While doing a bit of organizing of my recipes and cookbooks this past weekend I came across this recipe from my grandmother. While I don’t remember ever eating it before it sounded yummy so I thought I would give it a try to see how it turned out.
The consensus from the crew…”Pretty tasty mom!”
And it was super easy to make as well so no complaints from me.
I have no idea why this recipe is called cowboy casserole. But considering I am in Wyoming and have seen the rancher’s wives come in to town to do their shopping (4 + carts of groceries at a time) I assume they need to feed them cowboys something hearty and filling and probably something that is not too expensive to make.
We are not cowboys…but feeding our crew of 6 requires those same sort of ideas for dinner. So this recipe is a winner!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients except the cheese in a 6 quart crock-pot and stir well.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
- Uncover crock-pot and sprinkle shredded cheese over top and recover and let cook an additional 1 hour.
- Eat and enjoy!
http://crockpotladies.com/recipe-categories/entrees/crockpot-cowboy-casserole/
Linking up at: Full Time Mama
This looks delish! I’m excited to try it!
Awesome Kris, let us know how you like it!
I had all the stuff to make it and a pound of ground beef defrosting for dinner (plan was hamburgers) so it is bubbling in the crock pot as we speak. Can’t wait to taste it!
That is awesome Cheryl. Come on back and let us know how it turned out for you!
This recipe was definitely a win! My husband said “wow the house smells good!” when he came home from work, and then nommed down a big bowl of the casserole. We’ve got enough for leftovers tomorrow night. I’m thinking about putting it over rice or mixing rice in with it to extend it a bit more tomorrow night.
I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe. It is really quite versatile I think. When I was making it I was thinking you could definitely add some other things to it. I was thinking about adding some veggies (carrots or corn perhaps?) to it. But serving it over rice would be good too I bet!
I didn’t end up adding rice, just heated it up (I added a little chicken broth to thin it out) and served it with corn muffins. Still super yummy. Corn sounds good…
If i wanted to cook it on low what would the cook time be and would that effect the recipe ?
Thanks Melanie
Hi Melanie you can cook this about 8 hours on low and it will be just fine. In fact let me go and adjust the recipe.
Hi! I hope this isn’t a dumb question, I’m new to my crock pot… Do you brown the ground beef first in the skillet before you put it in the crock pot? Thanks!
Hi Amy,
No such thing as a dumb question. Most recipes for the crock-pot that call for ground beef/hamburger you cook the hamburger in a skillet, drain and I like to rinse the meat off in a strainer with hot tap water. This removes the extra fat. The only recipes I can think that don’t call for pre-cooking the ground beef are meatloaf.
Hi! I was wondering if I drain or rinse the kidney beans? Thanks!!
Hi Mallory,
Great question! I have updated the recipe. You just put the whole can of kidney beans in with the juices from the can.
How old are the children that like this. The 10 year old would not try it and the 31/2 year old did not like it.
Hi Lau, my children are 15, 9 and I have 8 year old twins and they all really liked this recipe. Of course each child is different I guess. I am sorry your kids did not enjoy this recipe.
My almost 4 year old son loves this. Every kid us different I guess.
You are right Melanie, each kid is different. But I am happy that your 4 year old son loved this recipe!
My husband and I liked it. I just could not get the kids to like it or taste it. They are all different.
Is it supposed to be so liquidy?? Should i add something to thickem it up?
Hi Rachael, I am sorry your casserole turned our liquidy. I am not sure why it would be on the runny side, it should not be. Did you follow the recipe exactly or add anything extra? The only liquid in the recipe is the cream of mushroom soup and the juice from the canned tomatoes. You might be able to thicken it up with a little flour slurry (a couple of tablespoons flour mixed with a couple tablespoons of water mixed well till there is no lumps and then pour into your dish stir well and cook a while till it thickens up.
Can you give the nutritional value of this dish?
Hi Brenda, Sorry I don’t have the nutritional value for this recipe. But there are several calculators available online. One I have personally used before can be found here: http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Hi I put everything in the crockpot like I was supposed to but it seems very thick should I add some chicken or vegetable broth to it? I’m nervous it might burn to the crockpot if I don’t add some kind of liquid to it. Thanks.
It should be just fine as is without adding any additional liquids. My casserole did not burn to the crockpot at all.
I absolutely hate cream of mushroom soup… could I substitute cream of potato soup or would that be too much potato? What would you substitute it with?
Hi Brit, I am sure it would be just great with cream of potato soup. Actually that sounds pretty tasty. Let us know how it turns out for you!
I was not at all impressed with this recipe. It was very runny, rather tasteless, and the cheese separated after cooking for an hour. I followed the recipe exactly.
Hi Elisa, Sorry this recipe was not to your liking.
do i have to make the soup according to directions by adding the milk to it or just the contents of the can?
Hi Janet, you just use the soup right from the can without adding the milk. – Hope that helps!
Thank you Lady Heidi:)
Really enjoyed this meal! My husband said it tastes like a baked potato. My kids, ages 5 and 1, both enjoyed it as well. Cooked on high for 3 hours and it was done, so I turned it down to low until we were ready to eat. Will try on low next time. Also added the cheese the last few minutes instead of for an hour. Thanks for sharing this! Perfect for a stormy Wyoming evening :)