Hamburger Bake

Hamburger Bake - made August 10, 2012 from The Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke

For real cooks, this dish would barely be a half step above Hamburger Helper.  But this was just my cooking speed (don't judge).  I checked out this book, the latest in Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen culinary mystery series, from the library and in the context of the story, this is a dish that Michelle, Hannah's sister, threw together with random ingredients from Hannah's kitchen at the last minute.  I, being a complete non-cook, had to put together a grocery list to buy what I needed for this since these ingredients don't "just happen to be" in my kitchen.  Just the butter, flour, baking powder and salt.  Everything else had to be planned for and purchased ahead of time.  I took the liberty of using ground turkey breast instead of ground beef, both to cut down on the grease and because I prefer ground turkey over beef in taste and texture anyway.

This is essentially a pasta-less Hamburger Helper on top of biscuit dough.  Probably something I would've made when I was in college since my cooking skills are about the same now as they were back then.  And occasionally I have the palate of a picky 7-year-old so it's hard to go wrong with something cheesy and bready.  Although, in my defense, I made this after a week of having salad greens (no dressing) with my grilled salmon.  No sense in eating totally healthy for too long; I might not recognize myself.  But this is a very filling dish because of the biscuit layer so I think it might be a better candidate for a potluck if you need to feed the masses.  I didn't mind the top layer but if I make this again, I'd probably skip the biscuit layer and make noodles to go with it instead.

Filling

1 pound lean ground beef (I used ground turkey breast)

¾ cup chopped onion

1 10 ¾-ounce can condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1 cup frozen vegetables (I used frozen corn)

¼ cup whole milk

Crust

½ cup butter

¾ cup whole milk

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, scooped and leveled

2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Topping

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1.     Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2.     Make the filling: Crumble the lean ground beef into a 10-inch or larger frying pan.  Add the chopped onion.  Fry the meat and onion over medium heat on the stovetop until the ground beef is nicely browned.  Drain off the fat.

3.     Add the condensed soup, frozen vegetables and the ¼ cup milk to the ground beef and onions.  Stir well.  Cover the frying pan and set the mixture aside.

4.     Put ½ cup butter in a microwave-safe bowl.  Add the ¾ cup whole milk and heat on high for 1 minute.  Stir.  If the butter isn’t completely melted, heat for another 30 seconds and stir.  Continue to heat in 30-second increments until butter is melted.  Cool mixture slightly.

5.     Make the crust: Measure out half the flour into a mixing bowl.  Add the baking powder and salt.  Add the remaining half of the flour and stir with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined.

6.     Add the butter and milk mixture to the mixing bowl, and mix until the resulting dough is well moistened.

7.     Spoon the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer.  Spread the ground beef mixture as evenly as possible over the dough.  Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top of the hamburger layer.

8.     Bake for 30 minutes then let cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.