Creamy Cheesy Noodle Bake

I love the Pioneer Woman! Her Blog, her TV show, always makes me want to get in the kitchen and try her delicious looking food. While her family is physically working hard everyday on their ranch I sit behind a computer most of the time so I often try to lighten her recipes or add more veggies to stretch the deliciousness out to more servings. I have had multiple friends say they tried her Sour Cream Noodle Bake and loved it so I decided to adapt it for myself and I loved the results! This is a lighter version and while it is pretty darn good day 1 I actually enjoyed it even more as leftovers.



Creamy Cheesy Noodle Bake: Serves 8

1C Sour Cream - I use Daisy's Light
1.5C Cottage Cheese - I use Fat Free
8oz Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1-1/4 lbs Ground Beef - I use 93/7
12oz Egg Noodles - I used Whole Grain
15oz Can Diced Tomatoes - Drained
15oz Can Tomato Sauce
1 Onion - Diced
1tsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

In a large skillet over medium heat add the olive oil and the onions with some salt and pepper, cook for 2-3 minutes then add the ground beef with salt and pepper and brown the beef. Once the beef is browned, drain the excess fat from the pan then add the tomatoes and tomato sauce with some additional salt and pepper to the pan and let it gently simmer while you assemble everything else.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles until al dente - make sure to not over cook them as they will bake and continue to cook in the oven. Once cooked drain and return to the pot.

This step is not necessary but I felt that it would allow the cottage cheese to melt better - I blended the cottage cheese until it was the consistency of the sour cream. You can do that or not, it is your choice, the next step is to mix the sour cream with the cottage cheese and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add 2oz of cheddar cheese (1/4 of the package) to the sour cream mix. Now dump all of this into the noodle pot and stir to incorporate.

The Pioneer Woman recommends layering creamy noodles, beef mixture, creamy noodles, beef and topping with the remaining cheddar cheese. I knew that my boyfriend would not be a fan of just the plain noodles so I chose to mix it all together and pour into a large greased casserole dish. You do whichever sounds best to you, I don't think you could really make a mistake here. Whatever you do - top the casserole with the remaining cheddar cheese. Put in a 350° oven for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese on top is nice and melted. Remove from the oven, let it sit for a minute then serve and enjoy!

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WW: 10 Points Plus / serving