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 c. shredded cheese
1 can cream of mushroom
water
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
ok, here it goes...

brown the hamburger, drain any excess fat... yummy. add onions and bell peppers, saute until soft. add mushrooms and tomatoes. let it simmer for 10 minutes... or until you're ready to get busy.

cook your pasta, but make sure it's not mush. i usually start the water before i start browning the hamburger.
once the meat mixture has simmered and the pasta has been cooked, get ready... it's time for layering! in a 9x13 pan layer pasta, meat, part of the cheese, pasta meat, rest of the cheese. ok, stop. empty the cream of mushroom in a bowl. gradually add milk or water to thin the cream. don't add so much that it gets runny. you just want it to spread easily over the top and seep into the layers. oooohhhhh... it's making me hungry! so, whatcha waiting for? pour it on top. sprinkle parmesan over the cream.

viola! this is what it looks like before you bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until it gets all bubbly and gooey.

oh, my heavens... yummy, yummy, YUMMY!!!
a lot of times when i make this recipe, i'll put it in 2 loaf pans and freeze one. get it all ready up to the baking point, then freeze it. just make sure you set it out in enough time that it has ample time to thaw... trust me. thawing in the oven takes way longer than you'd ever think!

enjoy the recipe... you'll thank me later.