Infamous, nefarious, delicious

Last night, knowing it would be just Sean and myself for dinner, I made my mom's infamous Spaghetti Casserole. It's infamous because apparently nobody but me (and now Sean, bless his heart) will eat it. Yeah, it's not gourmet food; it hardly qualifies as school cafeteria food. But it's this comfort dish from my childhood that has an inexplicable hold over me -- sometimes nothing else will do.

Sean, Norman and Curtis are all big fans of a good baked topping. In other words, whenever I make a casserole-type thing, it's important to them that there be a great deal of slightly-well-done upper surface available for consumption, whereas I tend to go for the soft, gooey innards. But I love the top of this casserole and tend to bake it in a rectangular pan so as to maximize the cheesy surface.

Before you continue reading, don't say I didn't warn you: this is white trash cooking at its trashiest.

2 cans Franco-American spaghetti
2 cans tomato soup
1 package (about 1 1/4 pounds) ground turkey or beef
salt and pepper
4 - 10 slices American cheese, depending on how much surface you have to cover

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat your baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix the spaghetti and soup thoroughly in a medium bowl and set aside.

Season the turkey or beef with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until done. Drain off any fat. Stir the meat into the spaghetti mixture and then pour everything into the baking dish. Spread evenly with a spatula. Lay slices of American cheese over the entire surface of the spaghetti -- it's OK if they overlap, because it just means more cheesy deliciousness.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is golden-brown and bubbly.