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Mexican Pasta Bake with High Fiber Noodles, Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream and Ground Meat--simple and delicious!!!

Mexican Pasta Bake with Ground Beef and Sour Cream

Adapted from Mrs. E. Wayne Wilson
Course Entree
Cuisine Mexican
Author TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

For the sour cream mixture:

  • 1 cup full fat sour cream
  • 1 cup 2% greek yogurt
  • 6 oz cottage cheese
  • juice of one tiny lime
  • 1 t ground cumin

For the casserole:

  • 2 T oil
  • 3 small onions, chopped
  • 16 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
  • 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 slender zucchini, diced
  • 3 sweet bell peppers, diced
  • 2 t ground cumin
  • 2 t ancho chile powder
  • 1 t New Mexico chile powder
  • 1/2 t chipotle
  • 1 t smoked paprika
  • 1/2 t Mexican oregano
  • 1/4 t thyme
  • 2 15-oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 24 oz dried medium-small noodles (I prefer high fiber, cooked according to package directions to al dente)
  • 3-4 cups grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese
  • Tapatio hot sauce for serving

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the sour cream mixture ingredients. Set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. While you are working on the ground meat mixture, also cook and drain the noodles.
  4. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet. When it is shimmering, add the onions with an pinch of salt. Stir occasionally, cooking, for 8 minutes.
  5. Push the onions to the sides of the skillet and add half the mushrooms in the center with a pinch of salt. Let them brown for a few minutes, and then stir them into the onions. Once again push that mixture to the sides and repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
  6. After the mushrooms have browned, add the garlic. Cook for one minute.
  7. Add the zucchini and sweet bell pepper. Cook for another 6-8 minutes, until the zucchini especially has released most of its water.
  8. Add the spices: cumin, ancho powder, New Mexico chile powder, chipotle, smoked paprika, Mexican oregano and thyme. Stir and cook until roasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  9. Add the fire roasted tomatoes and stir to incorporate. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and ground turkey. Stir to incorporate again.
  10. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the turkey and beef are browned through. Taste for salt.
  11. Grease your casserole dish(es). I used 4 small individual casserole dishes plus one smaller casserole dish, probably about 7X12 if I had to guess (it is an oval). If that is more than you would like, make 2 casseroles and freeze one once it has cooled.
  12. Layer your ingredients into the greased casserole dish(es): First a thin layer of the tomato meat sauce. Then the noodles, then the sour cream cottage cheese mixtures, and then the remaining tomato meat mixture. Top it all off with a mixture of shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.
  13. Bake for 20-40 minutes, size depending, until the cheese has melted and the tomato meat mixture is bubbling. If you use a single particularly large casserole dish, I recommend covering it for the first 20 minutes to allow the inside to heat without potentially burning the cheese.
  14. Serve with Tapatio hot sauce (or your favorite Mexican style hot sauce) on the side.