Cheesy Beef & Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Lately, I've been using the "save link" feature on Facebook. And you know what? It's a pretty handy way to save recipes you want to try, because it is a cinch to pull them up later on, anytime.

This is one of those saved recipe links, and it comes by way of Alyssa at The Recipe Critic. 

Rarely do I make a straight recipe anymore--I usually adapt it to suit my tastes. The same goes for this one. It needed some onion and garlic, and since my girlies who still live at home would notice that there is cottage cheese in it, I blended the cottage cheese and sour cream together in my handy little Ninja, with the addition of some dried parsley, and.....no little lumps of cottage cheese! They had no idea! Sometimes I feel like a genuis, I tell you.

This was a winner. Classic comfort food! Give it a try.


Cheesy Beef & Sour Cream Noodle Bake
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 t. peper
2 T. dry minced onion
1 t. garlic salt
8 oz. package No-Yolks Dumplings (egg noodles)
1 c. reduced fat sour cream
1 1/2 c. low-fat cottage cheese
1 T. dried parsely
2 c. grated medium cheddar cheese 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan. Set aside.

In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef with the dry minced onion; drain. Return beef to skillet and add salt, pepper, garlic salt and tomato sauce. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the No-Yolks Dumplings or other egg noodles of your choice according to package directions; drain.

While noodles cook, run the cottage cheese, sour cream and parsley through a blender or food chopper until smooth. Pour this mixture over the hot, drained noodles and stir to coat. Spread half the hot noodles in the bottom of the 9x13 pan, followed by half the ground beef mixture. Top with half of the grated cheddar cheese. Repeat the layers, and end with cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until casserole is hot and bubbly and the cheese is browned. Serves 6-8.