Creamy Lasagna (Sour Cream Lasagna)

Years ago when I was working in downtown OKC, there was a restaurant across the hall from us that served the absolute BEST lasagna in town.  The secret?  Sour cream.  It added an incredible dimension to this classic dish.  I searched forever for a copycat recipe and lo and behold!  Many years later I ran across the recipe which would result in a dish exactly as I imagined!  Of course, the recipe calls for ground beef, but I tend to always substitute ground turkey breast, resulting in a much lower calorie/fat count, without sacrificing taste or texture.  I used Barilla's flat, no pre-boil noodles for this recipe and I'm telling you, this dish came out wonderfully!  In my quest to load up my freezer with pre-made entrees, I divided this recipe in two.  For tonight's dinner, I made it in a 8x8 dish (using 6 Barilla lasagna noodles) and then made a smaller 1 1/2 quart rectangular glass dish entree, using just three lasagna noodles.  Or if you're serving a large group, use the entire recipe and prepare it in a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Whichever way you go, you won't be disappointed!

CREAMY LASAGNA  (12 servings)


1 1/2 pounds ground beef, turkey, or turkey breast
30 oz tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
16 oz cream cheese, softened, or Ricotta cheese
8 oz sour cream
1/4 cup milk
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley, for garnish

In a skillet, cook ground meat over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in tomato sauce, onion, sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt.  In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese (or Ricotta), sour cream, and milk until smooth.

In a greased 13x9 baking dish, layer a fourth of the meat sauce, six noodles, and a third of the cream cheese misture.  Repeat layers twice.  Top with remaining meat sauce.  Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with cheddar cheese.  Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.  Sprinkle with freshly minced parsley.