Branding Time Casserole

When Brad and I first were married we lived and worked on a cattle ranch just west of Yakima. Calves would usually start arriving late January until late March. About mid to late April we would have to brand, ear tag and castrate the calves, check the cows to make sure everyone was healthy and paired back up, then move them out to the mountains where they grazed on the summer grass. This whole process would take a several days and quite a few hands to help out. It was extremely important to keep everyone well fed as this is hard, physical work. An easy meal that turned out to be one of the crew’s favorites is a simple concoction that feeds a crowd, holds well and is economical to boot, we named it Branding Time Casserole. Many times we had to improvise the ingredients to whatever happened to be in the pantry since it was about a 30 mile drive to the grocery store. We always served it with biscuits or cornbread and usually a chocolate cake for dessert and lots of iced tea.

Start with the following recipe as a base, expand on it to feed your crowd or change up the ingredients to what you have on hand. I often switched out the green beans for peas and added extra tomato sauce if it needed to stay warm for a long period of time (or be reheated) to prevent drying out. The great thing about this recipe is that it is so flexible to what your needs are. Now that it’s just the three of us I usually serve half and freeze half. It’s sure nice to have a good meal in the freezer when it’s been one of those days!

Branding Time Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

chopped onion (dried works too)

salt & pepper

garlic or garlic powder (optional)

1 can green beans

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce if needed

cooked macaroni or penne (about 1 1/2 cup dry or half a bag)

shredded cheddar cheese

Scramble up the ground beef with the onion, salt & pepper and garlic if desired. Transfer the cooked ground beef to a big pot and add all the other ingredients mix well. If your pot is oven safe you can leave it in that or pour into a casserole dish. Top with cheese and warm in the oven until the cheese melts and is warmed through. It will also work to warm it up in a crock pot or a big electric roaster, we’ve even warmed it over a camp fire!