I tried to get this post finished on Friday before we left for the Detroit Feis.  I didn’t make it.   Between picking my daughter up at a slumber party, physical therapy for her, a grocery store run and bagging all the food before we left at 1:00 pm I didn’t quite make my deadline to get this posted.  But, this was a great weekend and my daughter had a huge mental breakthrough with her dancing so life is really good overall.

Thursday was the last day of school for the 2013-2014 school year.  Yeah!  I love having my kids home for the summer.  We have already been talking about field trips, our family books and fun projects they want to do.  My son is thinking some sort of science experiment.  My daughter will probably design and sew something.

The days have been busy with end of the year “stuff.”  So, I needed a quick, easy casserole that I could put together in the morning and pop in the oven just before dinner.  This fit the bill.

Verdict:

My ricotta hating son LOVED this casserole.   Yes, it has ricotta in it and I just didn’t tell him until after he told me he loved it.  Because the ricotta was mixed with other ingredients it wasn’t such a texture issue as with regular lasagna.  My daughter thought it was okay but not her favorite.  Still, she ate two servings.

I served this with a green salad with Italian dressing and green beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Italian Sausage, cooked and broken up in small pieces
• 12 oz. egg noodles, cooked al dente according to package directions
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (16 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 bottle of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade sauce (about 3 cups)
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a 13 x 9 pan with non-stick spray.
2. Pour 1/2 cup of pasta sauce into the bottom of the pan.  Spread it evenly over the entire bottom of the pan.
3. Place the cooked Italian sausage next into the pan.  Spread evenly over the sauce.
4. Mix in a bowl the ricotta, sour cream, oregano, garlic, tomatoes, basil, pasta sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella and eggs.  Once all ingredients are well incorporated pour 1/2 of the mixture over the Italian sausage and spread evenly.
5. Mix the egg noodles into the remaining mixture in the bowl.  Stir well.  Pour this into the pan and spread evenly.
6. Cover with remaining mozzarella cheese.
7. Cover pan with aluminum foil and either bake immediately or refrigerate for later.
8. Bake for 30 minutes then uncover pan.  Bake for an additional 20-30 minutes until center of casserole is hot.
9. Remove pan from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
10. If you would like top browned a bit more put under a broiler for 2 minutes at the very end of the cooking time.