Reunion Casserole

This is the last recipe I have marked from the Dec/Jan 2011 Simple & Delicious. I thought it sounded good, and different from our usual, because it has noodles in it. Usually we have rice or potatoes. Apparently the lady who sent this recipe in to Simple & Delicious makes this to bring to reunions, hence the name, and she says there are never any leftovers. We'll see about that.

Reunion Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb bulk spicy pork sausage (I left this out because I didn't think the kids would like spicy sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn, drained (I used 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can tomato sauce
1/3 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives (don't like olives, so I left these out, too)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz wide noodles, cooked and drained

In a large Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage, and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in 1 cup cheese, green pepper, corn, soup, tomato sauce, olives, garlic, salt, and noodles.

Transfer to greased 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake @ 350 for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer.

So this was SO much better than I thought it would be. Looking at the recipe, it seems kind of hum-drum. But it was really so good. The noodles on the edge of the casserole did get just a bit crusty, so maybe 10 minutes is too long once you uncover it. But overall a very yummy recipe that is definitely a keeper. Steve took the leftovers to work the next day and said it was just as good.