Lasagna with Homemade Noodles and Cream Cheese
- Bess Hawthorne
- Jul 31
- 7 min read
Join Anna Stoltzfus as she discusses why she believes hospitality is an important part of community. She shares how her church’s hospitality home rotation, where families take turns hosting Sunday lunches, creates meaningful fellowship beyond a quick visit Sunday morning. Anna walks through how she prepares in advance to welcome extra guests, offers a clever tip for toy management when kids visit, and explains how her own children join in the clean-up. From setting out drinks and appetizers to choosing the right recipes, she covers the little touches that help guests feel immediately at home. Plus, you’ll walk away with several tried-and-true dishes you’ll want to add to your regular rotation. We're so glad you're here!
Recipes:
Lasagna with Homemade Noodles and Cream Cheese
(Submitted by Anna Stoltzfus)
Homemade Noodles:
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water
2 cups flour
Meat:
1 pound ground beef
1 garlic clove
1 onion
1 teaspoon salt
Sauce:
2 16 ounce jars tomato sauce
Oregano
Basil
Garlic powder
Lasagna:
1½ pounds grated mozzarella
8 ounces cream cheese, divided evenly into thirds
8 ounces cottage or ricotta cheese, optional
Directions:
1. For noodles: Whip eggs well in mixer, add rest of ingredients and mix. Let set for 20-30 minutes before rolling through a pasta machine or by hand. (If you want to make sourdough noodles this is the recipe I use: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/homemade-sourdough-pasta/)
2. For meat: Finely chop garlic and combine in frying pan with other ingredients. Cook on low heat until meat is no longer pink.
3. For sauce: Mix all ingredients together.
4. To assemble lasagna: Roll out noodles. Put a thin layer of sauce in bottom of a 9x13" pan. Add two or three layers in following order using approximately 1/3 of ingredients in each layer: Noodles, meat, cream cheese (Break each third into smaller chunks and drop onto the top of the meat.), cottage or ricotta (Drop by spoonfuls into the pan.), mozzarella sprinkled over each layer, sauce.
5. Top with extra layer of mozzarella.
6. Cook at 350° for 30-45 minutes. Cheese should be lightly browned on top and the sauce should be bubbling.
Serve with:
Salad
Homemade rolls and butter
Dessert
Jiffy Hamburger Buns
(Submitted by Anna Stoltzfus with credit given to the La Leche League Cookbook)
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
¾ cup water
½ cup oil or butter
¼ cup honey
1½ tablespoons yeast
4-6 cups flour
1½ teaspoons salt
Directions:
1. Warm milk, water, oil, and honey on the stove until it reaches 110°. Do not overheat as this will kill your yeast. Pour into mixing bowl. Sprinkle 1½ tablespoons yeast over it. Let rest 10 minutes.
2. Mix in 2 cups of flour, and 1½ teaspoons salt. Add in 2-4 more cups of flour. (You want a dough that’s softer than bread dough.) Knead 10 minutes; let rest 10 minutes.
3.Divide into 12 equal portions, fold and tuck, then place in greased pan, and flatten into a 3-4 inch bun. Let rise 20 minutes.
4. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes. Flip out onto a rack to cool.
Notes:
If making hotdog buns, roll into a 6 inch long roll and then flatten slightly before letting them rise. If doing dinner rolls, butter the top after letting them rest 10 minutes out of the oven
This makes 12 hamburger or hot dog buns, 15-16 medium size dinner rolls, or 22 small dinner rolls.
You can also use this recipe to make cinnamon rolls. Roll dough flat, rub butter on the dough, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon all over it. Roll it up, cut it 1-1½” thick, place in greased pan, let rise 20 minutes, cook 15-20 minutes. Frost or ice afterwards. Another option is to add cinnamon or chocolate chips before you roll it up and cut it.
Potato Corn Chowder with Cheese Sauce
Add cheese sauce to this soup to make it even creamier and cheesier! See recipe below.
Cheese Sauce:
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the bottom of a pan, then add 1/4-1/3 cup flour until thick. Pour in 1 cup milk, whisking to incorporate everything. Add milk until you get the desired consistency: you want it thick, but not gloppy. Add 1 teaspoon garlic granules, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon onion flakes (or you could saute 1/4 onion and 1 clove of garlic in the butter before adding the flour), and 3/4 teaspoon salt (may need more). Let cook 5-7 minutes after it comes to a soft boil, stirring often. Add cheese of choice. I like to do cheddar, Gouda, Brie, and some cream cheese. Do not use mozzarella; it will make the sauce stringy. Let the cheese melt into the sauce, stirring every now and then, and then serve it. We like to use this over nachos, and I freeze any extra to add to soups.
