I think this year it is a Casserole Christmas.  It seems what is getting me through this Christmas season are casseroles and my slow cooker.  I love that I can just throw things into a pan and it comes out with a delicious dinner.

I was searching Pinterest for ground beef recipes when I came across this casserole recipe that sounded so simple that I had to try it.   The Swedish Meatball Casserole from Land O’Lakes.com had only a few ingredients and I had just about everything already on hand.

Verdict:

Honestly, I thought this was going to be disgusting.  It just didn’t seem that it would be as good as it was.  Both children really enjoyed it and took the leftovers for lunch the next day.  In my mind that is a hit in our house!

Even the few substitutions I made – making my own gravy and not adding mushrooms as the original recipe called for this recipe was still great and easy.

I served the casserole with a salad and a side of mixed vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) package of egg noodles
• 3 (1.3 oz) gravy packets – beef or pork (I made my own gravy with 3 cups of stock, 1 tsp salt and 3 1/2 TBSP cornstarch)
• 2 3/4 cups water (to make gravy if using instant gravy packets)
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 (26 oz) bag of small frozen fully cooked meatballs, thawed
• parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray.
2. Cook the egg noodles as directed to al dente.  Drain noodles when cooked.
3. While noodles cook in a saucepan either make your own gravy with  2 1/2 cups of stock warmed in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add cornstarch to the remaining 1/2 cup of stock and stir into the warmed stock.  Stir continuously until thickened 2-3 minutes.  Taste and salt as needed.  OR place the 2 3/4 cups of water into a saucepan and add the gravy packets stirring continuously until thickened.
4. Once your gravy has thickened stir the meatballs, gravy, sour cream and nutmeg together.  Once it is thoroughly combined add the egg noodles and stir gently until all the noodles are covered.
5. Pour mixture into the casserole dish and bake 30-40 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes before serving.