Mrs. Geraldine's Ground Beef Casserole

Submitted by Jellyqueen

"This recipe came from a local church fund raising cook book. Mrs. Geraldine is a good friend of the family. She reminds me so much of Mrs. Clause, that I can't help but smile every time I think of her. This recipe freezes well. Do not bake before freezing. Just put it together, freeze it, thaw it and cook."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Yields: 1 large casserole
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 (15 ounce) can tomatoes
• 1⁄4 cup chopped onion
• 1⁄4 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1⁄4 cup chopped celery
• 1 (8 ounce) can mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or 2 tablespoons sweet pickle juice
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1⁄4 lb sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 (6 ounce) package angel hair pasta, cooked, this is an estimated size bag- the original recipe called for 1 small bag
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• salt and pepper

directions

1. Brown meat in large skillet or Dutch oven.
2. Add onions, pepper and celery and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce, mushrooms, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Cook in skillet for 1 hour.
6. Place cooked pasta in bottom of large casserole dish.
7. Spoon mushroom soup over pasta.
8. Pour sauce over the soup and top with cheese.
9. Bake in 350°F oven for 30-45 minutes.
10. Can sizes do not have to be exact, just as long as they are within a close range, everything will work out.

Reviews

[A Ramsey Donkey]

What a great recipe! Our tweaks: 1T sugar instead of 2T, 3T worcestershire instead of 2T, and we added 1/2t of granulated garlic and some crushed red pepper. That Mrs. Geraldine is one fine neighbor!

 

[Isabelles Mom]

I have made this several times for people as a gift when someone is too tired to cook (new baby, surgery, death in the family, just moved in, etc) and I always get rave reviews. I double it and it fits nicely in 3 8x8 square pans.

 

[April1]

I gave this a five star even though it had a few things that we didn't like...I will be making this again but will use less pasta, I used a 16 oz package of angel hair pasta and it was just entirely too much...much it was very good once we were able to taste it beyond the pasta. Thanks for sharing.

 

[SmallTownGirl]

Good casserole. I did add garlic, mixed soup into sauce and layered over cooked penne.

 

[gt4001a]

I love this recipe! It tastes like it is a lot unhealthier than it really is. My husband is convinced I add sour cream to it, which of course I don't. The simmer time is rather long so I have found the best way to make this work for me is to spend some time on the weekend and get it to the point of assembly and then put it in the 'fridge for use as a weeknight meal. Then whoever gets home from work first pops it in the oven for the bake time. Because I don't use celery for anything else and didn't want to buy a whole batch just for this, I omit the celery and use an entire green bell pepper instead. Also, instead of can mushrooms I use the pre-sliced fresh ones in the produce dept of my grocery store. To cut down on fat, I rinse the ground beef after it is done browning. Only downside of the dish is because it's so tasty, we tend to eat more than a portion at a time.