Cheeseburger Casserole

With the heat lately, I definitely haven't been in the mood to cook very much. However, the combination of being home a little earlier than usual (due to my volunteering stint) and a new Pillsbury Pot Pies & Casseroles recipe book I received in the mail (free courtesy of Pssst!), I was inspired to surprise Andrew with something new and home cooked for dinner.

The recipe I chose was called "Simple Hamburger Hot Dish" which has got be the most uncreative and unappetizing name ever. I prefer to call it a Cheeseburger casserole:



Andrew and I both liked it and as I told Andrew, it's kind of like an upgraded hamburger helper dish:


(By the way, I can't wait until I get to replace this old plates with something better for all my pictures!)

I highly recommend the dish - it was pretty simple to make and could easily be modified by what you have on hand.

Ingredients

• 3 cups uncooked rotini pasta (8 0z) - I upped this to 12 oz and think it would be fine even with 16 oz
• 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can diced (14.5 oz) tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (15 0z) tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup shredded American-Cheddar cheese blend (4 0z)
• I also added a can of black olives, what wouldn't taste better without olives?

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package, using minimum cook time. Meanwhile, in a 10-inch skillet, cook beef, onion, garlic powder and salt over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is thoroughly cooked. Drain.
2. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar and cooked pasta (and olives). Pour into ungreased 8-inch square glass baking dish (way too small, I used a greased 13 x 9 pyrex pan).
3. Cover dish with foil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until bubbly around edges (I cooked for 20 minutes). Sprinkle with cheese; bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted (I messed up and sprinkled the cheese on the casserole when it first went into the oven so I sprinkled more cheese on it at this point and put it back in for 5 minutes. I don't think it made a difference either way).
4. Enjoy!