Alex Cameron's Old Aunt Roldah’s Casserole

2 tsp. butter or margarine
1 lb. hamburger
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 tsp. sugar
2 8-oz cans tomato sauce
1 8-oz pkg egg noodles
4 oz cream cheese (w/chives, if possible)
1 c. sour cream
½ c. grated cheddar cheese

Directions: Melt the fat and brown the meat. Crush the garlic and add to the meat, along with salt, pepper, sugar and tomato sauce. Cover and cook slowly 15 to 20 min. Cook noodles according to directions on pkg and drain. Blend softened cream cheese and sour cream together in a separate bowl. In lightly greased 3-qt casserole dish, alternate layer of noodles, cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Repeat, then sprinkle top with the cheddar cheese. In oven pre-heated to 350, bake 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

My mother’s name is Roldah (RAHL-duh). (This is, obviously, a pretty unusual name, and there’s a reason why: her father, Harold Northup, came up with it by rearranging the letters of his first name. Cruel, I know.) Anyway, my mother first started cooking this casserole back sometime in the 50’s. She’d gotten it from a friend at her church. The casserole became a family favorite, but it had no name. Her brother-in-law (my uncle), Claxton “Clacky” Walker, changed that. One evening, he asked my Aunt Jackie what they were having for dinner. She said she had made “Roldah’s casserole.” Apparently, he didn’t think that sounded very appetizing and decided they should give this dish a better name: Old Aunt Roldah’s Casserole. It stuck, and that’s all we kids ever heard it called. My mother still makes it to this day.