Spaghetti with stuffed meatballs and leftover spaghetti pie

Spaghetti is one of the easiest dinners to make.  It's a classic family meal that is easy on the wallet.  It's one of my go-to meals when I don't have a plan when I get home.  That being said, it's nice to mix it up every once in a while to make spaghetti a little more memorable. 

So I decided to make meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese and top it with sauteed red peppers and fried spinach. 

Preheat the oven to 350F and start to boil the water for the spaghetti.
 
Meatball stuffing
You can use any kind of cheese that you like.  Just cut small cubes and set them aside until your meatball mixture is ready.  For simplicity I used mozzarella string cheese sticks.  They were very easy to work with and did not crumble.  Also I think mozzarella goes very well with spaghetti. 

Meatballs
Mix one pound of 85% fat ground beef with one egg, minced onion, a 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of oregano, a dash of salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of garlic powder.  Then add 1/4 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs and start to formulate golf ball sized meatballs.

Next make an indentation in each meatball and insert a piece of the cheese that you cubed earlier.  Re-form the meatball to tightly seal the cheese inside of the meatball.  Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes. Turn them over halfway through.  You will know that they are ready when they are fully browned and a bit of the cheese starts to peek through the meatball.

Spaghetti
Prepare the spaghetti as directed by the package.  When it is fully cooked, add the sauce of your choice. 

Peppers and Spinach topping / garnish
Clean then cut up a large red pepper and saute in a pan with butter until cooked through.  In the same pan or in its own pan, fry pieces of baby spinach in a bit of butter or oil until crispy.  This will top the spaghetti to add beautiful color, texture, and additional flavor.

Assemble the plates with as must of the toppings as desired.  Enjoy!

Leftovers
Now what can we do with that leftover spaghetti?  How about a spaghetti pie!

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Lightly spray a pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.  
3. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with flour or corn tortilla shells.  Tear the shells or overlap them if necessary.  Just make sure that the entire bottom and sides are covered.
4. If you have any extra sauce, add it to the leftover spaghetti.  Also add diced vegetables to the spaghetti.  I used spinach and a bit of onion.  You could also add a bit of ricotta at this time.
5. Now add the leftover spaghetti mixture to the pie pan.  
6. Top with shredded cheese (mozzarella, mild cheddar, etc.)
7. Cover the pie with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Cut and serve with a side salad.  Now you have a fun way to use those leftovers!