Cream Cheese & Swiss Spinach Lasagna

  This is by FAR, the BEST Lasagna recipe I have ever made!!!! In fact, it is soooo good, that my Step Momma, Drea replaced her 25 year old family recipe with this one. 

You all, it is THAT GOOD!

  Now, if this sounds familiar, you are correct. This has been blogged before and comes from the 4 little Fergusons archives. I didn’t share the actual recipe back then, just linked it to Tasty Kitchen.   

This recipe deserves to be WRITTEN OUT on this blog, so here we go, round 2! My original recipe source was a Taste of Home magazine, but I changed scribbled and scratched the recipe up with my changes, which is always fun!

So, without further adieu, I give you…..

{click title to print}

Ingredients

• 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
• 1 pound Ground Sausage
• 1 pound Ground Turkey
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Chopped
• 3 whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 2 cans Tomato Sauce (15 Ounce Cans)
• 1 can (8 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (14 1 /2 Oz Can) Italian Diced Tomatoes, Undrained
• 1 can (6 Oz. Can) Tomato Paste
• 1 can Mushroom Pieces, Drained (6.5 Oz Can)
• 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• ½ teaspoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Pepper
• 12 whole No-cook Lasagna Noodles
• 12 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
• 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, Divided (Get Ball Of Mozzarella, & Shred It Yourself, Makes All The Difference!)
• 2 cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 2 cups Shredded Swiss Cheese
• 1 bag Fresh Spinach Leaves, 6 Ounce Bag

Preparation Instructions

In a large skillet, brown beef, sausage and turkey with onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain grease. Stir in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, drained mushrooms, oregano, basil, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Spread 2 cups of the meat sauce in a greased oversized rectangle pan, like maybe a 12×15 extra deep pyrex. (I used my big Pampered Chef rectangle baker, and still almost overflowed it!)

  Top with 3 to 4 noodles, breaking as necessary to cover the area. Drop a third of the cream cheese over top and carefully spread to cover noodle layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2/3 cup each of Parmesan and Swiss. Spoon a third of the remaining sauce over the top. Layer 1 bag of spinach on top of the sauce. Repeat layers of noodles, cream cheese, cheeses and sauce, twice more. Make sure to save some mozzarella out for the top of your lasagna.

Place dish on a baking sheet. Cover the dish with a sheet of foil and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with reserved mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes longer, or until bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

ENJOY!!!!!!  This is seriously THE BEST Lasagna you will ever make!

  Dale hates Italian, lasagna in particular, and he went NUTS over this!!!

Go back to that original post and grab the Cheesy Bread recipe. You will want it to go with this Lasagna!

~T

Lasagna Style Rigatoni Bake with Sour Cream Cheesy Bread

  I started with a recipe for Baked Ziti, and somehow ended up with this delicious casserole we dubbed “Lasagna Style Rigatoni Bake”.  

  I think Rigatoni is a VERY under used noodle, and I am proud to give it a day to SHINE.  Rigatoni are the big, fat, round noodles that look like tubes. They hold all kinds of yummy bits of cheese and sauce when  you use it in a bake like this.

Lasagna Style Rigatoni Bake

{click title for printable}

FOR THE MEAT SAUCE:

• 1 pound Sausage
• 1 pound Hamburger
• 1 whole Onion, Chopped
• 6 cloves Garlic, Pressed
• 28 ounces, weight Peeled, Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 cans (14 Oz Each) Tomato Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• ¾ teaspoons Each Rosemary And Thyme
• ½ teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder

FOR THE NOODLES:

• 1 box (16oz) Rigatoni Noodles, Cooked
• 16 ounces, weight Tub Of Cottage Cheese
• 5 ounces, fluid Philidelphia Italian Herb And Cheese Cooking Creme
• 2-½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 2-½ pounds Of Freshly Shredded Mozzarella Cheese {Shredding Fresh Is SO Much Better Than The Pre-shredded Stuff!}
• Dried Parsley, For Garnish

In a large family sized skillet or stock pot, cook sausage and beef with onions and garlic. Drain most of the grease.
Add canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes to meld flavors while you boil, drain and cool water rinse your Rigatoni noodles.
In a large, separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, cooking creme, one egg, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Stir in noodles.
Spray an oversized 10×14 baking dish, and over flow to a 2 qt casserole dish. That is because this dish is ALMOST too big for a 10×14, and rather than overflow it, we will make 2 dishes, one large and one small.

