Family Secrets
I think every family has a recipe or recipes close to it's heart. In my family's case it would probably be Christmas Dinner. Every year Mam pulls off a stuffed turkey to beat the previous year, yet each year she frets that something will go wrong. It's become almost a charade, she fusses and worries all Christmas Day that the turkey won't come out right. We remind her that she does this every year and it's always ok, yet it doesn't reassure her! I hold fast to my claim that my Mam makes the best stuffing ever. EVER!
When I got married I heard of a favourite recipe of my husbands. Sour Cream Noodle Bake. Eew! It just sounded bad to begin with and when I saw the ingredients consisted of ground beef and cottage cheese?! Double eew! However being the dutiful wife I am (hah!) I made it and I have to say I have been converted. Born again into the joys and wonders of ground beef and cottage cheese! This recipe sounds absolutely disgusting if you just read the ingredients, but I promise you - you will not be disappointed. We hadn't made this in a long time and I pulled it out last week. It was the first time the kids had tried it and what a success! Everyone ate their entire plate!
I wish I could tell you that this was a great family secret recipe, but all you would have to do is "google" it to know that this is not the case. I have made the recipe with fat free sour cream and cottage cheese, and other than being a little more watery, the overall effect was the same.
Apparently this recipe originates from the legendary St. Louis restaurant Miss Hullings, that I believe is no more. I'm not really sure of much more than that, as this recipe was passed on to me by my in-laws. Perhaps my mother-in-law will comment and shed a little more light on this! :-)
I hope you try this and enjoy it, as it really has become one of our family favourites, albeit no secret!
Ingredients:
- 1 package egg noodles, 8 ounces (or pasta)
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup tomato sauce or puree
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Garlic salt
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup chopped green onions (about 2 bunches)
Yield: 6-8 servings
Cook noodles in boiling salted water. Rinse in cold water and drain.
Brown meat in butter, then add salt, pepper, garlic salt, and tomato sauce. Simmer for five minutes.
Combine cottage cheese, sour cream, chopped onions and noodles.
Alternate layers of noodle mixture and meat mixture in a 2-quart casserole, beginning with noodles and ending with meat. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.
I will be submitting this to Ruth for today's Presto Pasta.
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