Stroganoff Casserole With Spinach
Posted By: Chyrel Sun 13 Nov 2005 10:59 am
From Jean Anderson's cookbook, Dinners in a Dish or a Dash:
Frozen chopped spinach and pre-sliced fresh mushrooms revamp this 1970s party pleaser for the busy new millennium cook. It's a more slender version too, with part-skim ricotta and low-fat cream cheese as ingredients.
 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
1-pound lean ground beef chuck
One 8-ounce package sliced fresh white mushrooms
1 cup fresh or frozen chopped onion (about 1 medium-large yellow onion)
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
Half of an 8-ounce package light cream cheese (Neufch’tel), cut into small pieces
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained very dry
6 ounces medium egg noodles, cooked al dente by package directions and drained
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or coarsely shredded sharp cheddar
 

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter shallow 2 1/2-quart casserole and set aside.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large, heavy skillet over moderately high heat; add beef, mushrooms, onion, garlic, marjoram, and thyme and cook, stirring and breaking up chunks of meat, until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to low, add tomato sauce, and cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except noodles and Parmesan and cook, stirring, just until cream cheese melts. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Fold in noodles.
4. Turn into casserole, spreading evenly, top with grated Parmesan and bake uncovered until bubbly and tipped with brown, about 20 minutes. Serve at once.