  Spread a layer of almost half the cheese covered noodles into main pan. Next, spread nearly 1/2 of the meat sauce, top this layer with mozzarella cheese.   Repeat layers, ending with more cheese.  Scrape remaining cheese covered noodles and sauce into your 1 qt baking dish, and top with mozz cheese.  

Sprinkle with dried parsley for pretty over the tops of both.

Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Pop the second pan into the fridge for an easy later day lunch, or run it next door to your favorite shut in.  

Serve with Sour Cream Cheesy Bread and a big salad.

  What is Sour Cream Cheesy Bread, you ask?  

  Well, it’s so gooey, creamy and rich, it makes me weak in the knees! YUMMO. 

  This recipe comes from my childhood, my pastor’s wife made it for us one time, and it was love at first BITE!

Please forgive me, I may or may not have forgotten the bread in the oven, and it may or may not look a little bit “DONE” in the photo. Boo.  

  Don’t burn yours, mk?  Just set a timer.  I did not, because I knew it would only be a moment until the cheese was perfect.  

Moment here, gone and good bye soft bread.

Oops.

Sour Cream Cheesy Bread

{click title to print}

• 1 loaf Of Whole Wheat French Bread
• 2 cups Colby Jack Cheese
• 8 ounces, weight Sour Cream
• ½ sticks Butter, Softened
• Garlic Salt, to taste

Slice french bread loaf in half. Spread each side to the edge with softened butter, then sprinkle with a generous amount of garlic salt.
Next, spread a nice layer of sour cream to the edge, and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 350* for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. {set a timer!}

Dig in!

~T

Mac & Cheese Lasagna

So we have established I am anti-cardboard food, right?!  No boxed meals!  WELLLLLL, the other day I was running SUPER DUPER late. I had been gone all day long and needed to feed my starving family, and quick! 

  Here is what I made after finding a recipe that used BOXED Mac & Cheese, which I just happened to have 2 of…{GASP!}

No judgments, desperate times call for desperate measures!!!!

(click title for easy printable)

• 2 boxes (7.25 Oz. Box) Kraft Mac & Cheese
• Additional Required Ingredients Specified In The Mac & Cheese Package (typically Milk And Butter Or Margarine)
• 1 pound Hamburger, Seasoned To Taste
• 1 jar (24 Oz. Jar) Spaghetti Sauce
• 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese, To Sprinkle On Top

Heat oven to 350ºF. Prepare boxed macaroni according to package instructions (you’ll typically need milk and butter or margarine as directed in the package). Brown/drain hamburger. Spoon half the macaroni into a lightly greased 9×13 glass dish. Top with layers of half of each: sauce, meat and shredded cheese. Repeat layers, then sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake 20 minutes.

Serve with some fresh broccoli, steamed, a HUGE green salad, or something equally healthy to make yourself feel better about serving your kids boxed Mac & Cheese. This is delish, I bet even your hubby will like it! 

~T

Italian Beef & Cheese Buns

My momma used to make these for us when we lived in Phoenix. I LOVED it when I saw her hollowing out rolls, because I knew what we were having for supper. In fact, I SPECIFICALLY recall that for my kindergarten birthday, this is what I chose for family supper that night. (I also remember that I got 2 SUPER cool pair of leather high tops that night, in both black AND pink! Oh, I was in 1980’s heaven!)
These Beef & Cheese Buns were as good as I remembered; think lasagna filling inside a French bread roll!

