Week 1 of 2012! The newest Fairclough and Hamburger Casserole!!

I can't believe football season is here! The 2012-13 season is going to be quite different than last season for the Faircloughs...now we are a party of 3!!!  Introducing the newest Giants Fan to our family......

Meet Ellie Grace!

Ellie enjoyed her first Sunday Funday! This week I found a recipe for Hamburger Casserole that looked good. I found the recipe here - http://southernfood.about.com/od/hamburgcasseroles/r/bl30119r.htm.

Ingredients included: 

• 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced onion or 1/2 small onion (I did not use onion)
• 1 large egg
• prepared mashed potatoes, about 2 to 4 cups (I used the fake mashed potatoes by Betty Crocker!)
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• paprika, optional (I did not use this)

I decided to prepare the meat mixture first while I had some free time (aka Ellie hanging with Daddy Ben). Combine the breadcrumbs and milk together first. Then mix in the ground beef, salt, pepper, bread crumb-milk mixture, and egg. Then spread the mixture in a 9-inch pie plate. 

Bake the meat mixture at 350° for 35 minutes. While the meat is cooking, prepare the mashed potatoes so they are ready to be added when the meat comes out of the oven. When the meat came out of the oven it had some grease/fat on top so I spooned off what I could before the next step.

Spread the mashed potatoes to the top of the meat and sprinkle the top with cheese. 

Return to the oven for 10 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted and potatoes are thoroughly heated. 

Feel free to add ketchup and enjoy your meal! We even had leftovers!!!

This meal reminded me of Shepherd's Pie and Meatloaf. It was so easy to make and very tasty! I hope everyone enjoyed Week 1 of Sunday Funday! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the blog throughout the season. Feel free to share your favorite recipes - I am always looking for new ideas!!!