How to Cook Meat in the Oven Overnight
Roast Beef
In a large roasting pan, place two to three roasts. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat and enough water to reach the top, but don’t overfill, as your roasts will also produce juice. Cut a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary, or sprinkle dried thyme and rosemary over the meat. Add 3-5 garlic cloves and 1-2 onions cut into quarters. Sprinkle some smoked paprika over it, and put the lid on. Cook at 170-200° overnight; the lower the temperature the better. I normally put it in around 9 at night and pull it out around 6 the next morning. The roast will be falling off the bone. The broth is delicious served over the meat, on rice, or saved for soup.
Chicken
In a large roaster pan place two to three chickens, add 1 teaspoon salt per pound of meat and about two to three inches of water, but don’t overfill as your chickens will also produce juice. Cut a few sprigs of thyme and sage, or sprinkle dried thyme and sage over the meat. Add 3-5 garlic cloves and 1-2 onions cut into quarters. Sprinkle some smoked paprika over it, and put the lid on. Cook at 170-200° overnight; the lower the temperature the better. I normally put it in around 9 at night and pull it out around 6 the next morning. The chicken will be falling off the bone. The broth is delicious served over the meat, on rice, or saved for soup
I like to use frozen meat, but thawed works well too.
Desserts!
Tilly Job’s Pumpkin Bars
(Submitted by Anna Stoltzfus)
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1½ cups oil
2 cups puréed pumpkin or butternut squash
2¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
Directions:
1. Beat eggs and sugar together in a mixer until frothy. Add oil and puréed pumpkin or butternut squash. Cream well together.
2. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until combined.
3. Pour into a greased jelly roll sheet. Bake at 350°for 15-25 minutes. Top will be a light golden brown. Do not overbake. Let cool completely before frosting.
4. For frosting: Cream butter and cream cheese together at high speed. Gradually beat in brown sugar and vanilla. Fold in nuts if desired. Spread on cooled bars.
Notes:
This recipe was originally for carrot bars; just substitute puréed carrots for the pumpkin. Another option is to use sweet potatoes. If you want, you can also add ½ cup chopped nuts.
I use sucanat sugar as the brown sugar, and it adds a lot of flavor to the frosting.
Cranberry Orange Muffins including how to make orange extract! YUM!
Orange Extract
Ingredients:
Organic orange peels
Vodka, best with organic
Fill a jar with orange peels until it’s about two inches from the top. Pour vodka in until the peels are covered and you have an extra inch or two of vodka on top. Put the jar in a dark place, like a cabinet, and shake the jar every day for a week and then every now and then for the next 4-5 weeks. When it smells strongly of orange instead of vodka it’s ready. You can also do lemon extract this way. I have tried doing this with the skin lightly peeled off, but have found the whole peel makes a stronger extract. Make sure you only use organic fruit as the outside would retain any spray used on the fruit.
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Other Recommended Recipes:
Chicken and Rice Casserole
(by Bess Hawthorne)
This isn’t your typical chicken and rice dish. It’s a crowd favorite that gets rave reviews from all ages. Hearty, satisfying, and comfort food at its best, it’s the kind of meal everyone looks forward to.
Ingredients:
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
6 cups cooked rice
Cream sauce (see recipe instructions below)
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1½ cup mayonnaise
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cream Sauce:
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons onion powder
½ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1-2 tablespoons Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Umami Seasoning Blend, optional
Serve with:
Roasted salted peanuts, chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper, or Slap Ya Mama seasoning
Directions:
1. Cook chicken as desired. One option is to cook chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper for 375° for approximately 30 minutes or until done. Cooking chicken or deboning a rotisserie chicken ahead of time makes assembly fast.
2. Cook rice according to package instructions to achieve 6 cups of cooked rice.
3. Make cream sauce. Melt butter. Whisk in onion powder and flour until smooth. Cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and milk. Continue to whisk until sauce thickens and starts to boil. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat. (This recipe is a great substitute for cream of whatever soup. This would be enough for approximately four 10-ounce cans.)
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and sauté the onion and pepper over medium heat until they begin to soften.
5. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and golden around the edges.
6. Serve with chopped peanuts as a topping (optional). The salty crunch adds great texture and flavor. Additional salt and pepper or Slap Ya Mama seasoning on the table is essential.
Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd
Recommended Items:
Pleasant Hill grain mill
(Atlas pasta machine - I have bought 2 of mine off Facebook Marketplace for only $20, with attachments. So that is an option for people to keep an eye out for.)
(Danish whisk on Amazon. Sometimes you can find them in thrift stores. I used my first one for five years before it broke. )
(Pampered Chef scoop for muffins. I’ve used mine for 14 years.)
(Scoop recommended by Bess)
Articles on hospitality: