This was something my great-aunt Mary apparently made, though I don’t remember her ever making it when I was over. Maybe it wasn’t fancy enough for Sunday dinner? Fancy or no, it’s a hearty meal for a cold night when you have time to wait an hour on the oven, or whenever you don’t feel a need to be “fancy.”

What appears in these photos is from my attempt at following the original recipe. I’ve made some tweaks that I think will make future attempts easier to follow. The original recipe is at the bottom of this page if you’re interested in using it.

I tried this with whole grain macaroni noodles. I suggest adding some marinara as a single can of tomatoes didn’t seem to stretch very far compared to the amount of noodles, but you can decide how much you want to use. Also, since this is sort of like a distant cousin of lasagna, you could probably and add some ricotta in between if you want to make it more lasagna-esque.

1 lb. ground round steak, hamburger, or ground turkey
1/2 lb. cheese, shredded or grated
1 package noodles (preferably a smaller pasta like macaroni or rotini)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 14.5-oz. can tomatoes
marinara (optional)
ricotta (optional)
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps. Italian seasoning
2 tbsps. basil
salt, pepper (to taste)

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Set a pot of water to boil and add salt. Once you have a rolling boil, add the noodles and turn off the heat. Let them sit for 10 minutes before draining. (This will give an al dente noodle after baking.)

Meanwhile, sauté the onion until it’s not quite translucent. Add meat, garlic, and 1 tablespoon each of Italian seasoning and basil, and stir until the meat is no longer raw. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the tomatoes (and any marinara you wish to use) to a mixing bowl and add the Worcestershire and the rest of the seasoning.

Into a baking dish, put half the meat; cover with half the noodles. If you want to add any ricotta, this is a good time to add it. Cover with half the tomato mixture. Add another layer of each, cover, and put in the oven.

Bake one hour at 350F.

Remove cover and add grated or sliced cheese and leave in oven, until melted and brown.