Cheesy? Yum!!

One of the easiest dish to prepare, and one of the easiest to make ahead and freeze for lazy cooking days, or for hectic days for that matter! I present, the Cheesy Yum. The name..ahh, the name was borne out of three active young minds; my children.

I no longer make this because I can't take cheese, so I have been depriving the family of this dish the kids particularly love. Bad mother? Nahh...just being practical. A Cheesy Yum at the expense of an exhausted mother who no longer wants to cook anything because she has to cook two separate meals, one for her and another for the family, because of the allergies, is simply not worth it. Either they put up with it for a while, or forgo her cooking forever.

This dish is very versatile. I love the fact that it can be prepped ahead of time, refrigerated, and baked the next day. Or, it can also be baked, cooled, cut up into generous squares, wrapped up, frozen, and voila! You got yourself a homemade frozen dinner!

Cheesy Yum

1 1 lb. 9 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 box/ packet of spaghetti
2-4 cups grated cheese (mozzarella and cheddar) enough to generously sprinkle over the dish
1 medium-sized onion, minced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
dash of chilli powder (can be omitted)
2 Tsb oil
1 lbs ground beef

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit
1. Cook the spaghetti , drain, set aside
2. Heat oil and saute the minced onion and garlic till fragrant
3. add ground beef and stir for about 3-4 minutes
4. Dump in the spaghetti sauce
5. Cook till beef is done
6. In a large bowl or in pot (if it's big enough) combine the cooked spaghetti with the cooked sauce
7. In a 9 x 13 casserole/pyrex dish, pour this mixed spaghetti combo
8. sprinkle grated cheese over it, and bake in the oven until the cheese melts and browns a little bit
9. Cut immediately into serving size pieces, and dig in while the cheese are still gooey and soft!

Cook's Notes:

• You can also prepare up to step 7 and put it in the refrigerator to bake the next day
• You can also cool it completely after it's done, then cut into serving size pieces, wrap each piece with plastic wrap/ aluminum foil, and freeze them. You can then have these as your homemade frozen dinners. (Good for large families, or for mothers who have to plan ahead for some occasions/events that require them to cook ahead and store so the family would not be without homemade food)
• You can also make your own spaghetti sauce as below:

1. Saute the minced onions and garlic till frgrant
2. Add 2 Tbs tomato paste
3. Add 1 lb. ground beef
4. Add 1 can tomato sauce
5. Add salt, pepper, oregano, and any other additions you like in your spaghetti sauce
6. Cook till beef is done

Grated cheese; check.
Spaghetti; check.
Spaghetti sauce; check.
Onion, garlic; check.
Ground beef; check.
Oil; check.

What are you waiting for? Cheesy? Yum!!