Bakers, pls check out my casserole recipe. (Help)

Cafe Society
1

This is a super simple casserole, I think it will work but since I’m not a baker, I figured I get some opinions.

The meat sauce: Browned ground beef, sautéed peppers and onions, and enchilada sauce.

In the casserole dish: A layer of frozen hash browns, a layer of meat sauce, another layer of hash browns, and top it off with shredded cheese.

Throw it in the oven for 30-45mins and then have at it.

Sound good? Any changes you would recommend? My biggest fear is that the meat sauce will be too runny and won’t set.

Thanks.

2

I’m not the most expert chef on the board, I’m sure, but there’s a very good chance, IMO, that any extra liquid would get soaked up by the potatoes or cook down during baking. In fact, I’d wonder if this is going to come out a bit dry.

3

I agree, taters will mop up quite a bit of liquid. I’d chuck in some garlic, use cumin and chili powder in the meat while browning it though, otherwise I’m thinking this would be a bit bland. Potatoes also mop up spice and salt something fierce.

4

This is a lot like a riff on tater tot casserole/hot dish. My concern would be the bottom layer of hash browns – that they’re going to come out quite soggy and mushy. It may not be bad, but I would probably do a layer of meat with sauce on the bottom, and a layer of hash browns just on the top. But it may turn out okay – I’ve never tried it. But that’s what my instinct tells me.

5

If the bottom of the pan is oiled the potatoes should end up crisping a bit and forming kind of a tatery crust.

6

Since you are going for potatoey goodness here, just mix some instant mashed potato into your meat sauce before doing your layering. Get it as thick as you like. It is pretty handy for thickening sauces and stews, and personally I think it is pretty tasteless. I keep some around only for this purpose, I wouldn’t eat it as a side.

7

Never underestimate the virtues the right bean can bring to a casserole.

8

Seconding this. Tater tot bakes are usually one layer of ‘filling’ under one layer of tots.

Without any kind of binder, I’m not sure what you expect to “set.” The tots are individual units and there’s nothing in the sauce that’ll really solidify. I don’t think that’s a problem, though. It’s sounds like your dish will be a bit more like a shepherd’s pie in consistency and that’s totally okay.

If you want a thicker sauce that’ll set a bit, there’s stuff you can do. But since it seems like you’re going for dead simple, I say the only changes you need to make are:

Ditch the bottom layer of tots.
45 minutes feels really long, so just watch them tots.

Extra seasonings in the meat absolutely won’t hurt either. Since you’re again going for dead simple and are already using enchilada sauce, maybe grab one of the premade “taco seasoning” packets from the supermarket.

Oh, if you wanna do it even dead simpler, make the meat sauce in a big ol’ cast iron skillet, top with the tots when done, and transfer into the oven. One-dish meal!

9

Do you really want to start with frozen hash browns? Defrost them first? I like crispy so maybe I’d pan sauté the hash browns first or bake them in the casserole dish, then add the browned meat mix, cheese then extra hash browns.
Throw in some bell pepper dice for color.
Bake.

10

Thirding or whatever the notion to not put the bottom layer of potatoes, and also seconding the idea of cooking the potatoes first or at least defrosting.

That’s not relevant. How good of a cook are you?

11

Why not just try it and see how it goes?

I’ve been cooking for forty years. There are dishes I’ve made a hundred times where I’m still fiddling with my mental recipe: little more of this, little longer on that, try this substitution, whatever.

And after all this time, I continue to be puzzled by the fear I see in inexperienced cooks: oh no, it might not turn out perfectly. Okay, so? If you’re on a crazy tight budget and you can’t waste even a meal’s worth of food, all right, I can see that. But if it’s a little soupy, or a little under seasoned, or whatever, that’s just a learning experience. I’ve eaten lots of my own “failures.” It’s rare that they turn out so disastrous that I have to chuck them and get a pizza.

The recipe as proposed sounds basically fine, but there are lots of variables that can change the result. How thick or loose is the enchilada sauce? Is the ground meat lean or fatty? What kind of onions and peppers? Are they sauteed until soft, or until brown? And on and on, all the questions that don’t usually come out in this kind of discussion and that have a real impact on how the recipe cooks.

The only real way to know is to try. See how it goes for you with your ingredients, your kitchen, your personal methods. Assume it won’t be perfect, and be okay with that.

It’s really okay. It’s how it’s supposed to work. When I make something up, there’s usually some aspect of it that doesn’t come together correctly, even after forty years of experience. I just make a mental note and do it better the next time.

So I would say, your basic recipe format seems like a pretty good starting point. Give it a shot, make notes, see what works and what could be better, and then try it again.

12

There is absolutely nothing wrong asking for advice. Just because you or I enjoy fiddling and experimenting doesn’t mean everyone else must.

I used to look down on people who rely on cookbooks for, word for word, the reasons you describe. But I got over it because I decided I was being elitist, and also because I discovered great value in working through many recipes from a single author to learn more about their personal approaches to food.

One person’s joy of cooking may be in experimentation and discovery. Another in following recipes. Another may not give a shit about the cooking itself but love feeding friends and family.

At the end of the day it’s not up to me to arbitrate anyone else’s joy. There’s plenty of room in the kitchen for everyone.

13

Personally, I always start from a recipe (be it a cookbook or YouTube video or a friend’s recipe or whatever). I make the recipe exactly to plan the first time unless there is something I really feel compelled to change for some reason (rare but it happens). After that I try to take notes of where I think things went wrong or could be better which may just be tweaking for my kitchen (e.g. different ovens cook a little differently). “Try” being the operative word…often I am too lazy to do it or forget or get distracted.

YMMV of course but I think it is worth a few goes at a recipe to dial it in for your tastes and kitchen.

14

My thing is that pretty much anything with a recipe is going to be so complicated I’m not going to make it all that often. This is less of a thing with the Internet, where you can find some really simple recipes, but most of those I find online aren’t that good.

I’m literally still trying to figure out how to simplify a recipe I really loved but took me hours to make.

15

If I’m using a recipe from a cook I’ve decided I like, this is my precise method because I’m interested in the cook’s personal intent as much as anything else. If I’m just searching the internet for a recipe, I’ll look at several versions and do a kind of mental aggregation to decide my approach.

You should make a thread. There are some really excellent cooks around here.

16

If I don’t follow a recipe pretty much 100% it’s usually awful. I don’t have the cooking gene.

17

Inspired by the OP I made a HB casserole this morning. Leftovers, with egg mushrooms cheese.
Grease it good, add hot veg, add whisked eggs, grated cheese tuck crispy hash browns in and bake.

18

Thanks for the input guys. I made the recipe last night and it was delish. I went with @pulykamell "s suggestion and just put the meat sauce on bottom and the potatoes on top. (Garnished with shredded lettuce, sour cream and salsa).