Originally published on “Blaise the Baker” April 28th, 2014

I have heard of “Noodle Bakes” for years from my Grandma Barbra and also recently while leafing through some of my old Church cookbooks that I have bought over the years. Each and every one of them are unique to the person making them. Enter Ree Drummond (The “Pioneer Woman”) and her version of the noodle bake, which she calls her “Sour Cream Noodle Bake”. Her recipe is very much similar to one of my favorite recipes for the noodle bake, which I found in an old 1980’s Church cookbook. Is it safe to say that the 80’s was the “Generation of Casseroles”?!

A lot of people do not care for casseroles anymore – but I can not see or understand why. Casseroles can be delicious and easy to make. Let’s bring back the casserole!

The following recipe is my version of the ever popular dish…

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

1 pound ground beef
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. egg noodles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup sliced green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 cups grated Sharp Cheddar cheese

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large baking dish (I used a 9 x 13 baking dish) with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet and the drain most of the fat.

Add the can of tomato sauce to the browned ground beef along with tablespoon of fresh basil, tablespoon of fresh parsley, teaspoon of salt and teaspoon of pepper. Stir together and simmer mixture on low for about 30 minutes.

Next, cook the egg noodles until al dente. This should take about 8 minutes. Drain the noodles and set aside.

In a bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Stir together and then add teaspoon of pepper and sliced green onions to the mixture. Add this to the cooked egg noodles and stir.

When you are ready to assemble (and the pasta sauce has simmered about 30 minutes) add half the noodle mixture to the baking dish. Next, top with half the meat mixture – spread out evenly over the noodles. Then sprinkle on half the grated sharp cheddar cheese. Repeat until the final top layer is a layer of the rest of the sharp cheddar cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. The cheese will be melted and the inside middle, hot.

Leftovers (if you have any) are even better the next day…

Enjoy!