Saturday, February 7, 2009

Me Oh My, Spaghetti Pie!


I had Spaghetti Pie for the first time a little over a year ago. I had just returned home from the hospital after the birth of my daughter and a dear, sweet woman from our church dropped by with dinner. I tend to lose my appetite for the first couple of weeks after having a baby. Maybe because I'm so consumed with feeding the baby and taking care of their needs, I stop thinking about food. Maybe it's the hormones. Although usually my hormones affect me in the opposite fashion (crazy raging chocolate monster). Not to worry, my appetite always returns. Unfortunately. But in those first couple of weeks I pick at food and push it away. That's exactly what I expected to do after my first bite of spaghetti pie; just take the obligatory bite or two and push it around on my plate. Instead, I devoured the first piece and dug into a second. Have you ever thought, "Wow. That hit the spot"? Well, this one really did. Me oh my, Spaghetti Pie!

I never did get the recipe for that Spaghetti Pie. And then over the summer we moved 730 miles away from my friend and the church and the Spaghetti Pie recipe. A year had gone by and I didn't give Spaghetti Pie another thought. Until...I was making the meal plan for this week. I found a recipe for Spaghetti Pie in Light and Tasty magazine. This recipe seemed pretty close to the delicious spaghetti pie I remember. I made some changes, for instance, switching green onions for green peppers so that it more closely resembled my friend's recipe. I can't remember if she used mushrooms, but they worked beautifully in this recipe. And when it was all finished...I'm telling the truth here....MY SPAGHETTI PIE ROCKED! So good! Mmm mmm mmmm.

Wanna try...Spaghetti Pie?

Well, here you go. Start with 6 oz. of spaghetti. Cook according to the package directions and drain.


Now add 1/2 cup of egg substitute and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese to the cooked spaghetti.


If you're wondering what the little bits of green are in the pictures below, it's green onion. The green onion was intended for the next layer. The cream cheese layer. I got a little distracted and I grabbed for the green onion rather than the parmesan that I'd pre-measured. Oops. I got most of them out. Ever tried to pick chopped green onions out of slimy, egg covered spaghetti? It's a little tedious. At some point you just have to call it "good enough".



Press the spaghetti into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 in. pie plate.


Now on to the next layer. Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, and NOW the green onions.


Spread over the spaghetti "crust".


Saute 1/2 lb. of fresh, sliced mushrooms with 4 cloves of garlic until tender.


Arrange the mushrooms evenly over the pie.


Now top with spaghetti sauce. My last jar of sauce just happens to contain meat, but if you're looking for a meatless dinner, This spaghetti pie is a great option!



Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then pull out the pie and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.


Let the Spaghetti Pie stand and cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting...if you can stand it.


Spaghetti Pie

6 ounces uncooked spaghetti
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
3 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Add the egg substitute and
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in.
deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream
cheese, sour cream, green onion and remaining Parmesan cheese. Spread over spaghetti crust. In a nonstick skillet, saute mushrooms and garlic in butter until tender. Spoon over cheese mixture. Spread with spaghetti sauce. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
Makes 6 servings.

Approximate Nutrition Facts based on a similar recipe:
One serving: Calories: 326 Fat: 13 g Saturated Fat: 8 g Cholesterol: 37 mg Sodium: 707 mg Carbohydrate: 36 g Fiber: 3 g Protein: 17 g Diabetic Exchange: 2 starch, 2 lean meat, 1 vegetable, 1 fat.

Weight Watchers Points per serving: 7 It's worth every single point!

7 comments:

  1. looks delicious, I would really like to prepare it, but... what's the egg substitue? Can I use just eggs?

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  2. You can definitely use eggs. Egg substitute is just a lighter alternative to using the whole egg. It's mostly made of the egg whites.

    1/2 cup of egg substitute in this recipe = 2 whole eggs.

    Hope you enjoy it!

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  3. This looks fantastic!! Nice pictures! Bet it was delicious.

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  4. I make spaghetti pie, too. But your version has a lot more flavors going on!! Looks delicious!

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  5. Could I just use egg whites? How many you think? Thanks.

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  6. Holly, sorry for the late response on this, I just happened to be going back through old posts. I'm thinking 4 egg whites should be about right. Hope you like it as much as we did!

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