Curds and Whey - Cottage Cheese

Cottage must have been on sale and/or sounded fresh and cool to me. Somehow I had 2 large cartons in the refrigerator, time to look for recipes that involved more than cottage cheese plus fruit.
While looking for recipes I also found trivia, it takes 100 pounds of milk to make 15 pounds of cottage cheese (does this make it seem more valuable?). Cottage cheese is fresh drained curds of slightly soured, low fat pasteurized milk (that definitely doesn't sound appetizing!). It was originally made slowly on stoves in rural cottages - thus the name. When "Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey", she was probably eating cottage cheese.

My search for recipe ideas resulted in two favorites. The Cheesy Beef Tetrazzini  is a yummy casserole dish that makes a lot and tastes good for several leftover meals. The Dilly Bread is an old favorite I often forget about, but after some of the Festival of Breads recipe tests it's ease of prep was appreciated.

Cheesy Beef Tetrazzini                

1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 small onion, chopped

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese softened

1 cup small-curd cottage cheese

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

¼ cup chopped green pepper (could add more)

¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

1 package (7 oz) thin spaghetti, cooked and drained

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream until blended. Stir in green pepper, onions and spaghetti. Transfer to a greased 2 ½ quart baking dish. Top with beef mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes or until bubbly.

Dilly Bread              

1 package (2 1/4 tsp) Active Dry Yeast

1/4 cup warm water

1 cup cottage cheese, heated to lukewarm

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon minced dried onion

1 tablespoon softened butter

2 teaspoons dill seed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 whole egg

2  1/4 cups flour (more if needed)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine warm cottage cheese, sugar, minced onion, butter, dill seed, salt, baking soda, and egg. Stir to combine. Stir in yeast mixture gently then add flour gradually, stirring gently. 

Cover dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until double in bulk. Punch down dough, then turn into a well-buttered round baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 more minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread in lower half of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Brush top with melted butter after baking. Serve warm with butter. 

And I still had cottage cheese left! So for a tapioca pudding-like dessert, here's another way: Mix 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 packet artificial sweetener. You could add fruit to this also.