Oma's Ground Beef Casserole with Veggies

Looking for a ground beef casserole, aka Hackauflauf, that's just that extra bit special? Here's a yummy one that I make and that's why it's in my quick and easy dinner recipes collection.

Ground beef, cheese, and veggies. Yum!

What makes this so German? Well, at first I used to think that using curry was NOT AT ALL German. Boy, was I wrong.

Just because my Mutti never used it, didn't mean that Germans didn't use it. It just meant that it was a flavor I came to enjoy once I got to know my German friend, Heidi. 

You'll find Heidi's recipes sprinkled throughout this website. AND, surprisingly, often with curry added.

Oma's Ground Beef Casserole with Veggies

Ingredients:

• 1 small cauliflower, into bite-size pieces
• ½ lb broccoli, into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• salt, pepper
• 1 tsp each curry powder, dried thyme, paprika
• ¼ lb lean bacon, cubed
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup broth
• ¼ lb Emmentaler, grated (or more to taste!)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook cauliflower and broccoli pieces in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain
• In frying pan, brown chopped onion in butter. Add garlic. Add ground beef and continue browning, while stirring, until meat is nicely browned, crumbly, and cooked through.
• Season with curry, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper.
• Place meat mixture into greased casserole dish.
• Add cauliflower and broccoli over the meat.
• In frying pan, brown bacon in oil. Sprinkle flour over and stir. Add milk and broth and continue cooking and stirring until sauce is creamy.
• Add cheese to sauce and stir.
• Pour sauce over meat/veggie mixture.
• Back, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until top is nicely golden brown.
• Serves 4

Curry in Germany?

It wasn't until I visited Germany after an absence of over 50 years that I realized how much curry was being used. Especially popular are the currywurst -- the traditional street food in Germany!

Well, this recipe uses curry as well as German Emmental cheese. This cheese is from the Allgäu region of southern Germany and is often called Bavarian Swiss cheese. I suppose you could use any other nice melting cheese in the sauce, but, personally, I think Emmental is best!

However, if I don't have Emmental in the house, I use a good old cheddar. 

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