Gwen's Old-Fashioned Potato-Beef Casserole - Trisha Yearwood Recipe

If you have ever browsed the recipes here, you will know that I am no stranger to making Trisha Yearwood's recipes.  Her recipes are just down home goodness.  I have her first cookbook (a gift from my friend Anita) and use it often and I also check out her show on the Food Network - in addition, I'm a fan of her music - I mean what is not to like about her?

This past Sunday, Food Network, re-aired the very first episode of her show and it was all about family and family recipes.  She made her daddy's Brunswick Stew, which I plan on trying, especially since cooler weather has rolled in.She made her Uncle Wilson's Grilled Onions (look good if you are a fan of eating onions this way, but I am not so most likely won't try this one). She made her mother's Coconut Cloud Cake (another one I want to try) and her mother's Potato-Beef Casserole.

I have a friend in town this week and she thought the Potato-Beef Casserole looked De-Li-Cious and I thought so too....so we had to go to the store to pick up a few things and decided to pick up some red potatoes and ground beef and try this recipe.

Gwen's Old-Fashioned Potato-Beef Casserole

Ingredients

3 pounds red potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
Salt
Vegetable oil, to coat pan
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
1/2 cup unseasoned dry breadcrumb

 Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with water to cover by 1 inch. Add a generous pinch of salt and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Potatoes cook quickly. Test often for tenderness and don't overcook them. Alternatively, cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker for 5 minutes, releasing the pressure immediately to prevent overcooking. Drain the potatoes and arrange them in a 6- by 9- by 2-inch casserole dish.
   
   
2. In a large skillet, add a little oil to coat the pan. Combine the beef and onion and cook together over medium heat until the beef is browned and the onion softened, about 10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
   
   
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
   
   
4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and the flour turns light brown in color. Gradually whisk in the milk and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat. When the mixture thickens, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the cheese and browned beef and onions.
   
   
5. Pour the ground beef mixture over the potatoes and bake the casserole for 20 minutes, until heated through and bubbling. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top of the casserole and bake until the crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes longer. 
   
   
   
   
   
   

The verdict?  It was just as delicious as we expected it to be - even better!  My friend had 3 servings ! THREE! I just had the one since it is a very filling dish.  It was simple to make.  The only down side, which isn't much of a down side, is I had to use a lot of pots and pans

Large pot for cooking potatoes
Skillet for cooking the ground beef
Large saucepan for cooking the sauce
Casserole dish for cooking the casserole

When your dishwasher is uh...your two hands, that is a lot of dishes to wash (including the plates, forks, glasses, cooking utensils & serving spoon, but no big deal, since it was TOTALLY worth it....YUMMY!

The only thing I would do different is leave off the breadcrumb topping or perhaps make a buttered breadcrumb topping.  Most like though, I'd leave it off - I think I would prefer it without the breadcrumbs.

This recipe gets 5 out of 5 stars!