Ramen Noodle Bake

Please don't let the word Ramen stop you from making this recipe.

I know it sounds weird...Ramen in a casserole. When I first saw this I was like...Ramen? Really? But it so works. Trust me on this.

I buy Ramen. I think most folks have at one point or another and if you went away to college, I'm sure lots of you bought Ramen. It's cheap and it fills your belly.

My kids perfer Yakisoba Noodles to the Ramen packets. They are usually eaten by hungry teenagers on weekends for lunch or "snacks" in my house. I buy them by the dozens and they get eaten up just as fast as I buy them.

When you think about it....it's just a dried noodle, and you're not using all four of the flavor packets from the four packs of Ramen that you need for this recipe, so the sodium content isn't that bad.

I made this recipe for three of us. My husband was at a game dinner with my brother, so I had my nephew and youngest son home at the time. I decided to try this recipe out on them. I have to admit when I was making it was was thinking to myself "I hope I'm not wasting all these ingredients on this". So out of the oven it came, and down the stairs came the two boys who were STARVING (aren't they always?) and they loved it. They went back for seconds. Half the pan was gone just from the two of them. A hit.

It really was delicious. The Ramen become perfectly cooked and almost melt in your in your mouth. It was like a cross between lasagna and american chop suey.

Try it! Honest.

Ramen Noodle Bake
4 packages Ramen noodles - one must be beef (reserve ONE beef flavoring packet)
1 - 26 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. cooked ground beef or Italian sausage
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
3 1/2 cups water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Break up ramen noodles into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. They should cover the bottom of the dish.

Sprinkle the cooked meat over dry noodles (I seasoned my beef when I was cooking it). Pour the jar of sauce over the top. Sprinkle the beef flavor packet over the sauce. Sprinkle one cup of the cheese over the top of sauce. Gently mix together. Pour the water over the top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 40 to 50 minutes or until liquid is totally absorbed.

Remove from oven and remove foil. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Return to oven for 5- 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.