Creamy Slow Cooker Spaghetti

I've just finished reading Julie Powell's book 'Julie and Julia' and loved it. I remember going to see the movie with my Mum and for some weird reason craving crusty bread and cheese all the way through. I think it's because when I went to Paris a few years ago we always had crusty fresh baguettes with brie and ham for lunch. And since some of the movie was based in Paris it took me back to that experience. Who knows?! But it seems that reading about how Julie cooked her way through Julia Child's 'Mastering the art of French Cooking' has given me the boost I needed, and the motivation to really get back into cooking and my blog.

You see for a while there I was feeling a little despondent about my blog and I wasn't feeling very motivated to cook..... well, I was cooking, but it was mainly meat and 3 veg for dinner, or things that I couldn't really blog about. I know people say that it's not the stats and comments on a blog that counts, that you should be doing it for yourself.....but really they do count. I mean, when it comes down to it, I love looking back over my cooking and my experiences trying new recipes....but you always feel that little ego boost when you see that people have taken time to visit, and/or comment. Plus I was making the huge mistake of looking at all these amazing food blogs people have created, and the great writing and stories people tell and comparing them to my little blog. But I've got to stay positive and learn not to compare my blog, or myself, to others. I'd really like to open myself up more on the blog too, and let my readers get to know me better and hopefully I'll learn to do that over time. It's not something that comes naturally to me, so it's not going to be easy.

Something I did find very easy though, in comparison, was cooking this beautiful Creamy Slow Cooker Spaghetti that I found on Picky Palate's blog! While it was a little time consuming, well if you call watching TV while the slow cooker bubbles away in the kitchen time consuming, the preparation extremely simple. The only cooking you'll have to take care of is browning the mince beef in a pan and seasoning it with the garlic, salt and pepper and then it's all about layering the ingredients in the slow cooker and then letting it cook itself.
Firstly you pour one of the jars of tomato pasta sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker. Break the spaghetti noodles in half so they fit into your slow cooker and lay them on top of the sauce. Spoon the cooked mince beef on top of the noodles, and then sprinkle with parmesan and dot with the cubed cream cheese. Pour the second bottle of pasta sauce over the top of the whole mixture, and let this cook for 3 hours.

After 2 hours stir the mixture in the slow cooker until combined. Pour the last of the jars of pasta sauce in along with the chicken stock. Allow to cook for another hour before serving with some crusty bread.

Creamy Slow Cooker Spaghetti
Ingredients:
500g lean mince beef
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed garlic
3 jars tomato based pasta sauce
500g spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
250g cream cheese
1-2 cups chicken stock
Method:
1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat cook the beef mince until crumbled and browned. Add the salt, pepper and minced garlic.
2. Pour one jar of pasta sauce into your slow cooker (on high heat). Break the spaghetti noodles in half so that they fit into your slow cooker, and layer these on top of the sauce. Spoon the cooked beef mince over the noodles.
3. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top and top with cubes of cream cheese. Pour the second jar of pasta sauce over the top of the cream cheese.
4. Close the lid of the slow cooker and let cook on high for 2 hours.
5. After 2 hours, give the mixture a good stir. Add the last jar of pasta sauce and 1 to 2 cups of chicken stock. Close the slow cooker lid again and let cook for another hour.

Recipe Source:
Creamy Crock Pot Spaghetti from
Picky Palate