Monday and I was house/dog sitting for the ex that was flying home. Question was, what to make for dinner after I had worked all day. And yes, I still get along well enough with her to watch the dogs and make dinner for when she gets home from a trip.
The fridge was a mess of things, but there was a pound of hamburger that needed to get used up so I Googled up a “hamburger casserole recipe”. I was thinking more lasagna style, but one of the first listings was for a creamy hamburger casserole and being brave I thought I’d give it a try.
One reason that I leaned toward this recipe was that it was incredibly easy to assemble. This was a plus as I had about an hour to get it ready between the time I got done working and she arrived home.
I did need to make some adjustments to this recipe from the original. First was the pan size. It stated using a 13 by 9 pan, which really didn’t work. If you follow the instructions and lay out half the pasta, it doesn’t cover the bottom of the pan. So I switched it up to a square pan and it filled it nicely.
The second change was the spices. The original was far too light on seasoning so I ramped that up as well.
The result was a cheesy, semi-creamy lasagna dish that while didn’t look cover of a magazine pretty, tasted quite good. We both had seconds of it.
| Prep Time | 20 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 Minutes |
| Servings |
Servings
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- 8 oz Farfalle pasta
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 1 15oz can Tomato Sauce
- 1 tsp Garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 cup Sour cream
- 1 cup Cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 3/4 cup Green onions sliced
- 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese shredded
Ingredients
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|
- Start preheating the oven to 350°
- Cook the noodles until al dente, being sure to salt the water liberally.
- While the noodles are cooking, cook the hamburger until no longer pink, usually about 5-7 minutes. When done, drain and add the tomato sauce, garlic salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 2-3 minutes more.
- In a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, parmesan cheese, half the green onions and the cooked and drained pasta.
- In your casserole dish, layer in half the pasta mixture followed by half the beef mixture, then half the shredded cheddar cheese. Then repeat this for the second layer.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how done you like the cheese on top. Sprinkle with the remaining green onions and serve.
This recipe could easily be doubled, moving it up to a 13" by 9" if you were looking to feed more people or have leftovers.
It is also a good dish to assemble ahead of time and have ready to cook when you get home.