Baked Tex-Mex Spaghetti

How's the weather in your neck of the woods?  It's been pretty chilly here in Utah which means all I want is warm comfort food.  This baked spaghetti is some seriously delicious comfort food.

It's super tasty and I love it so much that I think about it all the time . . . ha ha.

This comes together so quick that it can easily be a weeknight dish.  You can even make this ahead of time and reheat it later.  It's great on day one and it's just as good on day two.   

All you do is brown some meat, make an easy cream sauce and then stir it all together with a lot of cheese and some cooked spaghetti noodles and bake.  The sauce is so flavorful and super creamy and anything loaded with this much cheese has got to be good, right!!   

This will easily become one of your family's favorite dishes.

I also shared this recipe over at The Recipe Critic's site.  Click HERE to check it out.

You might also like:

Bobby Deen's Baked Spaghetti

Easy Weeknight Bowtie Pasta

Olive Cheese Bread

Shortcut Garlic Butterflake Rolls

Baked Tex-Mex Spaghetti
From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

3/4 Lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
4 Tbl. unsalted butter
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. milk
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cheddar cheese, grated
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Pepper Jack cheese, grated
2 Tbl. chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbl. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz.) pkg. angel hair pasta

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.  Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente; drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, brown ground turkey or beef in a large skillet over medium heat.  When meat is almost cooked through, add the onion and saute until tender and meat is cooked through.  Remove meat from the skillet and set aside.  To the same skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Gradually whisk in the flour until a paste forms and cook for 2 minutes, whisking frequently.  Slowly whisk in the milk until thickened.  Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick and creamy.  Stir in the meat mixture, grated Cheddar cheese, 1 cup of the Pepper Jack cheese, chopped cilantro, cumin, chili powder and salt.  In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta and sauce mixture and stir until all pasta is evenly coated with sauce.  Pour into prepared casserole dish, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with remaining Pepper Jack cheese and return to oven, uncovered, for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Let stand a few minutes before serving, then slice and garnish with desired toppings (olives, chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, sliced green onions).  Serves: around 6 - 9.