Spaghetti Lasagna

I was thinking lasagna thoughts for dinner,  but I did not have any lasagna noodles. I decided to make a smallish "Spaghetti Lasagna" instead.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces this spaghetti
• 16 ounces diced tomatoes canned
• 1/4 cup romano cheese (ground)
• 3 teaspoons - dried onion flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon each - basil, oregano
• 8 ounces Italian sausage
• 1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
• 1/4 teaspoon each - garlic, black pepper
• 12 ounces cottage cheese
• 1 - 2 large handfuls baby spinach
• 1/4 teaspoon each garlic, basil + black pepper (to taste)
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded  

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, spray a large pie pan or 7 x 9 casserole with cooking spray.
   (If you use a pie pan, it can be round food.)
2. Cook pasta to al dente and drain.
3. Cook and crumble sausage with the bell peppers. Drain as needed.
4. Whirr diced tomatoes with juices, romano cheese, and first set of spices in food processor
5. Mix sauce and pasta together
6. Whirr cottage cheese, spinach, and 1/4 teaspoon each garlic, basil + black pepper (to taste) in food processor until spinach disappears
7. Spread 1/3 of the sauced noodles in the prepared pan
8. Cover noodles with 1/2 of spinach/cottage cheese
9. Layer 1/2 remains pasta over cottage cheese layer
10. Layer 2/3 of peppers and sausage over pasta. Sprinkle with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese 
11. Cover with rest of pasta. Spread rest of cottage cheese mixture over pasta, leaving about a 1/2 inch from rim of pan.
12. Spread remaining peppers in a ray pattern. Sprinkle remaining sausage over top. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over top.
13. Place pie pan on a cookie sheet, bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Carole's Notes:

Pasta, sausage, spinach, cheese - yes we liked it! It was round as well!

This recipe was adapted from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/220599/left-over-spaghetti-lasagna/