Over-the-River-and-Through-the-Woods Impossible Cheeseburger Casserole

Once a week GoodMan and I take dinner over to our daughter-in-law and three of our grandchildren (we call them "ACE" because that's their initials ~Ayden, Charlie and Emma ~ but now with their newest addition, Ella, we'll have to change it to ACEE). Our son is working at a job in another state and only gets home for a weekend about once every three weeks, so we try to carry some of the load by bringing dinner to them once or twice a week and having them to our house whenever they can came. They live over-the-river-and-though-the-woods in a cozy log cabin about 25 minutes away so it's always a challenge to find a meal that travels well. I like to make something in the crock pot or a casserole so they have a nice home-cooked dinner. This week I took Impossible Cheeseburger Casserole.

These are the ingredients I needed for the casserole: ground beef, onion, Bisquick, milk, eggs, salt, pepper and shredded cheese.

First, I chopped the onion. About 2 cups, or one large onion.

Next, I put the ground beef and the onion in a skillet on top of the stove to brown.

Okay, now I'm being painfully honest...I was supposed to thaw 2 pounds of ground beef and I only took one pound out of the freezer. I didn't realized it until I looked at the amount of beef in the pan ~ whoops! So I got another pound of ground beef out of the freezer and put it in the microwave on "speed defrost" and added it to the meat and onions already browning on the stove. I'm keepin' it real...if you were sitting in my kitchen watching me make this, you'd have seen my goof and laughed along with me!

Next, I drained the fat off of the ground beef. Just take a look at all that! Ewww...

I put the meat in a 9x13 glass pan that I had previously sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. I then put the salt and pepper on top of the meat and set it all aside.

I whisked the eggs in a large container with a lid.

I added the Bisquick and milk to the egg mixture and whisked until it was combined. Then I put the lid on the bowl and set it aside.

This is not actually a part of the casserole, but we like to top our casserole with lettuce and tomato along with a healthy dose of homemade Ranch Dressing. So I chopped the lettuce and tomatoes and put them in containers to go.

At this point it was time to gather all the fixin's to take over-the-river-and-through-the-woods. I had the meat in a 9x13 pan, the Bisquick mix in a bowl with a lid, the cheese, lettuce, tomato, Ranch dressing, and even the corn to round out the dinner. I packed this all in a cooler and headed out to the log cabin in the woods.

When I got to their house the first thing I did (after getting hugs and hearing stories of boo-boos and who-did-what-to-me-at-school-today) was preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then I sprinkled shredded cheese over the top and  poured the Bisquick mixture over all of it. You will notice one corner of the casserole didn't get much cheese...that was intentional...you see, GoodMan prefers his piece without cheese. By sprinkling the cheese on top instead of mixing it into the Bisquick mixture I can regulate where the cheese goes. I put the casserole in the oven and turned the timer on for 30 minutes. While it's baking I have time to play with Baby Ella, see how Ayden's mousetrap car works for his science project, and cuddle on the couch with Charlie and Emma.

When the timer goes off the casserole is a pan of meaty, cheesy, goodness. The Bisquick mixture has set up and the cheese has formed a crust on the top. We could just cut it up and eat it like this...but we make it just a little more special.

We add a nice amount of shredded lettuce, some diced tomatoes, and the perfect drizzle of Ranch dressing. The hefty scoop of corn is the perfect side dish. Not everyone likes it this way. Some put ketchup all over it (yuck!) and some prefer other dressings...but the RIGHT way to eat it is the with lettuce, tomato and Ranch.

Here is the full recipe:

Impossible Cheeseburger Casserole

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 eggs

1 cup Bisquick baking mix

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and Ranch dressing to serve as topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x13 glass baking dish by spraying with non-stick spray.

In a skillet on the stove, brown hamburger and onions. Drain and put meat in the 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the meat.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Add the Bisquick and milk. Pour over the meat and cheese mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden and set.

Slice and serve with lettuce, tomatoes and Ranch dressing (or ketchup if you like it yucky).

What's the taste tester's bottom line?

This is a "tried-and-true" recipe, and you don't get to be one of those unless you consistently please the taste testers. Some like it less cheesy (which can be accommodated), and some like it with yucky toppings (which can be ignored unless the perpetrator is sitting right next to you and you can't avoid the ketchup smell), but everyone rates this a "thumbs-up".

Bottom line: This recipe goes on the menu plan rotation about once a month.