Baked Penne Rigate With Cottage Cheese & Sour Cream
I was watching Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Made: CHEESY episode right about the time I was thinking of a meatless dinner I could make tonight. All the ooey gooey creamy cheesy food they were showing made me crave for creamy baked mac and cheese. But then I thought I should come up with a new twist instead of the usual sauce where you melt cheese with milk after making the butter and flour roux. It would be something new to add into this blog archives that’s for sure. I thought about the cottage cheese and sour cream in the fridge. I figured that should work then I searched on Google just to make sure there is such a thing as baked mac ‘n’ cheese with cottage cheese and sour cream. Google didn’t disappoint. There are a lot of recipes actually, FIGURES!
I found A Duck’s Oven’s Not So Ordinary Mac N Cheese which after reading the recipe I knew I could easily modify. And here’s what I’ve come up with.
Baked Penne With Cottage Cheese & Sour Cream
Ingredients
- 1 box penne rigate cooked al dente
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- sprinkle of salt and pepper
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- a little bit of butter to grease the casserole dish (or PAM spray)
Instructions
- Boil the water for the pasta, cook them al dente’.
- Set the shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese in separate bowl. Set them in the fridge just to keep them cool.
- Grease the casserole dish with a little bit of butter then set it aside. This would prevent the pasta from sticking into the bottom of the pan.
- Once the pasta have cooked al dente, drain out the water with a colander then return into the pot. Stir in the shredded cheese, then add the milk, cottage cheese, and sour cream. Stir everything together. Preheat the oven to 355°.
- Season with garlic powder, and sprinkles of salt and pepper. Stir everything.
- Transfer the whole thing into the casserole dish. Spread the pasta mixture evenly. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs on top. Stick it in the oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and the panko tapping is browned.
You can add crumbled cooked bacon or pancetta on top along with Panko bread crumbs if you want to add another layer of flavor. Garnish with chopped scallions too if you want.
Or a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese, of course. Serve with garlic bread and/or salad to complete the meal.
