Nostalgic Casserole Comfort Food

When I try new recipes, I always follow the recipe exactly once before I make any adjustments or changes to it. I really like the down to earth comfort recipes from "The Pioneer Woman" blog. Holly came across this recipe last Friday, and we decided to try it for dinner. The casserole was reminiscent of meals I had growing up prepared by my Mother, so that was a nice bit of nostalgia mixed into my time in the kitchen on Sunday. Having made this once, I will definitely be making some adjustments. The base flavor was great, but I feel like it needs much more spice or herbs. Instead of using just tomato sauce, next time I'll use my bottled marinara. And besides just chopped green onion in the sour cream / cottage cheese mixture, I'll use some fresh herbs and probably caramelize some sweet onion or shallot.



Sour Cream Noodle Bake
Recipe Courtesy: The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

1-¼ pound Ground Chuck
1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
½ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
½ cups Sour Cream
1-¼ cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
½ cups Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients. Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir. To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted. Serve with crusty French bread.



Instead of regular egg noodles, I used whole wheat egg noodles for extra protein. It was a nice comfort meal on Sunday. I served this up with a nice tossed green salad, and some left over toasted soda bread we made on St. Patrick's Day.