Cookbooks like Culinary Treasures published by the St. Basil’s Ukrainian Women’s League have been my go-to for figuring out the right proportions for the recipes here. Originally published in 1967, it must have been popular because my copy is a reprint in 1972.
It’s the collective knowledge of the women at St. Basil’s in Edmonton, Alberta as well as women from across Canada. Mrs. A. Hlynski of Toronto, your Saturday Night Noodleburg should be a classic – and it’s an easy casserole for an Instant Pot Saturday Night. Inspired by her 1967 recipe, I’ve adapted it for the Instant Pot and sped up the process a little bit, too.
You can’t go wrong with a casserole that’s topped with corn flakes.
These older cookbooks are full of odd gems. Many of the recipes are short on details and involve strange combinations. There’s a recipe for “Potato Candy.” Think about it for a minute because it’s exactly that – a potato combined with icing sugar, raisins and coconut.
Another recipe is called “Teenager’s Favorite Hot Dish” and consists of a casserole layering ground beef and onion with shredded cabbage and topped with tomato soup. Mrs A. Hlynski of Toronto has recipes that stand out to me because she had a way with naming them.
Mrs A. Hlynski’s Original Recipe for Saturday Night Noodleburg
- 1 lb minced round steak
- 1/2 lb minced pork
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 5 cups precooked noodles
- 2/3 cup chopped onions
- 2 cans tomato soup
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 cup crushed cornflakes
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Combine meats and brown in 2 tbsp. butter, add onions, cook until tender, but not brown. Add soup, diced cheese, sugar, seasoning and simmer 15 minutes. Meanwhile cook noodles and place drained noodles in a casserole. Pour sauce over noodles. Top with cornflakes and melted butter. Bake at 350° F for 25-30 mins.
To the Instant Pot!
First off, the noodles don’t need to be precooked. But, what kind of noodles would Mrs. A. Hlynski want me to use?
I used a thicker egg noodle that had a more rustic appearance. But, you could substitute any egg noodle or pasta. If using linguine or something long-ish, I’d recommend breaking them into 3 or 4 inch lengths.
Most of these casserole recipes of this era relied on some form of condensed soup. When I asked my mom, she said that – at the time – you could buy canned tomatoes or canned tomato soup. Canned or jars of tomato sauce weren’t readily available.
Start off by adding the mixture of ground pork and beef in the Instant Pot using the Saute Normal setting. After that has cooked but not browned, add the chopped onion. If the mixture starts to brown, turn down the heat to Low.
Combine the meat and onion mixture with the tomato soup, water, sugar, salt, Worcestershire sauce and uncooked noodles into the Instant Pot. Now is the time to preheat the oven to 350° F. Cook on Manual at High Pressure for 5 minutes and do a quick release.
After cooking, add the cream cheese and stir it into the hot noodleburg to melt and distribute. In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and cornflakes. Add the noodleburg to a greased casserole dish and top with the corn flake mixture.
Bake uncovered at 350° F for 25 to 35 minutes.
Time saved
- Cooking the noodles in the Instant Pot saves about half an hour of water coming to a boil, cooking and draining
- Instead of simmering the ingredients for 15 minutes, the entire Instant Pot time is 12 minutes – from pressurization along with the 5 minute cook time.
Instant Pot Saturday Night Noodleburg
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 2/3 cup chopped onions
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 to 6 cups uncooked noodles
- 2 cans of tomato soup
- 1 can of water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- Pepper to taste
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed
- 1 cup corn flakes crushed
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Saute the ground beef and pork on Normal
- Add the onions and cook until tender but do not brown the onions
- Add the uncooked noodles sugar, salt and Worcestershire sauce along with the cans of tomato soup plus one can filled with water to the Instant Pot.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set to Manual using High Pressure for 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- When the time is up, do a Quick Release.
- Open up the Instant Pot and add the cream cheese.
- Combine the corn flakes with the butter in a small bowl.
- Transfer the noodleburg into a greased casserole dish and top with the corn flake mixture.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350° F.
