Beef and Mashed Potato Bake

Beef and Mashed Potato Bake

1 lbs. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 can Cheddar cheese soup or cream of mushroom soup.

Break up and brown the ground beef with the onions until beef is completely cooked and onions are golden. Drain and set aside. Grease a medium square or large pie pan. Put the mashed potatoes all along the bottom and slightly up the side of the pan. Layer the beef mixture over the potatoes. Spread soup over the beef. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins.

Submited by Patricia M. Kelly via Butter 'n Love Recipes II, Bloomfield Manor Auxiliary

I have to admit, out of protest I improvised on this recipe. This, like most we've made, is a variation on the same thing. Beef & cream of something soup.

I used ground turkey instead of the beef, and added mixed vegetables on top of the beef in the pan, then put cream of mushroom soup over the top.

I was sad because when we last went grocery shopping we came across Cheddar soup, and neither one of us thought we'd ever use it, so, sadly it was not in our pantry for this delicious nugget of simpleness.

Again... not sure what I can say about this dish, other than I'm happy I used ground turkey, because it is a variation on a lot of the other dishes that have been posted. Tastes good, looks questionable...

Beef Roll

1 beaten egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup crackers, 14 crushed saltines
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsps. salt
Dash pepper
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
2 oz. shredded swiss cheese (1/2 cup)
2 Tbs. chopped green peppers

Combine first 6 ingredients; and beef and mix well. On a piece of waxed paper, pat mixture into a 10" x 8" rectangle. Combine rice, cheese and green pepper. Pat onto the meat leaving a 1" margin around the edge. Roll jelly roll fashion, beginning with the narrow sides. Seal side seams and ends. Place roll in an 11 x 7" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 mins. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 -5 servings

Delicious, yet easy meal.

Submitted by Mrs. Linda Nelson of Kenosha, WI

Bloggers Note: 2 Tbs. of chopped green pepper is a ridiculously small amount of pepper. I added 1/2 of a green pepper and even then it was barely noticeable.

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I was very pleased with this recipe. Mostly because it's the first recipe that actually looks good coming out of the oven! Note the pride take in the garnish in the photos.

Please note, there is a difference between 1 cup of rice, and 1 cup of cooked rice. I learned this the hard way and it was very hard to roll. Because of this, I could not seal the ends. Also... I've never made a jelly roll, so I'm not quite sure if I rolled it correctly. But it was rolled, and had I not been a master sushi chef, this take might have been a bit more challenging than it already was.

I used Village Harvest, Jasmine Long Grain Fragrant Rice, and without it I think the recipe would have been extremely different. There isn't a whole lot of flavor in it, so adding this rice really gave it a very nice subtle flavor.

To jazz up this dish I might substitute a pepperjack cheese for the Swiss cheese and add mixed vegetables to make a complete meal in one dish.

Tater Tot Casserole (from the Men's Section)

Tater Tot Casserole

2 lbs. ground beef
1 Lg. onion
Salt & pepper to taste
1 can tomato soup
1 Tbsp. molasses
1/4 cup brown sugar
20 oz. can brown sugar
16 oz. pkg. tater tots

Brown beef and onion. Add salt and pepper. Add soup, molasses and sugar; mix well. Add beans and mix lightly. Place in casserole. Add tater tots to top. Bake at 350 degree for 45 mins.

I love this casserole because I'm a hamburger lover.

Submitted by Chris D. Hollis of Belleville, WI

Blogger's Note: We debated whether or not to drain the browned ground beef. In the end we did and were very happy how everything turned out. Also, don't drain the can of baked beans, use the juices as well.

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Once you get all the beef into the pan, you'll start to see how much Mr. Hollis really loves hamburger.

While I was making this, it reminded me of when I asked my mother for simple recipes shortly after I had moved out of the nest. As is the case with most mothers when asked that question, she couldn't think of anything she used to make. As I make my way through this cookbook I chuckle a bit because this is the stuff I was asking about. Extremely simple to make, inexpensive and very filling.

To be completely honest I had my doubts about this one. The combination of the ingredients seemed a bit odd to me. One of the only reasons I made it was because it did not contain cream of "whatever" soup. Needless to say, two weeks in I was starting to feel like I was sweating cream of something or other soup!

In the end it turned out to be pretty good. It basically tasted like a simple sloppy joe with tater tots. Throw in some green beans and a bottle of beer and you've got yourself a manpleaser!

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Mexican Chicken Casserole

4 chicken breasts

1/2 lb. grated sharp cheddar cheese

12 corn tortillas

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 7-oz. cans Ortega green chile salsa

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 can of water

sautéed onion

Sauté chicken breasts in oil slowly. Cut into bite sized pieces. Cut tortillas into 4 strips. Grease large shallow casserole. Mix following ingredients in one bowl: chicken and mushroom soups, chile salsa, tomato sauce, water and onion. Put some sauce in bottom of pan first; then layer 4 tortillas at a time in a lattice design, 1/3 chicken, 1/3 sauce and 1/3 cheese. Repeat in layers, ending with sauce and cheese. Refrigerate 24 hours. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Yield: 6 servings.

Good party dish because it can be made ahead.

Submitted by Patricia McGuigan -- San Francisco, CA

Blogger's note: I used an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. I also couldn't find cans of salsa, and I'm not sure I would have used one if I could find it, so I used Ortega chile verde taco sauce (mild).

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I'm interested to see what the dish tastes like today, because we did not wait 24 hours. It was great without having to wait, so I'm sure it will be even better today.

After a week of running this blog and trying some recipes, we are definitely starting to understand the fascination with cream of something soup. Everything stays moist and has a nice rich texture. As you can see, the dishes don't look all that fabulous, but they do taste good.

This casserole actually tasted something like a chicken tamale. Not bad for 1977. Of course, the snob in me needs to point out that the recipe did come from San Francisco where they have Taquerias that have celebrated decades of existence instead of from Wisconsin where the oldest "taqueria" around is La Bamba. Not exactly the best Mexican food I've ever had.