rotini lasagna casserole

I have been following MoneySavingMom's "4 week to fill your freezer" series and when she posted this recipe, I thought it was a keeper because it was just a variation of an old favorite of ours. I haven't had another chance to do a full "freezer cooking day," so instead of making this in a 9x13 pan, I was able to make this in two 8x8 pans and freeze one of them. I tweaked the recipe to our liking, and it's actually quite like my Amish lasagna except with rotini pasta instead of lasagna noodles. And, surprisingly, we like this version much better! I think it might be because there are more noodles in this recipe and it just serves easier. And it's freezer friendly...what more could a girl ask for?? :)

what you'll need:

• 1 jar Ragu sauce
• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
• 1 box whole wheat rotini pasta
• 16 oz. cottage cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• Italian spices to taste

 how you'll do it:

cook noodles; meanwhile,

 brown your Italian sausage in a skillet & rinse, then

 pour your Ragu into a 2 quart pot and add your meat and heat on medium-high

mix the cottage and mozzarella cheeses and spices in a medium bowl

turn off heat for sauce. put a little sauce on bottom of pans

next, layer as follows:

 noodles>sauce>cheese>noodles>sauce>cheese

 bake for 20-ish minutes, until cheese is bubbly and gooey

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

amish lasagna

I'm not really sure why this is called "Amish Lasagna" except that it came out of an Amish cookbook. I got this recipe in college and have been using it ever since. It is SO good. I made a tweek on the recipe this time and used "oven ready" lasagna noodles. You don't have to boil them and it takes so much time off of the whole process. I was very pleased!

what you'll need:

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 16 oz. cottage cheese (shh...don't tell Ryan ;) )
• 4 cups mozzerella cheese
• 8 lasagna noodles
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce

how you'll do it:

this is the awesome lasagna that I mentioned earlier

brown the meat in a pan and add the sauce; heat on low

 

meanwhile, mix the cheeses together in a bowl

 in a 9x13 casserole dish, spoon some of the meat sauce

put 4 noodles on top of the sauce

 layer with sauce and cheese, then repeat noodles, sauce, cheese

bake at 350* for about 45-55 minutes

Viola! So yummy! I hope you enjoy!

beefy cheesy noodle-y casserole

Today's recipe is one that I created-no internet searches or Pinterest finds for this awesome casserole! It is easy to make and one of our favorites!

what you'll need:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• about 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
• 1 package egg noodles (dumplings)
• generous splash of milk
• 2 dollops of sour cream
• spices to taste
• 1 package of crescent rolls

how you'll do it:

• preheat oven to 350*
• boil the egg noodles
• brown the beef
• drain beef and rinse off, drain noodles
• pour some milk in the pot in which you cooked the noodles, then put the noodles and beef in the pot

add cheese, soup, and sour cream and mix well

add spices: I use mrs. dash, nature's seasoning, and dill

[add more milk a little at a time if needed to ensure creaminess]

pour in 9x13 casserole dish

unroll crescent rolls and lay on top for crust

 

Bake until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Variations:

• When I first made this casserole, I used ground beef (hence the name) but now I usually use ground turkey.
• Add various types of cheeses
• Use different shapes of noodles, i.e. rigatoni, bowtie, etc.