Dora Charles—my head cook, my soul sister, and my friend—really puts her big toe in this dish. In fact, Fodor’s Travel Guide called it “The Best Baked Spaghetti in the South.” Go, Dora! (P.S. Dora doesn’t really put her toe in this, that’s just a Southern expression we use when someone has done a dish just right!)

Ingredients

　　2 cups canned diced tomatoes

　　2 cups tomato sauce

　　1 cup water

　　1/2 cup diced onions

　　1/2 cup diced green bell peppers

　　2 cloves garlic, chopped

　　1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

　　1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

　　1 1/2 teaspoons The Lady’s House Seasoning

　　1 1/2 teaspoon The Lady’s Seasoned Salt

　　1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

　　2 small bay leaves

　　1 1/2 pounds ground beef

　　8 ounces uncooked angelhair pasta

　　1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

　　1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

　　To make the sauce, in a stockpot, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, seasoning mixtures, sugar, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Crumble the ground beef in a saucepan. Cook until no pink remains, then drain off the fat. Add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for another 20 minutes. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Cover the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta, then half of the cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with the remaining cheese, return to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut into squares before serving.

　　The Lady & Sons, Too! by Paula Deen. © 2001 by Paula H. Deen. Published by Random House. All Rights Reserved.Paula H. Deen was born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She later moved to Savannah, where she and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, started the Bag Lady catering company. The business took off and evolved into The Lady & Sons Restaurant, which is located in Savannah’s historic district and specializes in Southern cooking. Paula is the host of Food Network’s Paula’s Home Cooking and is a regular guest on QVC, where her cookbooks are one of the newtowrk’s biggest sellers.