Happy Thursday lovelies! Hope your week is going fabulously! We laid low yesterday and it was nice. Disneyland wore this mama and the little presidents out! I don’t know how people do Disneyland/world for days on end! One day was exhausting! We had one of the best days though, so it was all worth it! (I am working on a recap post! That is coming soon!) Reagan wasn’t feeling great yesterday and I was beyond pooped…so, I decided that we needed comfort food for dinner. I searched Pinterest and asked a couple of friends for recipe ideas and then this recipe popped into my mind. Do you have certain recipes that take you back to your childhood? This is one of them for me. We ate this a lot growing up and I have always loved it. Every single Halloween, my mom would make it as well. I always remember getting all dressed up, eating this and then heading out to Trick or Treat. Ahhhh, memories. This is a recipe that has been in the family for years. It’s called “Betty Freeman Casserole.” No one knows who Betty Freeman was or where the recipe actually originated from, but we love it and it’s always been called “Betty Freeman Casserole.” Casserole is comfort food at it’s finest, in my opinion. It is so delish and so easy and you can typically freeze it to serve later too! I am a huge fan of the meal that keeps on giving! So, here we go! One of my most fave comfort food recipes ever!
*Note: The original recipe calls for wide egg noodles. I just used what I had in the pantry. Also, this makes a large portion. I froze half.
I start by boiling the water for the noodles. Then I chop the onion. I use onion goggles and seriously the work like a charm. I have tried all the tricks and nothing works like these do. I don’t even shed a tear. It’s an onion-related miracle. I am also a huge fan of my glitter knife. This baby comes in handy a lot!
If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen this. Teddy was laughing at me while I chopped and took my picture. Haha!
The water is typically boiling by the time the onion is chopped, so I toss in the noodles and let them cook, then I start cooking the ground beef (be sure to salt it!)and sautéing the onions. After the beef is cooked, I drain the grease and add the sautéed onions and cook them together for a bit longer. I prefer to cook them separate until the meat is cooked. I’m weird with raw meat. Love me through it. 🙂 Once the noodles and meat are cooked, you are ready for the next step, which is adding the tomato soup, cheese and tomato sauce to the ground beef and noodles.
Then mix it all together. Keep about 1/2 cup of cheese out so that you can sprinkle it on top. Now is another time to add some salt and mix it in. You can just taste it as you go and see if it needs more salt…that’s what we all do!
It’s definitely not the most gorgeous thing to photograph, but it’s delish! I promise you that! You can even eat it like this if you want to. I always sneak a few bites before I put it into the oven because it smells too good to wait. 🙂
Then transfer it to some sort of baking dish (I use my trusty CorningWare or Pyrex). Sprinkle the remaining cheese on and pop it into the oven with the lid on for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. I take the lid off for the last 5 minutes and broil the top because I like the cheese crispy. 🙂
I froze half of the casserole before baking it. So, now I have one more dinner in the freezer on reserve! Woohoo!
The little presidents loved it! Even Teddy did, which I was surprised about because is the pickiest eater ever! I served it with white bread like my mom used to do, as well. I was serious when I said we were doing comfort food. Go big or go home! Whenever Mr. Fancy and I have made this together, we have made a salad and garlic bread to go with it. Not necessary, but fancy little additions to this yummy meal.
So, there you go! Comfort food at it’s finest! I hope you love this recipe! If you try it, please let me know! I would love to hear how much you and your family LOVED it! 🙂 Have a fabulous and blessed Thursday! We are almost to the weekend! Woohoo!
