Experimenting with Frozen Spaghetti

Last month I hosted my daughter's softball team for a pre-game pasta dinner. I probably had about a pound of leftover plain, buttered spaghetti. It just seemed like too much to throw out so I put it in a ziploc freezer bag and found space for it my freezer. Up til now I have only frozen pasta dishes that are oven-ready, like lasagna and baked ziti. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this frozen spaghetti and I had my doubts about how it would taste. I went through my recipe folder and found a recipe I had ripped out of a magazine (I think it was Family Circle, but it doesn't say on the page) for spaghetti pie. So I decided to experiment with this recipe and use my frozen spaghetti. I'm happy to report it was a hit. Granted, my oldest, most sauce-avoidant and picky eater was not home, but the rest of us all liked this very much. So here's the recipe:

LEFTOVER SPAGHETTI PIE

1 lb (or less) cooked spaghetti (previously buttered, frozen, and defrosted)

3 cups homemade marinara (or jarred)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3 ounces Canadian bacon, diced

1/2 cup pitted black olives, chopped

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut spaghetti into 3-inch pieces.
• In a large bowl, mix together spaghetti, marinara sauce, mozzarella, Canadian bacon and olives.
• Add the eggs.
• Coat a large pie pan with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle the pan with bread crumbs.
• Spoon spaghetti mixture into the pan.
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle on grated cheese and bake another 10 minutes.

Serves 6.

Enjoy!