Beef & Cheese Buns

(click title to print at TK’s website)

• 1 pound Ground Beef, With Salt And Pepper
• 15 ounces, fluid Tomato Sauce
• ½ packages Dry French Onion Soup
• ½ teaspoons Basil
• ½ teaspoons Oregano
• 1 cup Cottage Cheese
• ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
• ½ Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 8 whole French Bread Rolls, Hollowed Out

Cook and season meat. Drain Add sauce, dry soup packet, basil and oregano. Simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered. In a separate bowl, mix Parmesan cheese, cottage cheese and Italian seasoning. Cut a thick slice off the top of each French Bread Roll, saving “lid”. Carefully pull out extra bread, leaving 1/4 inch walls.
Divide half the meat between rolls, divide cheese mix and top with remaining half of the meat mixture. Top with roll “lids” and wrap individual buns in foil. Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes. Dig in!

I’ve never tried it, but my recipe says it can be frozen. Just heat for 60 minutes to thaw and cook. You may need to remove the foil for the last few minutes of bake time to pull moisture from the bread though.
Enjoy this unique and savory supper with a side salad.
~T

Update 2021: We have teenagers now and are making this recipe with 1 pound hamburger & 1 pound sausage and doubling all ingredients. I am buying 18 pack of mini hoagie buns from the Sam’s club bakery section and it works out just right. I’ve also added a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella before closing each bun “lid”. YUM!

We baked at 350* for 20 minutes or until center is warm, without foiling individual buns. Worked out great! I highly suggest these changes!

Spinach Lasagna Bake

  Welcome to Post 2 for today.  Post 1 was all about Paxton’s First Haircut, a real nail biter for sure! Ok, not really, but still, head back one post to check it out!  🙂

I was skeptical of this bake being anything amazing…Boy, was I wrong!  We LOVED it!  To quote Dale: “Yup, it’s a keeper!”   If you know Dale, he is a man of few words when it comes to food, this simple phrase ACTUALLY means:
Oh wow! This is fantastic!  Yum. This is great, and I don’t even LIKE Italian food!  Pass the Lasagna please…..

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 whole Large White Onion
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 cans 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
• 1 can 6 Oz Tomato Paste
• 1 package Sliced Mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 cup Grape Tomatoes, Halved
• 1 teaspoon Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Basil
• ½ teaspoons Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Red Wine, Chicken Broth Or Apple Juice
• ½ cups Water
• 16 ounces, weight Of Your Favorite Noodle, Like Penne, Bow Tie, Rotini Etc.
• 9 ounces, weight Bag Of Fresh Spinach
• 4 cups Sour Cream
• 2 cups Grate Parmesan Cheese
• 2 cups Italian Blend Cheese Or Mozzarella

Sautee sliced mushrooms in butter, set aside. Wash and halve grape tomatoes.
In an extra large family skillet, cook ground beef and pork with garlic and chopped onions. Once the meat is browned and fully cooked, drain well. Add the tomato sauces, paste, sautéed mushrooms and tomato halves to the meat mixture. Next add the liquids; wine/chicken broth/apple juice and water. Simmer.
Cook and drain noodles. Add to meat sauce.

This recipe will fill 2 9×13 baking dishes, so you can freeze the second or share with a friend! Visually divide meat/pasta mixture into fourths, place a layer of meat and pasta in the bottom of each dish, followed by 1 cup of sour cream each. Divide spinach into fourths and place 1/4 on top of the sour cream layer, followed by 1 cup of the listed cheeses mixed. Repeat layers again, 1/4 pasta mixture in each, followed by 1 cup sour cream each, remaining spinach divided and the rest of the cheese on top of both.

Bake 350* for 35 minutes.

You will not BELIEVE how amazingly flavorful this dish is.  Like Dale said, it’s a keeper!

