Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are getting back in the swing of things. Perhaps, just maybe, you’ve even been able to stick with that New Year’s resolution. And for many folks, myself included, that resolution is to lose some extra weight. My wife and I had been talking about shedding some pounds before Christmas and her response to me was, “How am I supposed to lose weight when you’re running a Southern food blog!?!?” Well, while I’ll admit it’s not going to be easy, I think we can find a way to at least lighten-up a few of my favorites to make them a bit more figure friendly. This here is a perfect example. I’ve taken this recipe for baked spaghetti (a real family favorite) and given you a few ideas to lighten it up – like swapping regular cream cheese for Neufchatel and trading the regular ground beef for ground sirloin, ground round or even ground turkey. You can even switch out the regular mozzarella for the 2% mozzarella that’s available.
Ingredients
- 8 to 12 oz spaghetti
- 1 to 1.5 pounds ground beef (I used Ground Sirloin)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 24 oz jar spaghetti sauce
- 8 oz cream cheese (I used Neufchatel- 1/3 less fat)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain.
- Combine ground beef and onion in a large skillet and brown. Drain grease.
- Return beef and onions to pan and add spaghetti sauce. Bring to a simmer.
- In another small bowl, combine cream cheese, milk, and garlic powder. (You may need to microwave the cream cheese a bit to soften it if it is not at room temp.)
- Spray a 9X13 baking dish with cooking spray and layer noodles, then cream cheese mixture, then meat sauce. Top with mozzarella and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted a bubbly.
Recipe Card
Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 8 to 12 ounces spaghetti
- 1 to 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
- 8 oz cream cheese (I used Neufchatel- 1/3 less fat)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain.
- Combine ground beef and onion in a large skillet and brown. Drain grease.
- Return beef and onions to pan and add spaghetti sauce. Bring to a simmer.
- In another small bowl, combine cream cheese, milk, and garlic powder. (You may need to microwave the cream cheese a bit to soften it if it is not at room temp.)
- Spray a 9X13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and layer noodles, then cream cheese mixture, then meat sauce. Top with mozzarella and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted a bubbly.
