Talerine Beef Casserole

  Posted on January 6, 2011  by Leslie Blythe  No comments

Watson

Yesterday, we lost our beloved Labrador, Watson.  He was 16 years old.  If you look up “dog” in the dictionary, there would be a picture of his face.  He was loyal, loving and his favorite pass time was barking at anyone that came near the door then he would wag his tail and kiss you.

We are all in need of some comfort food.

I found this recipe for Talerine Beef Casserole, which sounds perfect.  Talerine is Italian word for Tagliarini, which is a pasta noodle.  It’s basically a “Hamburger Helper” without the “Helper” part, i.e. the box.

Talerine Beef Casserole

Serves 8

12 oz bag egg noodles
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
Salt
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
28 oz can tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
15 oz can of black olives, strained and chopped
1 lb cheddar cheese, grated

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the egg noodles.

Heat 2 Tbs of oil on medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Add the onions and bell pepper and sauté until softened. Add garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers or a knife, if you are using whole canned tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to warm.

In a separate skillet, heat to medium-high. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pan and brown the meat, working in batches. Break up about half of the ground beef into the pan. Do not stir, but let sit and cook for a minute or two until brown. Sprinkle a little salt over the meat while cooking. Once brown on one side, stir the meat a little to get the other side browned. Once the meat is thoroughly browned, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and put it in with the tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Brown the second batch of ground beef the same way.

Using the same pan that you had used for browning the beef, sauté the mushrooms in the remaining oil and beef drippings. Once browned, add the mushrooms to the beef and tomato mixture.

While the mushrooms are cooking, add the egg noodle pasta to the boiling water. Cook as directed, about 4-5 minutes. Strain when cooked, but still a little firm (al dente).

Add egg noodles, corn, chopped olives, and about two thirds of the cheese to the large pot of beef and tomato mixture. Gently mix in.

Transfer mixture to a large casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of casserolePlace in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes (can go as long as an hour).