Russian Macaroni and Cheese

By thatjerseygirl

Not one for everyone, but those who do like it RAVE about it!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound macaroni or other small pasta (I used whole-wheat Penne)
• 2 Tbs butter
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 10 oz bag fresh baby spinach
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tbs fresh dill, finely minced
• 2 cups packed, grated cheddar
• Handful of sunflower seeds

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 baking pan.

Cook the pasta until tender and drain. Melt butter in a deep skillet (this is going to need to be deeper than you think it is. AT LEAST 2 or 3 inches deep), and saute onions for 5 minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms, cabbage, salt, and caraway seeds. Cover and cook 10 minutes, or until cabbage is tender. Stir in spinach, remove from heat, and add to pasta.

Mix in cottage cheese, buttermilk, dill, black pepper and half the cheddar. Spread in prepared pan, sprinkle with remaining cheddar and sunflower seeds. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes.