Delish Thursday: Gooey, Yummy Egg Noodle Casserole

Hi Friends!

Who doesn’t enjoy a warm gooey casserole on a cold winter night?  Serve it with a steamed vegetable and some warm bread and you’ll be warmed up from your nose to your toes!!  

Note: I like to double this casserole recipe and make two.  Don’t bake the second pan.  Just cover it well and put it in the freezer.  Then when you are ready to eat it, thaw it in the refrigerator the night before and bake the next day.  

Egg Noodle Bake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs. ground beef 
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small can (6 oz.) tomato paste
• 1  (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce (canned or jar) 
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. Italian seasonings
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 8 oz. egg noodles
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 c. small curd cottage cheese
• Generous shake of dried chives, optional
• 1 c. cheddar cheese, grated (We use a lot more than this because we LOVE cheese!)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Instructions

• Grease or spray a 9”x 13” oven safe baking dish. 
• Brown the ground beef, onion and garlic together.  Drain the fat.  Add the salt, pepper and Italian seasonings.  Stir in the tomato paste, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce.  Stir to mix and simmer on medium low while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Cook the egg noodles until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream and cottage cheese.  Sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes and chives (chives are optional). Add to the noodles and stir to mix.  
• To assemble, add half of the noodle mixture to a 9”x 13” baking dish.  Top with half the meat/sauce mixture and then sprinkle on half the grated cheese.  Repeat with the remainder of noodles, the meat mixture and then the rest of the cheese.  
• Bake until all the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.  

Note: You can just use two cans of tomato sauce instead of one can of tomato sauce and one cup of spaghetti sauce, but I like the flavor of the spaghetti sauce, so I use both.

Delish Thursday is a KDXU weekly feature written by local St. George culinary expert Laura Squires. Laura doesn't have a restaurant or bakery, but if you've ever tasted her food, you know that she is one of the best food artists in the world! Laura has been a resident of Southern Utah for  more than 30 years.