Million Dollar Spaghetti (Penne Style)

I know, I know, this recipe is all over Pinterest.  but I just had to try it.  I have to say, it really did live up to the hype. I'm not sure if it was worth a million dollars but at least a few hundred grand in my book.  Of course I did have to change it up a bit but in the end  I loved the ease of making this, just a couple extra ingredients and steps and bam you have something a little more exciting than regular spaghetti.  

Start with dicing up a small onion

Toss it in a large skillet with a little canola or olive oil and saute for a few minutes...just to soften it

Once the onion begins to soften, add the ground beef

Season with a little salt and black pepper.  Cook until no longer pink in the middle.

Add a jar of your favorite marinara sauce.  

Stir to combine, congratulations, you have made meat sauce. Let it bubble on the stove while you prepare the cheese mixture.

Which starts with sour cream

Cottage cheese...don't groan at this you guys.  Mr. Schwartz HATES cottage cheese but he said he couldn't even tell in this recipe.

A little garlic salt and oh yeah, toss a block of cream cheese in there.  Sorry, forgot to take that picture.

Dried parsley if you wish, I think it makes it look pretty...

And black pepper.

Stir to combine.

Oh yeah, and you made noodles! Surprise.  : ) Add a little butter to the noodles while they are hot and give it a mix.

Place half of the noodles in a 9x13 pan

Spread the cheese mixture over the first layer of noodles.  Don't worry, I thought it wasn't going to spread and be all weird but it worked perfectly. Trust me.

Add the other layer of noodles

And top with the meat sauce.

Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes to bake.

After 30 minutes, remove from the onion and add a bunch of cheese.

Back in the oven it goes for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.

That's it!  Million Dollar PENNE!

Million Dollar Spaghetti (Penne Style)

1 small onion, diced
Drizzle of canola or olive oil
1 pound ground beef or turkey
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 pound penne noodles
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 8 oz block of cream cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
2 cups shredded cheese (Cheddar, Mozzarella, Colby Jack Mix, whatever floats your boat)

Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat as well as the oven to 350 degrees.  Add the oil and onion to the pan and saute for a few minutes to soften it.  Add the ground beef and season with black pepper and a little salt.  Cook until no longer pink in the middle.  Add the jar of marinara sauce and stir.  Let bubble while you work on the other components.

Cook the noodles according to the directions of the box.  You want them to be pretty al dente (not all the way cooked yet) since they will continue to cook and absorb the liquid while it bakes in the oven.  Once the noodles are cooked and strained, add the butter and give them a quick mix.  Set aside for now.

Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, garlic salt, parsley and black pepper in a small bowl.  Now we are ready to assemble.

In a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, add 1/2 of the noodles.  Spread the cheese mixture over the top of the noodles. Add the other 1/2 of the noodles and top with the meat sauce.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle the cheese over the top.  Place back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted.

Enjoy!!!

Recipe by: I'm really not sure who please enlighten me if you know!!! What I could find was the original was from the blog Being Grown Up.  But I'm not 100% sure of that!