Fun Food Friday- Meat & Potato Casserole

First off I just have to tell you that both boys were fever free this morning!!!  I think we are finally on the road to recovery!
Secondly, I just thought I would let you know that I figured out how to put a search bar on my blog so now if there's a recipe you want to find, just type the recipe name in the search bar and it will come right up!
I decided to do something for my Fun Food Friday this week that I've never done- make something I've never made before.  After the twins were born people from church brought over meals 3 times a week for about 6 weeks (yes, we have an awesome church)!  It was wonderful to not have to worry about what we were going to eat for dinner and it was also fun to try new things and see what people make.  One of the meals we got was this dish that seemed so simple and yet was so good.  And, it had green beans in it and I have been trying to think of ways to use our green beans from our garden.  So I decided to try to make it myself (I don't know why I just never asked for the recipe but it sounded fun to try on my own:)).  And this is a great meal because you can make it ahead and it has your whole meal in a bowl, and a good Dutch meal to boot- meat, potatoes and vegies. :)  Now I made my mashed potatoes to go on top, mostly because I had some potatoes to use up, but you can very easily just make instant mashed potatoes and use those to make it even simpler!

Meat & Potato Casserole

Ingredients: Ground Beef, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Frozen Peas, Green Beans, Potatoes, Butter, Milk

Peel and dice the potatoes

Place into boiling water and cook until tender

In the meantime, brown one pound of ground beef

Drain the meat. 

My sister taught me this trick- place foil under your strainer for easy cleanup

Return meat to pan and add one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

Stir until all combined

Add some salt...

and pepper

When your potatoes are done drain and place in a mixer bowl to make mashed potatoes

Throw in some butter...

and mix

Add some milk.  A key to getting really smooth and creamy mashed potatoes is heat up your milk before adding it to the potatoes.

Add some salt...

And whip those potatoes till they are nice and smooth

Micah is not picky about what is on his spatula, cookie dough or mashed potatoes, he loves licking that spatula :)

To an oven-safe glass bowl layer first the meat mixture...

Then come the vegetables.  I didn't have enough green beans plus I prefer peas to green beans, so I put peas on one half and green beans on the other.  Now I did not cook the vegies and they were a little crunchy, so next time I will be throwing them in some boiling water for about 5 minutes before putting in the casserole

And then comes the mashed potatoes. 

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until heated through (if you make it ahead of time it will take a little longer)

Micah all ready for dinner. 

Don't worry he did not eat his toys, he was just in a silly mood. :)

Now that looks like a good Dutch meal :)

 



Meat and Potato Casserole
1 pound ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt & pepper to taste
Green Beans and/or Frozen Peas
Potatoes, pealed & diced
Butter
Milk, warmed up

Boil the potatoes until tender.  Make mashed potatoes- drain the potatoes, then add butter, warm milk and salt and whip until smooth.  Brown the ground beef, drain.  Add soup and salt and pepper to taste, stir until all combined.  Cook the vegies in boiling water for about 5 minutes, drain.  In an oven-safe glass bowl layer meat mixture, vegies, then potatoes.  Cook at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated all the way through.