Ground Beef and Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Now THAT is one beautiful casserole! I wish I had a picture of it cut into squares and dished up on a plate.

But I don't.

Because I gave it away.

I got a call from my church asking if I could provide dinner for a young couple who were just home from the hospital after welcoming a baby boy into the world.

Well sure!

So this is how I got started...

These are the ingredients I gathered for the casserole: One pound of lean ground beef, an onion, ground sage, salt, 1 egg, bread crumbs, a tomato, a package of prepared mashed potatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, and real bacon pieces.

I started by chopping the onion. I only needed 1/4 cup, so I chopped the remainder and put it in a small ziplock bag to freeze for another use.

In a large mixing bowl, I added the ground beef, 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs, the egg, 1/2 teaspoon ground sage, the onion, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

I stirred everything to combine all the ingredients thoroughly. Some people like to use their hands to do this. I have fingernails ~ we don't want to go there!

Next step is to pat the meat mixture into the bottom of a 8x8 square baking dish. I got these neat disposable baking pans so that the recipient won't have to worry about returning a dish ~ and I don't have to worry about losing a dish ~ good for everybody!

Then I open the package of prepared mashed potatoes and give it a stir to make sure it will spread easily. You could make your own mashed potatoes, but really, these are soooo easy and they taste soooo good...why would you put yourself through it?

Just spread all that mashed potato goodness all over the top. It's a good thing those potatoes are cold, or I would have to do a little "pre-taste test"! Now it's time to pop it in the oven preheated to 350 degrees and set your timer for 50 minutes.

When the timer goes off it will look something like this. Hot and a little bubbly around the edges.

Time now to sprinkle on the shredded cheddar cheese. Mmmm...my mouth is watering! Pop it back in the oven for about 5 minutes. Just long enough to get the cheese all melty.

Those last few minutes I chopped up the tomato and then I decided to add a little green to the party so I chopped up a little parsley. If you have green onion that's even better.

When I pulled it out of the oven I sprinkled on the tomato, bacon pieces, and the parsley. Then I put a lid on it and sent it along with a small Strawberry Angel Dream Cake to the young couple from church...I hope they were blessed by it.

Here is the recipe for Ground Beef and Twice Baked Potato Casserole:

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 pkg (1.5 pound) mashed potatoes (in the refrigerated section)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tbl crumbled bacon (not artificial bacon bits)
1 green onion, sliced

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix beef, onion, bread crumbs, sage, salt, and egg until well blended. Press in bottom of ungreased 8-inch square glass baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over top.

Bake uncovered about 50 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Sprinkle with cheese and cook another 5 minutes until cheese melts.

Sprinkle with tomato, bacon and green onions.

 

What is the taste tester's bottom line?

In this case the casserole was sent to someone else's family to taste test. I can say this is one of our family's favorites. The meat layer is almost like a meatloaf and the potatoes and toppings are scrumptious. When I was thinking about what dish to make the unanimous vote was for this casserole! I usually double the recipe and make it in a 9x13 glass pan.

The bottom line: This is a great casserole for family dinners, potlucks, or to take to a family in need.