The savory side of noodle kugel

My daughter has taken a shine to egg noodles, served plain. As I was mulling over how to turn this preference into a dinner we could all eat, kugel occurred to me.

I hadn't seen many savory kugel recipes, but it turns out they're out there. I made this one, which I adapted from a version on krissyinboston.com, to be as bland as possible for the highest chance of success with our family.

It was quite bland, but comforting, and better with salt and pepper. It would probably be better still with broccoli or chicken or both mixed in, but I haven't tried that. The plain version also might work as a side dish.

The kugel was a moderate hit, which is to say that my daughter ate it without complaining too much, and my son ate some. Here's how to make it:

24 ounces egg noodles (about a package and a half)

1 3⁄4 sticks butter (about 14 tablespoons)

8 ounces fat-free cottage cheese

6 eggs

1 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil noodles until done, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and cool slightly. In a bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, eggs and yogurt. Stir butter into egg mixture a bit at a time, stirring briskly to keep from cooking the eggs.

Drain noodles and cool. Stir into the egg mixture, coating well. Pour noodles and mixture into a 13-inch-by-9-inch casserole pan. Bake for 50 minutes, until some noodles on top are crispy and kugel is set. Cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 10-12.

Per serving (based on 12): 366 calories, 12 grams protein, 19 grams fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 38 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 183 milligrams cholesterol, 121 milligrams sodium.