Monday, May 18, 2009

Hamburger Noodle Casserole



1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. Mix softened cream cheese with cottage cheese.

3. Mix browned ground beef with your favorite pasta sauce.



4. Spread cheese mixture on top of noodles.





5. Spread meat mixture on top of cheese mixture.



6. Sprinke cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.



7. Enjoy!




Hamburger Noodle Casserole from my friend Heather Anne
-1 pkg egg noodles, cooked according to pkg directions (7 minutes)
-8 oz cream cheese, softened and 8-12 oz cottage cheese MIXED TOGETHER
-1 lb ground beef, browned (I always brown about 5 lbs at a time and keep in freezer) and
1 jar spaghetti sauce MIXED TOGETHER
-2 cups shredded cheese (any kind: cheddar, Italian, etc..)

1. Layer egg noodles, cheese mixture, and beef mixture into 2 8x8 pans (or 1 9x12). I always line one pan with foil so I can freeze it uncooked). Cover with shredded cheese.
2. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

NOTES 2/4/10
I decided to make this meal for a meal swap. I learned a lot:
-Get the cream cheese out hours before you start and open the packages plus cut the cream cheese into cubes for easier mixing.
-Start the pasta first and let a few batches finish before you begin the ground beef. I thought it would be a great idea to use my stock pot with the strainer insert so I could save the hot water rather than using new, cold water everytime. It took 30 minutes to bring the water to a boil the first time and almost 30 minutes to bring the same water back up to a boil after pullin the insert and dumping the noodles!
-Have everything out and ready to go to make it faster, including your meat strainer with a large bowl to catch the grease, a bowl to mix the chream cheese and cottage cheese, and a bowl to mix the meat and sauce. Once you have noodles in every pan you can go, go, go!
-If you have a friend who is about to have a baby, make an extra one and freeze it to pass along to her.
-I decided to calculate the cost since I purchased all ingredients at once and I am OCD like that. I shopped at HEB and this is what it cost me:

noodles $1. 44 ea
Philly cream cheese $1. 29 ea
Cottage Cheese (bought 24 oz) $ .60 ea
spaghetti sauce $1.89 ea
ground beef (bought 5 lbs) $ 1.60 ea
mozzarella cheese 2 cups $1. 88 ea

$8.70 for 8-10 servings

It took almost 3 hours to complete 6 meals but it would have been quicker if the water didn't take so long to boil.

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