This week Family Night Dinner Ideas is featuring another casserole (imagine that) Hamburger Pie. This recipe comes from the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library (1971), Budget Casseroles. I was really excited the teen picked this card from the batch since this was one my Nana prepared when I was growing up.
The Hamburger Pie recipe comes together easily and is truly a cheap dish. For all it's cheapness it sure is filling. The recipe as written says to use Potato Buds. Well, I went a step cheaper and bought the generic version. It added up to a savings of almost $2. In the end, the potatoes tasted like potatoes and no one seemed disappointed. In fact, my husband went back for seconds.
This Hamburger Pie was not exactly like Nana's. I recall hers having a little more flavor. I think she mixed bell pepper, chopped onion, and carrots in the hamburger. The next time we try this dish I think I'll add a little veggie in the mix and see what we get.
I also think this could be done using left over mashed potatoes. We always have left over mashed potatoes around here. When we prepare mashed potatoes, I leave the skins on and add in green onion, crushed garlic, and sour cream-really yummy.
Though I think the Hamburger Pie recipe needs a little tweaking, it was good and enjoyed by all. Here's a snapshot of the finished product:
My daughter was looking for a different potato recipe and found Potatoes Anna in our collection. This potato recipe is easy to prepare and creates an interesting dish to place on the table. This family night dinner idea side dish recipe is from McCall's Great American Recipe Card Collection (1973), The French Touch.
We did not have a frying pan I wanted to risk putting in the oven, so we opted to use a covered Pyrex baking dish to create our Potatoes Anna.
Though the extra three minutes over the stove would have probably given this potato dish an extra browning, the result was really grand. The whole family really liked Potatoes Anna and we will make it again, after we try the Potatoes Au Gratin on the bottom of the card.
The only changes I might make to Potatoes Anna would be to reduce the amount of butter used and perhaps mix in some shredded cheese and bacon bits or sour cream for a little recipe punch.
