A Recipe: Spaghetti Pie

I like to think of it as "cheater lasagne." I love lasagne, but I'm too impatient to make it--all the steps of layering and making sauce, precooking noodles, etc. Using leftover pasta, and pre-shredded cheese, etc. makes this recipe suitable for a last-minute meal.

I first made spaghetti pie as a way to use up leftovers... I googled and found a lot of recipes, and mish mashed until I came up with something I liked.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients
4 or more cups leftover previously sauced spaghetti
2 T margarine, plus a little to grease the pan (I use earth balance)
2 eggs (The eggs act as a binder for the pasta, if you wanted a vegan version of this treat, you could sauté the spaghetti in its sauce first to make it "stickier.")
1 c cottage cheese (or crumbled firm tofu seasoned with salt, nutritional yeast)
1 c spaghetti sauce
1 c mozzarella cheese (or vegan version)

Melt the margarine and let it cool for a few minutes, add the eggs, and beat. Stir in the pasta and coat. Pour the coated pasta into a greased 8x8 glass baking dish. Spread a thin layer of cottage cheese (or crumbled tofu) on top. Spread a thin layer of pasta sauce over the cottage cheese. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over the top of the mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and pie is heated through.

(By the way, although we eat vegan food most of the time, sometimes we eat local, sustainably produced eggs and cheese. This meal is one of our favorite exceptions).