An apology…and my family’s favorite casserole

Last week on “Judy’s Stew” I blogged about fixing Doris’ casserole, a family favorite, for a houseguest and promised the recipe on Thursday’s “Gourmet on a Hot Plate” blog. Trouble is, I never did the blog. We were busy entertaining our guest, and when I blogged, I forgot all about the casserole and blogged about the day’s events. Mea culpa. So here it is: ta-da, the recipe for Doris’ Casserole.

For those who didn’t read last week’s blog, here’s the back story. This was served to me at a dinner party nearly fifty years go by a woman named Doris. She called it Mrs. America Beef Casserole. Our husbands were training together as residents, and after residency I didn’t see much of Doris. Once when I did mention how much my family likes the dish, she barely remembered the casserole or the dinner party. I gave the recipe to a friend who insisted the noodle layer should come first. I assured her it shouldn’t. Another friend calls it American lasagna.

This is supposed to feed six, but it disappears quickly, so I sometimes make a double batch. It freezes beautifully. A bit of trouble to make, so I think of it as making two separate dishes—the meat layer, followed by the noodle layer.

Doris Casserole

Meat layer:

1 lb. ground beef

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed in garlic press

2 tsp each sugar and salt (I cut back to one tsp. on those, but sugar is important in tomato-based sauces—my mom taught me years ago it sort of rounds it off.)

Pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain grease and return to skillet. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes, until it thickens a little.

Spread in a 9 x 13 pan.

Noodle layer:

5 oz. egg noodles  (approximately—they don’t come in this size pkg.)

3 oz. pkg. cream cheese (here again, you have to fudge; cream cheese doesn’t come in 3 oz. pkg. anymore, and I use half an 8 oz. package)

1 c. sour cream

6 green onions chopped, with some of the tops included

Topping:

1-1/2 c. grated cheddar

Cook egg noodles and drain. While the noodles are hot, stir in cream cheese, sour cream, and green onions. Spread evenly over meat mixture. Top with grated cheddar, bake 35 minutes at 350 or until bubbly and cheese is slightly browned.