This a wonderful recipe I recently found at
Tina is the writer of that fine blog and has a whole slew of family friendly recipes to share. She is a gal with a lot of southern hospitality and has helped me on many occasions with a number of blogging questions.
My family loved this casserole. To be honest, I have tried making something similar to this several times. Usually mine turns out a bit dry and unflavorful. I’ll admit it….everything I make does not turn out perfectly. Oh, if that were only the case. My son Mark has been known to comment with
“This dish is EXTREMELY mediocre” on several occasions.
He is one honest boy.
I wonder where he gets that from?
Those of you who know MyHandsomeHusband are nodding your head right this moment, aren’t you? You’re thinking to yourself…..yep, if you want the truth about something….ask Adam! He will tell you like it is. The Eskelson males are known for an honest opinion which they are happy to share.
Happy.
Oh, so happy…..and oh, so frequently!
This is my fine fortune.
The truth of it is,
I’m a better man for it.
PS. Nothing that has been deemed “Extremely Mediocre” ever gets put on this blog.
The trick to making this casserole flavorful and saucy is to add a bit of butter to the noodles before you add a generous amount of sauce. The butter really does the trick. The noodles don’t soak up as much of the sauce, thus the casserole doesn’t dry out.
The recipe makes enough for 2, 9×13 pans. Tina calls it “Friendship Casserole” and likes feed one of the pans to her family and then takes one to a friend. What a kind gal!
Lasagna Casserole
Time: 45 minutes prep + 45 minutes baking
Yield: Two 9×13 pans
Recipe from Tina at Mommy’s Kitchen
***Note: This recipe freezes well. Simply assemble the casserole as directed in the instructions but before baking cover it tightly with foil and freeze. When you are ready to use it, thaw completely and bake as directed.
2 lbs ground beef
1 -48 oz jar spaghetti sauce (I used the homemade sauce we canned from our garden tomatoes. I’ll be posting it this fall when tomatoes are in season.)
2 T sugar
1 -16 oz package egg noodles (I used shells)
2 T butter (Tina’s recipe calls for 8 T)
1/2 t onion salt (or onion powder)
1/2 t garlic salt (or garlic powder)
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 -12 oz pck mozzarella cheese
1. In a large skillet brown your meat. Add the spaghetti sauce and sugar to the meat and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. While the sauce is just a simmering away get busy cooking your noodles. You don’t want to over cook them. Cooking them “al dente” is best. If you don’t speak Italian…do not fret. Al Dente just means cook them so they are still just a bit firm in the middle. You don’t want a soggy noodle, folks. Now, don’t you feel refined and educated to have learned a bit of Italian today. Pat your self on the back, you deserve it.
3. When the noodles are done, drain them, place them in a large bowl and toss with the butter, salts, and Parmesan cheese.
4. In each pan layer sauce, noodles, sauce and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.
5. Cover with foil and bake for at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
I make this “Lasagna casserole”;) for my family and do one extra thing, I mix in a container of cottage cheese with the egg noodles (or whatever noodles are needing used up in my food storage) and parmesan, makes it even more lasagna-ee tasting IMO.:) But it is a crowd please and a great take kill 2 birds with one stone kind of meal!
Kristine,
That's a great idea! I'll give it a try next time….love killing two birds with one stone.
~Jamie
Your casserole turned out great Jamie. I think I will try the shell noodles next time. I love your site as much as you love mine. Everytime I come here I see those crescent rolls and remind myself that I have to make them. Ü
What temp do we cook it on? :o)
Jessica,
Cook at 350 degrees. Thanks for making me aware that I had left that very important detail out!
~Jamie
Thank you! Can't wait to try it. ;o)
Amazing recipe ! I'm Going to cook it for my family Tonight . But I was wondering , Can you use any type of noodles ? I am running low on Egg shells , Lol . 🙂 !
Thanks again for the recipe !
Jamie kids crack me up. My daughter is the same way. Honesty you gotta love it. That is such a easy casserole to make and is a regular in our house. I love adding sauted onions, mushrooms and green peppers as well. It gives it such a nice flavor.
I would like to know if you ever posted your home made spaghetti sauce recipe you canned after you posted this recipe?
Hi Niara,
Give this link a try.
https://jamiecooksitup.net/2010/09/garden-fresh-spaghetti-sauce/
Thanks,
~Jamie
Do you know if you can freeze this? If so how would you do it? In the casserole dish? Before or after cooking? I just realized this recipe yields two casserole dishes.
Hi Haley,
Once the casserole is assembled, just wrap it tightly with tin foil and pop it in the freezer. When you are ready to use it allow it to thaw before you bake it. Hope it works out well for you!
~Jamie
Thank you! I would have given the extra casserole to a neighbor but since I am new to the hood, they probably wouldn’t have eaten it!! (stranger danger) 🙂
Hi Jamie,
We love your website. Havn’t met a recipe we didn’t like. I am in a freezer group and would like to make this lasagna casserole. Does it freeze well with cheese etc? How do I tell them to bake it? 350 degrees for 45 minutes? or more because it’s frozen?
Just found this site and cannot get enough of recipes! Will now have new recipes to try for our weekly family night dinners – without repeats for quite awhile.