Patchwork Casserole Recipes

PATCHWORK CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Brown meat; drain. Add green peppers and onion; cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients except cheese; mix well. Spoon half of meat and potato mixture into 9x13-inch baking dish (or two 1 1/2-quart casserole dishes). Cover with half of cheese. Top with remaining meat and potato mixture. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Uncover. Cut remaining cheese into decorative shapes; arrange in patchwork design on casserole. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese shapes have melted. Can be frozen. Fun Fact: Created around 1450 near the height of the Inca Empire, no one knows what the real purpose of Machu Picchu was. Some people speculate it was a prison and some say it was a defensive retreat, but the most common belief is that Machu Picchu was the estate of an Inca emperor. Unlike the Egyptians, the Incas did not use any kind of mortar to bind their stones together. Instead they cut the stones with such precision that they fit together so tightly that you could not even fit a thin knife blade between them.

POTATO PATCHWORK CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Brown meat loosely in a frying pan.
• Add green pepper and onion and cook until tender.
• Stir in cooked potatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper and basil.
• Spoon half of this mixture into a baking dish.
• Cover with half the cheese slices.
• Top with remaining potato mixture.
• Cover dish and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• Uncover.
• Top with remaining cheese slices, cut in decorative shapes and arrange in a patchwork design.
• Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
• Serve hot.
• Serves 6.