Mom's Goulash/Lighthouse Lasagna

With a name like Lighthouse Lasagna, I feel the need to pay homage to my favorite lighthouse, the one I could see from my childhood bedroom, the one I miss living near very much... Barnegat Light.

Photo credit:  Manny Pabla

(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1203/1110599148_6d0aedd5eb.jpg)

Photo credit:  Chris LoBue

clbphoto.com

I first learned of this recipe from my friend Lauren, but I made it more like Annie did by using penne pasta instead of egg noodles.  I also discovered no sour cream in the fridge (which is very rare), so subbed yogurt.  I used low fat plain yogurt, and it seems to have worked well.

You know how, when you get a baked pasta from your local pizza parlor, the cheese filling tastes unlike the cheese filling of any other baked pasta dish you've ever had?  This tasted like that.  The whole dish reminded me of a baked ziti from random NJ pizza parlor.

It makes a LOT, so I froze about half of it after baking.  We'll see how it reheats after freezing.

This was yummy.  Hungry Baby devoured his.  Mr. "I just want dessert" ate a whole bowl, but I had to feed it to him.  I went back for seconds.

Here's the recipe; I sure hope I attribute it correctly!

Mom’s Goulash

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground sirloin (or ground turkey)
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce (I used 2- 8oz cans)
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano
Kosher salt
1/3 cup water
1 lb. tube pasta, such as penne
1 cup low fat yogurt
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13″ baking dish.

Brown the meat in a large skillet over medium heat, crumbling it up as it cooks.  Drain off the excess fat, if necessary.  When the meat is no longer pink, stir in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, basil, oregano, and salt to taste.  Stir in the water.  Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook the pasta just until al dente.  Drain well and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, cream cheese, and egg.  Mix well to blend.  Stir in the green onions.

To assemble, spread a very thin layer of the sauce mixture over the bottom of the baking dish.  Top with half of the pasta.  Spread half of the sour cream mixture over the pasta, then top with half of the remaining sauce.   Repeat layers with the remaining pasta, sour cream mixture and sauce.  Sprinkle shredded mozzarella evenly over the top.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbling.  Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Potluck at Midnight Farm via Lauren’s Kitchen and Annie's Eats