Kittencal's Scalloped Potato and Ground Beef Casserole

Kittencalskitchen's Note:

Sliced potatoes in a delicious creamy sauce on the bottom then topped with a ground beef mixture --- instead of layering the potatoes you can just mix them with the sauce in a large bowl transfer to the baking dish then top with the ground beef mixture either way is fine but the potatoes will cook a little faster if mixed with the sauce --- feel free to throw in some cooked chopped green beans, mushrooms, corn niblets to the ground beef mixture or whatever you wish, I also like sprinkle some grated cheddar cheese over the potato mixture before topping with the ground beef and then again after the casserole has been cooked, this casserole is very versatile and you don't have to worry about the exact amounts --- to save time you may cook the ground beef mixture a day ahead and refrigerate, all ingredients may be reduced to half if desired to yield 4-6 and baked in a smaller baking dish--- NOTE some of the reviewers are stating that the potatoes are taking a long time to cook so you may want to pop them in the microwave first just to soften slightly,

• Total Time: 1 hrs 50 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 ½ lbs ground beef (or use bulk Italian sausage meat, can increase the ground beef slightly)
• 1 medium onion , chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper , seeded and chopped (optional)
• 4 garlic cloves , finely chopped (or to taste)
• ½ teaspoon dried chili pepper flakes (adjust to taste) (optional)
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt (or to taste) or ½ teaspoon white salt (or to taste)
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 5 -6 russet potatoes (peeled and sliced thinly, or use as many as desired)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or to taste)

SAUCE

• 2 (10 ¾ ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup , undiluted (using any other flavor of soup will not be as good)
• 1 small onion , chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• ¾ light cream
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon seasoning salt
• fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions:

1. In a skillet cook the ground beef with onion, bell pepper and chili flakes (if using) until no longer pink; drain fat over a colander.
2. Return to pan and add in garlic, season salt and black pepper; cook stirring with a wooden spoon until the meat is lightly browned (I usually add in about 1-2 tablespoons bacon fat that I keep frozen in my freezer to the meat while browning for added flavor and it also helps to brown the meat) set aside.
3. For the sauce; in a medium bowl mix together the undiluted soup with onion, milk, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt and black pepper to taste; mix well to combine.
4. In a greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish or a large oval casserole dish, alternately layer the sliced potatoes on bottom of the baking dish, then soup mixture (I like to sprinkle grated cheddar cheese on top of the soup mixture) then the ground beef mixture on top.
5. Since this is a large casserole I strongly suggest to place the baking dish on a jelly-roll sheet in case of any spills.
6. Bake covered with foil for about 1 hour at 350 degrees F.
7. Uncover and continue baking for another 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (baking time will vary depending on the thickness of your sliced potatoes).
8. Remove from oven then sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese; return to oven for 4-5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Reviews

[Chef shapeweaver ©]

I made this recipe on 11/4/10 for our dinner. This recipe was made with a few changes due to our tastes and what was on hand.All I had was 14 ounces of ground beef so, I browned that with some onion,a bit of crushed red pepper flakes, some seasoned salt, and used garlic powder instead of the garlic cloves.For the sauce I used 1 1/2 cans of the soup, onions( which I had cooked in some margarine until slightly softened),and used a bit of milk instead of the light cream.Also used a little less sour cream, a bit more of the garlic powder,and instead of parmesan a parmesan/ romano blend was used.To make it a quicker assembly, I mixed the potatoes in with the sauce. I layered the dish as follows, half of the potatoes, sprinkled with half of the shredded cheese, and add all of the meat.Added the remaining potatoes, covered with foil and baked at 375 degrees for 1 hour. After that baking time, added the remaining cheese and baked for an additional 30 minutes. After removing from the oven, I let it "rest" for about 10 minutes. This was a very good " Comfort Food " type dish and I will make this again. Thanks for posting and, " Keep Smiling :) "

[Chef #935050]

Great recipe, was looking for something to do different with hamburger meat and this was it! After reading reviews about the potatoes not cooking enough, I remembered a recipe I had for potatoes au gratin...so for the first 20-25 minutes I cooked this at 400* degrees covered and then turned it back to 350* degrees covered for the remaining time this recipe called for. It was perfect. This made alot, so had plenty for lunch the next day! Thanks for posting another wonderful recipe Kittencal!!

[Cookin4twins]

A recipe! I ommited the entire section for the ground beef and only made au gratin potatoes(my kids wont eat it if I include the beef) and had little time so literally I made the sauce and threw in the cut up potatoes, added half a lb of cheddar cheese(mixed in) and voila. It was incredible! Thanks so much for posting this. The trick for all who have had issues with their potatoes not getting soft enough is to first cut them very fine and second, make sure you use a big 13" by 9" baking dish so they have room to cook.