Beef & Potato Casserole

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 small green pepper, trimmed and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced (parboil in lightly salted boiling water for five minutes, then drain)

120g of grated cheddar cheese (1 cup)

For the sauce:

1 tin of condensed Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted

1 small onion, peeled and grated

125ml of single cream (1/2 cup)

1 heaped dessert spoon of sour cream (about 1/4 cup)

3 TBS grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.   Butter a large oblong glass casserole dish.   Set aside.

Whisk together the soup, onion, cream, sour cream, Parmesan Cheese, garlic powder, seasoning salt and black pepper.   Set aside.

Spray a large skillet with non stick cooking spray.  Crumble in the ground beef.  Scramble fry until it is no longer pink.  Add the onion, green papper, garlic, seasoning salt and black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the beef begins to brown and the vegetables have softened.

Begin to layer the ingredients into the prepared baking dish as follows.  One third of the potatoes, half of the meat, 1/3 of the soup, 1/3 of the cheese, one third potatoes, remaining half of meat, 1/3 of the soup, 1/3 of the cheese, remaining potatoes, then remaining soup and cheese.  Cover with a sheet of foil which has been buttered on one side, buttered side down.   Place on a baking sheet and bake for one hour in the preheated oven.  Uncover and bake for about 30 minutes longer until the potatoes are fork tender and everything is nicely bubbling and golden brown.

Note: If you want you can add an additional handful of cheddar cheese to the top for the last half hour of baking.  I often do and nobody complains at all!  Delicious!

Comment:  The pictures of this dish looked so good that I had to give it a try.  Surprise!  I made no changes, this time.  Next time I want to make this with a wild rice blend instead of the potatoes.  I have no doubt that I'll love it.  As it is with the potatoes, I as well as my food testers that were lucky enough to try this dish, all loved it.  It even makes the 'Meat and Potato Eater' happy.  Go to the site The English Kitchen for more really beautiful dishes, many of which I can't wait to try.  Oh yeah, I did add the cheddar cheese to the top and I also had no complains.