No One Expects The Dried Pear Noodle Kugel

Yay! We're back from our holiday trip to Utah to visit John's parents (you will be able to find more on that at my other blog as soon as I update it). Prior to our departure (well, most of December, actually) I made loads of recipes that will now make it to the blogs for public consumption.

The little movie below (and I apologize for having to switch back to YouTube after loving Brightcove--they stopped allowing uploads!) is one of those great all-purpose recipes for a tasty, sweet noodle kugel. I served this yummy dish at Mom's Channukah party the day after I made it, and it was a big hit. Between the latkes and the kugel, it's no wonder we were all sluggish after the meal!

This kugel is a conglomeration of several recipes plus my own touches; it's more mine than anyone else's at this point. So, after the little movie, the recipe follows.



Recipe: Deb's Dried Pear Noodle Kugel

Ingredients:

1 12-oz bag of thin egg noodles
2 tablespoons of softened butter, plus 1/2 tablespoon for buttering the pan
1 lb of low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese blended until smooth
1 1/2 cups non-fat Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup agave nectar
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped dried pears
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter baking dish.
2. Boil the noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.
3. Mush the softened butter in a large bowl for 1 minute. Add noodles and mix until the noodles are coated with the butter.
5. Mix in the yogurt and cream cheese for about a minute.
6. Mix in the cottage cheese and the agave nectar for about two minutes.
7. Mix in the nutmeg and cinnamon just until blended.
8. Mix in the dried fruit for about a minute.
9. Mix in the walnuts for one minute.
10. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 35 minutes, until golden brown on top.
11. Let cool for 25 minutes or serve immediately. Enjoy!