Day 33: Spaghetti Florentine

I was watching Food Network the other day looking for new recipe ideas. On one of the shows, someone created this amazing looking baked potato Florentine, which I am going to try to recreate soon. But it gave me an idea for a DO dish. I know I have seen a spaghetti Florentine recipe somewhere before, so I can't take full credit for this one, but I think it still counts as my creation. Am I right?

Spaghetti Florentine

12" dutch oven

8 oz. uncooked spaghetti

1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage or a mix of the two

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 egg, beaten

2 cups cottage cheese

1 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Italian seasoning

shredded mozzarella

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Brown the meat with the onions and garlic until no longer pink. Stir in the spaghetti sauce. Simmer about 10 minutes. In a bowl, combine the egg, cottage cheese, spinach, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning. When pasta is cooked, add it to the sauce mixture and pour into your DO. Then spread the spinach mixture over the spaghetti. Top with mozzarella cheese. I baked mine for 45 minutes using 8 coals on the bottom and 16 on top.

The Finished Product

What I learned

It was warmer today, and it showed because I used the same number of coals as usual, but it was too much heat. Next time I will only use 14 coals on top and cook it about 35 minutes, or until the cheese is just lightly browned. The mozzarella was overcooked (as you can tell).

The Review

This was really good if I do say so myself. I'll adjust the cooking temp and time and it will be even better. Some mushrooms would be good, and next time I will add some canned tomatoes (fresh in the summer) to the sauce. The family loved it, even my picky eaters. This is something I will make again, with some adjustments. For now I will give this recipe a B.