If you happen to be a troll of Pinterest, I’m sure you’ve seen a recipe for “Millionaire Spaghetti”, well I’ve taken that recipe, revised it a bit and made what is now my favorite comforting casserole of all time. I do plan to add a bunch of sautéed vegetables to my next version of this casserole, it will certainly change up the flavors. This casserole is rich and hearty, perfect after a day of work out in the wet, drizzly, mucky mess we had yesterday.
The changes I’ve made to Millionaire Casserole, to make it Billionaire Casserole:
Spaghetti got an upgrade to fettuccini noodles. Better texture. Also tossed them with butter and garlic salt for added flavor.
Boosted flavor in the ‘creamy’ layer by using flavored sour cream. From Iowa? Try AE Sour Cream Dips: Chive, French Onion, Garlic or Toasted Onion.
Ground pork in the meat sauce, because… I have a lot of it (and the price, hello!) and it can be used ANYTIME ground beef is! Score!
Extra parmesan and extra cheese inside the casserole is never a bad idea.
A pop of fresh herbs (use parsley if you want, but I like chives on everything) for freshness.
In other news, this week has been busy! We’ve celebrated an important birthday, and my husband traveled most of the week, which only happens once a year. (Silly work meetings anyway.)
Lady the puppy made an appearance at school and I finally folded all of the laundry leftover from harvest. One bad thing: I’ve lost the (apparently due to the many times it has appeared in my pictures from harvest) rose colored Iowa State Fair sweatshirt.
It is my ‘sucky’. (Did you have a blanket when you were little, or a comfy outfit or pillow you just can’t sleep without? If you did, that’s your ‘sucky’. Just roll with me here.) If you see my rose colored sweatshirt, bring it to me and I will hug you forever.
After you are through scanning all possible locations of my missing sweatshirt…
Get cookin’!
This recipe makes a double batch of casserole, one to make now, one to freeze for later. Just make sure, whenever you freeze anything, to wrap in plastic, then in foil. This will help keep the casserole protected from the freezer flavors and dreaded freezer burn.
Billionaire Spaghetti Casserole
*Halve the recipe to make one 9×13 casserole
Ingredients
- 3 lbs ground pork or ground beef
- 1/3 cup minced dehydrated onion
- 2 tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt or other seasoned salt
- 64 ounces marinara sauce (2, 32-ounce containers)
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 2 lb packages fettuccini noodles cooked to al dente (2 minutes less than box says) drained
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 1 cup flavored sour cream I used Chive this time
- 2 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 6 cups shredded cheese, divided
- *optional: fresh herbs of choice for garnish (chives, parsley etc.)
Instructions
Meaty Sauce
- Brown ground pork/beef with onion and seasoned salt. Drain. Combine with marinara, set aside.
Noodle Layer
- Cook noodles to al dente (2 minutes less than package says). Drain noodles and toss with butter and garlic salt. Set aside
Creamy Layer
- Mix cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream and 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese together. Set aside.
ASSEMBLY
- In two 9×13 pans, sprayed with nonstick spray or greased with butter. Add 1/4 of the noodles in each pan. Sprinkle 1/4 cup remaining parmesan cheese onto each pan of noodles. Add half of creamy layer mixture to each pan, spread out evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese onto creamy mixture in each pan. Add another 1/4th of the noodle mixture to each pan. Sprinkle each with 1/4 parmesan cheese again, add 1/2 of the meat sauce to the top of each pan.
To Cook
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake casserole for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese evenly over each of the two pans. Return to oven to bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven, let stand 15 minutes before serving.
To Freeze For later
- Press a layer of plastic wrap onto the meat sauce of the casserole. (Don’t add cheese to the casserole, simply keep it in the fridge or freezer for later use.) Double wrap casserole with tin foil. When ready to bake, thaw in refrigerator overnight, then bake for 40 minutes at 350, then sprinkle cheese and continue to bake 25 minutes more until cheese is melted.
8 Comments
WOWZA! This dish looks over the top fantastic Cristen!
Thanks Jenny! I have eaten it for 4 meals in a row! I’ll be sad when the leftovers are gone. What are you making this weekend?
OMGoodness– Just popped this in the oven and Im so excited to dig in… smells amazing and my few licks along the way were so YUMMY!!! Thank you!!
I love it Carisa! So cool, thanks for checking in! Let me know! XOXO
We are also hog farmers in Iowa! Looks like a great recipe to try with ground pork, which we just happen to have a lot of, too!
Hi Anna! Great one with ground pork, yes!
Love your recipes….
Thank you so much Mary!