Tasty Hamburger Hotdish

It is getting to be casserole weather. Casseroles are a very important part of Midwestern Cuisine. People in my neck of the woods also call it hotdish weather.

Wikipedia has this to say about hotdish:

Hotdish is any of a variety of baked, casserole dishes popular in the Midwestern United States, and especially in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, northern Iowa, and western Wisconsin. It consists of a starch, a meat, and a canned vegetable, mixed together with canned soup, which serves as a binding ingredient.

Hotdishes are filling, convenient, easy to make, and well-suited for family reunions, church suppers, and potlucks, where they may be paired with pan-baked cookies known as bars.

We have been making this particular hotdish for many years. I have tailored the recipe more to our tastes. We especially like extra sauce so the dish starts out pretty saucy. It is great warmed up the next day too. I like mine served with a little hot sauce.



Tasty Hamburger Hotdish

1 lb hamburger ½ cup celery, diced
1 c macaroni (uncooked) 1 small onion, diced
2 cans tomato soup ½ t basil
2 cans cheese soup 1 t sugar
½ c green pepper salt to taste
Pepper
A layer of cheese

Brown beef and drain off fat. Add ½ cup water. Mix hamburger and rest of ingredients together and place in a dutch oven or similar baking container. Taste the sauce and add salt as needed until it is super tasty. Bake covered at 375 for 1 hour. Remove lid and put a layer of cheese on top. continue baking until cheese is nice and melted.


And here it is the next day. The sauce has thickened quite a bit, hence the reason for double sauce.

It really does go pretty well with a cookie or two.