Million Dollar Spaghetti

I've made different versions of this casserole for years now. While surfing Pinterest recently the name "Million Dollar Spaghetti" jumped out at me. One look at the list of ingredients and you can tell this is a delicious casserole perfect for serving dinner guests. It is always nice to have a great Italian casserole in your recipes files!!!

Of course I did adapt it a little to my own preference such as using Italian Sausage instead of hamburger meat. I also used an Italian Five Cheese Blend of shredded cheese instead of shredded cheddar cheese. 

Million Dollar Spaghetti

adapted from the blog Recipes We Love

1 pound Mild Italian Sausage

1 jar spaghetti sauce

1 (16 oz.) package of spaghetti

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

16 ounces cottage cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 stick butter, thinly sliced

1 (2 cup) bag of shredded Italian Cheese Blend

Cook Italian Sausage in a medium skillet until done.  Stir in spaghetti sauce with cooked sausage. In a large pot, boil spaghetti noodles according to package directions until firm; drain.  In a large bowl combine cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream until well blended. Layer 2 tablespoons of sliced butter in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Put half of the cooked spaghetti on top of the butter slices. Spread all of the cream cheese mixture on top of the spaghetti.  Top with the remainder of the spaghetti and put the last 2 tablespoons of butter across the top. Spread the meat mixture evenly over the top of the casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and then sprinkle with 2 cups of cheese and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.  

Make sure to pin this recipe and save it in your files!!! The next time you need a casserole for friends coming over for dinner or your family is in town for a visit…..make this dish!!! It goes along well with a loaf of French bread, a crisp green salad and your choice of veggie. It also reheats perfectly for a quick meal the next day. If you want to freeze this casserole, double wrap it in heavy duty foil with the directions written on top. Thaw overnight in fridge and top with cheese the last 15 minutes of baking as directed. You could also make this recipe in two 8x8 inch pans; 1 to eat now and 1 to freeze for later. It would be a delicious meal to deliver to a new mom or a family in need. Enjoy!