spaghetti millanaise

12 oz spaghetti
2 cups cottage cheese
1 can sliced mushrooms, drained
¼ cup chopped pimentos
1 can tomato soup
1 18-oz can pasta sauce
½ tsp onion powder
12 oz grated cheddar

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook pasta until it is nearly done, but still firm in the centre (not quite al dente). Drain and transfer pasta to a very large bowl. Add cottage cheese, mushrooms, pimentos, tomato soup, pasta sauce, onion powder and ½ of the cheese. Toss to evenly coat the spaghetti. Scrape into a large casserole dish, top with remaining cheese and bake at 350-degrees for 1 hour. Or use several individual dishes and bake until cheese is bubbly and pasta is hot throughout.

What’s in a name?: This recipe came to me from my mother-in-law and is oddly called “millanaise”. Millanaise, according to The Food Lover’s Companion, is actually this: “A term meaning ‘in the style of Milan,’ referring to food (usually meat) dipped in beaten egg, then into a bread crumb-Parmesan mixture and fried in butter.” So don’t ask me how this pasta got it’s name.