Growing up, kugel was a staple at our Yom Kippur break-fast, but not many other times throughout the year. But when I got pregnant, all I wanted to eat was kugel. Something about the way noodles, raisins and dairy products added up to a sweet, creamy, nausea-free combination really worked for me. Especially in that first trimester.
Problem was, I was so nauseated and exhausted for so long that I barely made it to my grad school classes. I had to come home every afternoon and lie down on the couch, watching hours upon hours of TV on the DVR. The idea of standing up for long enough to make a kugel (even though it’s a super-easy recipe) was just never going to happen.
But last week I came across a slow-cooker kugel recipe. It had never ever occurred to me to make a kugel in a crockpot. Amazing, and a perfect fit for that feeling that there’s never enough time in a day (see my previous post about casseroles for more on that). I’ve taken this recipe from Valerie at Dinner is a Crock (awesome name, by the way) and modified it a little bit to fit the post-baby-trying-to-lose-weight lifestyle, subbing whole wheat egg noodles and low-fat sour cream and cottage cheese and even using Splenda instead of sugar. Perhaps not as rich, but definitely a little healthier for you. Just be forewarned–it’s not as thick as your typical kugel, so you want to let it rest a bit before eating otherwise it will fall apart (unless you like it that way).
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 lb. whole wheat egg noodles, cooked (Ronzoni makes them)
5 eggbeaters (1 and 1/4 cups)
16 oz. low fat or fat-free sour cream
16 oz. low fat or fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 c. Splenda (you can use part sugar for this)
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. vanilla
3/4 c. raisins
1 c. Special K or cornflakes cereal (crushed)
2 T. butter melted
Mix all ingredients except noodles, cereal and butter in crock pot until smooth. Fold noodles into mixture gently. Mix crushed cereal and melted butter in a separate bowl and then flake on top of casserole mixture. Cook on low for 4 hours. For last 15-30 minutes, position lid sideways so that air can escape during final moments of cooking.
