easy baked spaghetti

lately, i have had fun trying to think of clever comfort food recipes that still allow me to be semi health-conscious. i've learned that i can still eat some of my favorite foods, but i have to practice strict portion control. one such recipe is easy baked spaghetti. baked spaghetti is a favorite in my house, but it takes some trickery to keep it low cal.

shopping list:
16 ounces angel hair pasta
extra light olive oil
1 jar ragu tomato sauce
1 jar ragu classic alfredo
italian seasoning mix
garlic salt
1 pound ground lean beef (or turkey)
16 ounces low fat cottage cheese
sargento artisan blend parmesan and romano
2 cups mozzarella made with 2% milk

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350.
2. cook angel hair pasta. mix in a tablespoon or so of olive oil, just to keep the noodles from sticking together.
3. cook ground meat. sprinkle italian seasoning mix and garlic salt to raw meat on both sides.
4. cook entire jar of ragu tomato sauce with 1/2 cup of alfredo sauce. add italian seasoning and garlic salt to this as well. mix well until sauce is a dark pink/light red color and spices mixed throughout.
5. once ground meat is fully cooked, drain the grease (if necessary, which usually isn't with such a lean type of meat), then add the meat to the sauce.
6. layer in a 13x9 pan about half of the sauce mixture, then layer about half of noodles, then all of the cottage cheese, then about half of sargento artisan blends parm/romano, then about half of the sauce mixture that is left, then the rest of the noodles, then the rest of the sauce, and, finally, top the layers with the mozzarella.
7. bake at 350 until cheese melted and browns slightly. usually about 20 minutes but ovens vary.

recipe should produce about 8 servings.

you will also have some of the parm/romano blend left. it goes great on a caesar salad, which makes for a super easy side for this yummy meal. you will also have over half of the alfredo sauce left. it stores well if kept in the refrigerator.

the outcome looks a little something like this:

fin.