Revamping Recipes: Baked Cheeseburgers

What’s better than a casserole (or hotdish as we say in Minnesota) and better than a cheeseburger – you probably guessed it: a cheeseburger casserole, or this recipe called Baked Cheseburgers.  This recipe is perfect for a family but also perfect for a girl like me who likes to make one delicious meal a week and eat it everyday to save money and time.

Ingredients:

• 8 slices bread
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (I skipped this)
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded sharp processed American cheese (I used mild cheddar)

This was almost a perfect ingredients list because I had just about everything on hand.  It was a lot of bread to get rid of at once, but bread is cheap, so I didn’t worry too much about it. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  While you let a large skillet warm up to medium heat, toast all eight slice of bread.  Note – it helps if you have a four-slot toaster, but I only have two slots in mine and it worked out just fine.  Butter both sides of the bread slices and then cut them each into three slices lengthwise.  Set aside.

Then, chop up your onion (I used a red bermuda onion).

Once the skillet is hot, add the beef and the onion.  Let the get nice and brown.

  While that is cooking, mix the milk, egg, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt together and set aside.

Once the meat is browned, add the ketchup, mustard, other 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper.  Mix it up well.

Now, if you’re like me and you don’t have a 9”x9” baking dish, use an 11”x9” one and stuff one end with tin foil.  Now that is some serious DIY action going on!  Layer half the toast on the bottom.

Layer half of the meat mixture.

Then half of the cheese.

Toast.

Meat.

Cheese.

Now pour the milk/egg/salt mixtures over it.  Bake it for 30-40 minutes until it is puffed and golden brown.

Then take it out and think it’s so delicious-looking that you take a very blurry pictures of it.  Then apologize to your readers for having to see such a good recipe looking so bad due to your lack of photography skills.  Then blame it on the snow and Minnesota for not getting your butt outside more to take pictures.  Then shut up because nobody wants to listen to you anymore.

Whew, got a little off topic there.  Anyway, this recipe tastes really good and is SUPER easy – anyone could do it.  It’s a fun take on cheeseburgers that is great for the winter when you can’t grill outside and you don’t own an electric grill.  To see the full recipe and ingredients list, you can head here.

How are you fighting the winter-time blues?  Anyone else eat their summer-loving heart out at this time of the year?

Note: Today is the last day to enter the All Modern pillow giveaway.  You have until midnight Central Standard Time to enter.  I will announce the winner tomorrow.  Stay tuned!