New Recipe: Number 11 ~ Ground Beef & Sliced Potato Hot Dish

 Okay, I'm from the Midwest and I now I just gave that away by using the words Hot Dish instead of Casserole. I think the first time I said Hot Dish out here in CO, my friend looked at me and said, "What's a Hot Dish?" Of course, my response was it a Hot Dish. Well that cleared it up. Hot Dish is what Midwesterners call Casseroles...okay is that clear?

"Hot Dish"

Anyway...on to the new recipe, so I was struggling with what to cook for dinner one night and did a FB shout out for the mama's out there to suggest a dinner that used ground beef and potatoes. Just as I feared, the very first response was shepherd's pie. Not to say that shepherd's pie isn't good, it just isn't something my family likes. I have a hardy Irish brood (well and a bit Asian) over here and they wouldn't touch an English dish with a 10 foot pole. I used to work at a wonderful little English tea room and luncheonette and learned to cook several standard English dishes. Each time I've tried to make them, my family has revolted. My husband says "his people" fought long and hard to not be English and he certainly wasn't going to start now...whatever that means because his family though they may be Irish have lived in America for generations. Okay, off track again...the recipe.

I didn't find a great suggestion in time and jumped on Pinterest (evil sometimes). If you need an invite, email me, it's a wonderful site to store recipes, organizational tips and all kinds of inspiring nonsense. I found a link to this recipe, "Hamburger Potato Casserole" on Allrecipes.com looked it over and then created my own version and doubled it because we have a big family (plus I was hoping for leftovers because I was going in for dental surgery the next day).

Ingredients:
-1-2 lbs of ground beef (depending on how meaty you want it, I only used 1 lb)
-6-8 potatoes peeled and sliced thin (I used my food processor)
-6 cloves of garlic minced
-2 tbps Onion Onion (Link to order from Tastefully Simple)
-2 tbps Bacon Bacon (Link to order from Tastefully Simple)
-2 cans of green beans
-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup
-2 cans of milk
-Parmasen cheese

Preheat the oven to 350˚.

Brown the ground beef with minced garlic and Onion Onion seasoning. Salt and pepper meat to taste.

In a pan with oil on medium heat, lightly cook the potatoes with the Bacon Bacon. They don't need to be cooked all the way but I like to cook them a little for texture it gives them. If you put them in raw, you will just need to cook the "Hot Dish" longer.

Potatoes to be sliced in the food processor

In a medium bowl, mixing the cream of mushroom soup and the milk.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Layer the potatoes, meat, beans, soup and cheese. I made 2 full layers, starting with some soup on the bottom (to prevent sticking) and ending with the rest of the soup on top with a nice layer of cheese.

Layered yumminess

Cook for 30-40 minutes if you precooked the potatoes. Cook for 60-75 minutes if the potatoes are raw (or until the potatoes are tender).

In the oven

Dinner is served.