Johnny Marzetti

I found this recipe about 5 years ago as I was going through an old (from the 60's) cookbook.

I had no clue what it was, but the ingredients sounded good & I figured it would taste like lasagna. I did a search a while back & found this site that explains how it got its name.

It says, " Johnny Marzetti is a casserole created in the 1920s by the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. Who was Johnny Marzetti? According to the "American Century Cookbook" by Jean Anderson, Johnny Marzetti was the brother of the owner of the Marzetti Restaurant. "

Johnny Marzetti

1 lb. lean ground beef, cookeed & drained
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt & pepper
8 oz. package macaroni, cooked & drained
1 lb. can tomatoes

1/4 t. sweet basil

1/4 t. oregano

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (or 8 oz. velveeta)

1/4 shredded parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together & put in a baking dish. Top with parmesan cheese, cover & bake at 350 for 1 hour.

You can also buy Del Monte tomatoes that have garlic, basil, & oregano in it.

Also, you can do a search on Johnny Marzetti & find many different variations on this casserole.

You can use any type of pasta. Sometimes I use shells, once I used bow ties, & the other day I used both regular macaroni & shells because I had half packages of both. I usually use my 3 quart corning ware dish, but the above is a 9x13 because I had doubled the recipe.

I usually serve this with cottage cheese & garlic toast. (you can see the plate on the black pepper onion bread toast post. )