May 12, 2010

Patchwork Casserole

"For-a-Crowd" Recipes, bell peppers, casserole, cheese, Ground Beef, main dish, One-Dish Dinners, potatoes, Potluck Recipes

Presented by

412 ratings

Prep time: 20 minutes
baking time 45 minutes
Servings: 8 to 10
Partner: Autumn Salad

After ball practice, we headed for supper at Grandma’s, where she fixed us her beef-and-potato casserole.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 pounds frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound American cheese slices

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2

Cook ground beef in large skillet over medium heat until browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Drain off fat.
3

Add bell peppers and onion to skillet; cook and stir until tender, 4 minutes. Stir in potatoes, tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt, basil and black pepper.
4

Spoon half of meat mixture into a 3-quart baking dish; top with half of cheese. Spoon remaining meat mixture evenly on top of cheese. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake 45 minutes.
5

Cut remaining cheese into decorative shapes; place on top of casserole. Let stand, loosely covered, until cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Grandma's Secret Trick

Grandma preferred to use ground chuck in this beefy casserole because it has just the right amount of fat. Ground round is too lean, and ground sirloin, which falls somewhere between chuck and round, is too expensive. She always shopped for brightly colored, red to deep red cuts of meat.