A little over a year ago, I sat in a friend’s bay window, very pregnant, knitting a baby blanket.  My husband and our two friends were busily renovating a porch, while I managed to skip out.  I watched out the window as the sun stretched across the lake, looping wool and draping the ever-lengthening blanket over my lap, and realising that this could be one of the last quiet, contemplative afternoons I would have.  Ever?

As thanks for “our” help, my friend had whipped up a casserole and thrown it in the oven to bake while the last nails were driven into the wood and the frost began to collect on the window panes.  It smelled delicious, and I was inordinately excited about eating it.  I have a bit of a love of casserole.  Especially other people’s casseroles.

Little did I know that this dish would become a staple in our home, especially on those chilly winter nights when we don’t really feel like cooking.  It takes about ten minutes to prep and between an hour and an hour and fifteen minutes to cook – just enough time to walk the dog around the block a few times.

Here’s what you need:

 1 lb lean ground beef

1 large potato (sweet or white), sliced into disks

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup canned corn

1 cup carrots

1/2 a large onion, sliced into rings

6-10 cabbage leaves (red or green)

1 can tomato or cream of mushroom soup

Salt and pepper to taste

Here’s what you do:

Preheat your oven to 400F.  Spread half the ground beef in the bottom of a deep casserole dish.  Season with salt and pepper.

Layer half the potato slices on top.

Add another layer of ground beef and season.

Now add the carrots, peas and corn.

Spread the onion slices on top of this and then finally top with whole cabbage leaves.

Pour the can of soup over top and place in the oven until the meat is cooked through and the potatoes are soft.

Note:  Either tomato soup or cream of mushroom soup work well in this recipe – make this each way and see which you prefer!

Recipe adapted from Angela Trenholm