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.

Hot Potato Casserole - a la Joan

1 bag (2 lb.) hash browns (use loose potatoes NOT square cake)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream (You can use 3 cans of soup and 1 can of milk instead of sour cream)
8 oz. or more shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tbsp. garlic salt
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together everything except the Parmesan cheese.  Pour into a 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 1 hour or until bubbly and potatoes are fork tender.

Comments:  This dish came from my dear friend Joan.  She sent this to me some time ago but I've just now decided to give it a try.  Well, I found that I was out of sour cream but I did have some salad dressing that I had made using sour cream, minced onions, minced garlic and dill.  Why not?!  I didn't have the frozen hash browns but did have a box of dry that you simply soak in hot water.  This made 1 lb. so I cut the recipe in half, well sort of.  I used the 1 lb. potatoes, 1 can soup, 1 cup of my dressing, 1 cup of cheese but I eliminated the garlic since I had garlic in the dressing and I eliminated the Parmesan cheese, only because I forgot to add.  I have to say that this is one of the best hash brown dishes I've ever had.  The flavor was more like a loaded baked potato.  In fact, adding bacon bits and maybe some chives would be great additions that could be added when served.  This dish is great!

Loaded Potato Bake

5 medium-size potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cooking cream cheese
1 Tbsp dehydrated onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 string cheese sticks
French fried onions (optional)

Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until tender. Drain.  Mash lightly with a fork. While still hot, add the sour cream, cream cheese, onion, butter, bacon, pepper and salt. Mix well.  Cut cheese sticks into small pieces.  Fold into potato mix.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place in a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle Parmesan on top. Bake 20 minutes.  During last 5 minutes of baking top with French fried onions and bake last 5 minutes.  More cheese can be added at this time if desired.

Comments – you can add just about anything to this simple dish.  Broccoli would be a great addition.  The bacon can be left out and roast beef can be added making the dish a main course.  Spring onions would make a great substitute for the dehydrated onions.  You can also use instant potatoes but they won't be near as good as the real thing.  Think With Your Taste Buds!