This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, which my kids affectionately call “Oma”. She’s a great cook and an amazing baker. If you’ve ever had one of her pies you’ll beg her for more. At least that’s what I do. This dish is a family favorite and usually shows up on birthdays and other special occasions. I think it should be made more often since it’s so good. It’s also really easy and economical, this can easily feed a family of 5 under $20.
Needs:
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 bag of egg noodles (1 pound)
- 2 cups of spaghetti sauce (1 jar)
- 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 1 package of cream cheese (8oz)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large green or red bell pepper
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- Pre-heat oven to 350 F
- 10 minutes prep
- 45 minutes cooking
- Serves 6-8
Step 1: Use your noodle
- Cook the egg noodles al dente
- Hint: Take a few minutes off the time indicated on the package
- Don’t over cook them because you’re going to finish them off in the oven
- Drain and set aside
Step 2: Cheesy Goodness
- Soften the cream cheese in the microwave
- Combine the cheeses!
- Stir together the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream in a mixing bowl
- I even got my brother-in-law Trevor to help
- Set aside
Step 3: Cut and Dice
- Dice the onion
- Dice the garlic
- Dice the bell peppers
- Set aside
Step 4: Cook the Meat
- Cook the ground beef in a skillet until brown
- Drain off most of the fat off
- Add the diced onion, garlic, and bell peppers
- Cook for about 5 minutes
- Stir in the pasta sauce and heat for a few minutes more
- Remove from the heat and you guessed it, set aside
Step 5: Layering – just like lasagna (kind of)
- Use a 9×11 baking pan
- Add half of the noodles to the pan
- Spread all of the cheese on top of the noodles
- Add the rest of the noodles
- Spread the meat on top of the noodles
Step 6: Baking
- Place the pan in the oven for 20-30 minutes
- You’ll know it’s done when the sides will start bubbling
- Serve with some Italian bread, red wine, and enjoy!
So much easier than all that layering of the “real” lasagna and so yummy! Thanks for the positive strokes favorite Son-in-law—love ‘Ya!! Keep up the good cookin’!
Yummie. I will try this after I use my frozen Stouffer’s lasagna. How fortunate your wife is to have a husband cooking!
Try it before the frozen stuff! :)