5 Ingredient Weeknight Family Dinner

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box (lb.) of spaghetti, I prefer thick
• 1 jar (24 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce, low sodium
• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
• seasonings of your choice
  • pinch of each: garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano or 1 tablespoon of Italian seasonings

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and mix in a tablespoon of salt.
2. Add a box of thick spaghetti and cook for 11 minutes.
3. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
4. Spray or butter your 8×11 (or similar) dish.
5. Once the noodles are done, drain but leave about 1/4 cup of pasta water.
6. Return to same pot and add the 1/4 cup of pasta water back in.
7. Now add your sauce, whipped cream, parmesan cheese and season well.
8. Mix to combine.
9. Dump the spaghetti mixture into your baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese and more seasonings.
10. Bake for about 20 minutes.
11. While you wait, you can make some garlic bread (store bought or from scratch) and a little side salad too.
12. Once it’s nice and bubbly, golden brown, remove from the oven and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving.
13. Enjoy.

I know what you are thinking, this isn’t much different than your regular spaghetti dinner! It’s really not. Same ingredients but definitely different. The fact that it’s baked, makes it feel like you did something new and honestly the flavors are a bit more restaurant style. And for that, moms and dads get an A+ for changing things up!

TIPS:

1. You can brown some meat and add it to the sauce as well.
2. I sometimes chop up a ton of veggies in a blender, sauté it in some olive oil and mix it in too. The kids never know! #momhack
3. This can be made all organic or vegan too. Use the ingredients that speak to you.
4. For a step by step video on how to make this, please check out my Instagram page.