1/2poundgrated cheese(Swiss, gouda, gruyere is possible)
Instructions
Boil the egg noodles in salty water until half cooked. This generally means about 4 to 6 minutes, but check the package. Drain and set aside.
While the water is heating up for the noodles, preheat the oven to 350°F. Set a large frying pan on a strong burner over medium-high to high heat.
Add the chopped onion and ground meat. Sprinkle salt over them. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up big lumps, until the meat is well browned, about 10 minutes. Take care to not let any of the bits stuck to the pan blacken -- brown is what you want. Remove the meat and onion to a large bowl and add half the noodles to that bowl.
Turn the heat off the pan and add the sauerkraut to it, along with its juice. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits, then move all this to the bowl with the meat and half the noodles. Add the dry mustard, caraway, black pepper and sugar. With your hands, extract the whole tomatoes from the can and crush and shred into the bowl. Save the juice in the tomato can for another recipe. Mix all this well.
Pour the mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish or something similar, and pack it in well. Cover with the remaining noodles; you might not need all of them. Sprinkle the cheese on top evenly and pop it in the oven. It's done when you get some browned edges to the cheese, as in the picture. This usually takes about 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.