  I’ve had several of you ask, do I really cook all these different dishes? Yup. When Dale and I were first married, we cooked together after work and didn’t repeat a recipe for 6 months.  From this, I grew to LOVE new recipes and the hunt to find, try and share them, I have kept it up ever since.  I have 5 binders just full of recipes that I have typed out from old family recipe boxes, or emailed recipes from friends.  This doesn’t count the 300+ recipes in the “To Try” pile currently living inside my desk!! All these new dishes sure make my kids well-rounded eaters, that’s for sure!!! 🙂   Everything you see has been made in my kitchen and photographed there or on my picnic table.  All the recipes I share here on 4 little Ferguson’s are our “Keepers”, the nasty ones get thrown in the trash and the photos deleted.  OH YES, and let me make sure to say, that if I personally get a recipe from a fellow bloggers site, I am SURE to give credit where credit is due!  🙂

Enjoy this yummy supper!

  ~T

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4 Cheese Lasagna Rolls

   This is so yummy and comes together really easily! 

4 Cheese Lasagna Rolls

• 10 whole Lasagna Noodles (I Did 5 Wheat & 5 Spinach)
• 16 ounces, fluid Jar Alfredo Sauce
• 24 ounces, fluid Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
• 4 ounces, weight Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
• 2 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1-½ cup Shredded Swiss
• 2 cups Freshly Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil, Divided
• 8-12 whole Chicken Breasts, Marinated In Italian Dressing & grilled (depends on your crowd size: figure 1 breast per person, plus 2 for inside the lasagna rolls)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Send hubby out to the BBQ to grill the Italian dressing marinated chicken, seasoning to taste, and discarding marinade.

Boil your lasagna noodles in a large pot. Cook according to package directions. Drain and then place lasagna noodles on a clean cutting board.

  In a large bowl mix garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. basil, parmesan cheese, swiss shreds, and cream cheese spread. Mix. Pour in alfredo sauce and mix all together well. By this time, hubs should be in with your beautifully grilled chicken breasts, pull 2 of them, cube them & add to alfredo mixture.
Keep remaining breasts warm until dinner.

  Pour one cup of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 2 quart rectangle baking dish. Spread chicken alfredo mixture onto one lasagna noodle about 2/3 of the way up. Roll noodle up and place in dish. Repeat with all remaining noodles. Cover with remaining spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with freshly shredded mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/2 tsp. basil.
Bake, uncovered for 25-30, or until hot & bubbly.

Serve with remaining chicken breasts and sautéed veggies.

 So, I had NOTHING on hand to make a salad, like I typically choose to make with an Italian-type meal, so we did sautéed veggies instead.  I had mushrooms, and peppers and onions, so I sautéed them in butter and seasoned them with Italian seasonings.

  I have to tell you, it was the PERFECT flavor to compliment this dinner, and forget the salad, this meal will be served with those veggies from now on!

    Look at all this cheesy gooey goodness!  What a great side dish……

Happy Cooking!

~T

Cream Cheese & Swiss Spinach Lasagna

Ok, so we just had lasagna for supper and it was AMAZING!  I was secretly preparing myself for some teeny complaints from Dale, since he doesn’t love Italian, or anything involving warm tomatoes, but to my utter delight, none came.  In fact, both he, and his co-worker who we had stay for supper, said it was the BEST lasagna they had ever had.  And after I said thank you, I had to agree!  This is the best lasagna I have ever had, and it will now be the One and ONLY Lasagna recipe in my cookbook.  It’s creamy, garlic-y and has such AMAZING flavor!  You have to try it!

Head over to Tasty Kitchen to get the recipe.  Here is the link:

Cream Cheese & Swiss Spinach Lasagna

Served it with cheesy bread (recipe below) and a tossed salad. YUMMY!

Cheesy Bread

1 Whole Wheat French Loaf, cut in half horizontally

Butter, softened

Garlic salt

Sour cream

Shredded Cheese

Preheat oven to 350*.   Cut whole wheat french loaf in half.  Lay pieces side by side on a cookie sheet, and smear with a generous helping of butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Next, spread a nice layer of sour cream and then shredded cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes, slice and serve hot.  So gooey and good!