This mom sure knows how to make a delicious meal straight from the oven.
She starts by preparing simple ingredients which were readily available in her pantry.
The recipe is divided into 3 parts.
The potato layer, the ground beef mixture, and the Bechamel Sauce.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Russet Potatoes (Sliced and par-boiled)
8 oz. Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
2 tbsp. Butter (for 9×3 baking dish)
Beef Mixture
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 small onion
1 small bell pepper (optional)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. dried chives
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic powder
1/2 tsp. granulated onion powder
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 tsp. Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
Bechamel Sauce:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
First, prepare the potatoes.
She cut the potatoes into round 1/4 inch thick. She also cut one side of the potato flat to make it more stable for cutting.
Once done, she then dropped the potatoes in a pan of cold water and turned on the heat.
She also mentioned letting it boil for a minute.
The potatoes are then removed from heat and run into cold water. This will stop the cooking process and avoid making them too mushy.
Next, make the ground beef mixture.
First, she placed the ground beef in a pan and added salt and pepper.
She started breaking the ground beef apart and started cooking it.
The ratio of the seasoning depends on your preferred taste profile. Add onions, bell pepper, spices, seasonings, and garlic.
Brown everything well.
Make space for the butter
Create a space in the center of the pan and turn the heat down from high to medium.
She mentioned that adding butter is necessary to her recipe because the beef used did not yield a lot of fat.
In cases where the beef fat is enough, butter may be skipped. Combine the flour well and cook for about a minute.
Add beef broth, simmer, and let it thicken.
The recipe also had a kitchen bouquet in it which was optional. This adds a little seasoning, flavor, and color to the mixture.
After this, set it aside.
Make the Bechamel Sauce.
For the Bechamel Sauce, she added 4 tbsp of unsalted butter and melted it.
She turned the heat to low and added flour.
She then stirred the mixture to remove lumps and added room-temperature milk little by little.
The mixture was seasoned with salt and added with freshly ground nutmeg.
Time to build the casserole
She now built the casserole by adding the 3 layers. She started by brushing 2-3 tbs of the butter.
She then assembled the potatoes as the first layer, seasoned them, and added spices.
The cheddar cheese was placed on top.
The second layer is the ground beef which was spread evenly. Some more cheddar cheese follows this.
Last, the Bechamel Sauce was added. This is again topped with the rest of the cheese.
Pop it in the oven
The casserole was placed inside a preheated oven uncovered at 370F for 35 to 45 minutes.
This is cooked until it is bubbling and brown on top.
Allow the recipe to cool down for 20 minutes before serving.
See the full process for this recipe in the video below!
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