Don & Nancy's Spaghetti Pie

Thirty  years ago we were invited to Don and Nancy's for dinner and when Don said "we're just having spaghetti" I had no idea I was going to be so crazy about a  spaghetti pie  I'd never heard of.  Since then I have seen  variations on it but this remains my favorite. A few years ago Stouffers had a   'favorite casserole' contest to find  new  frozen entrée recipes.  And you guessed it - there soon appeared a frozen ( but square shaped )  spaghetti pie in  Stouffer's red boxes in  supermarket freezers. As good as Stouffer's usually is, it didn't compare to the real thing. Here's the original version:

Brown 1 lb bulk Italian sausage, and drain. Cook 8 oz spaghetti. Mix the sausage with a 16 oz jar Ragu spaghetti sauce . In another bowl mix 2 beaten eggs with 2 TB butter or margarine, 1/3 c grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, 1 TB parsley, and the cooked spaghetti. Put into a deep 10" pie pan to form the crust. Spread with 1 cup ricotta cheese mixed with 1/2c.chopped chive tops, then  spread  it over  the spaghetti meat sauce. Bake uncovered in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes. Then top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella and put back into the oven until the cheese melts. Slice in wedges to serve with a great salad and buttery garlic bread.   Oh my!