This casserole was a winner in our house. Let me tell you how I know. My 10 year old, who is by far my pickiest eater, ate four servings! Now, she had been swimming all day and had gone to gymnastics for 2 hours, but this is my child who usually picks at most things, especially casseroles! I like that the younger kids can eat it “plain” and my older kids as well as Dan and I could “dress it up.”
- 1 bag French Fries (26-28 ounce) thawed, Pick your favorite shape, my kids like Crinkle Cut
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 teaspoon)
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup milk
- 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened (I used light)
- 2 cups sour cream (I used light)
- 3 tablespoons Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix (or 1 packet)
- 2 cups (8 ounces) Colby Jack Cheese, shredded
- 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Garnishes:
- Shredded Lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Green Onions, sliced
- Sour Cream
- Pickles
- Hot Sauce
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Anything you like on your Bacon Cheeseburger!
- Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch dish. Use the deepest one you have. Spread ½ of the thawed french fries in the bottom of the dish. They will not completely cover the bottom.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, onion, garlic, salt and pepper over medium high heat. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside. Drain the grease from the skillet.
- Return the skillet to the stove top and melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes until bubbly. Slowly add the chicken broth and milk, bring to a simmer and remove from the head. Whisk in the softened cream cheese, sour cream and ranch dressing mix.
- Place ½ of the beef mixture over the french fries in the prepared dish. Cover with ½ of the cream cheese mixture, followed by ½ of the Colby Jack cheese. Repeat layers with the french fries, beef, cream cheese mixture and Colby Jack cheese.
- Bake covered at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cooked and crumbled bacon. Return to the over and continue baking uncovered for 15-20 more minutes.
- Serve casserole with desired toppings.
Enjoy!
Kim
Linked to the following parties:
Our very Weekend Potluck
Gooseberry Patch New Family Favorites
Carole’s Chatter Food on Friday Recipes Kids Love
[related_posts_by_tax posts_per_page="6" format="thumbnails" image_size="medium"]
WOWZERS! I use to make something similar (& simpler) when my kids were young too. I love the addition of cream cheese to anything! How awesome you found something your picky eater will enjoy too. YUUUMMM-OO! I’d say this is a real winner.
Thanks Marsha! Also, thanks for pinning!
Pinned too! =)
that sounds interesting, pinned it
Thanks! Let us know if you try it. It is also great with tater tots. Thanks so much for stopping by!
~Kim
Hi… I’m visiting from Weekend Potluck. I love casseroles. They are easy to throw together and there are usually leftovers for the next day. Your recipe looks fabulous.
Oh my goodness! I KNOW my whole family would love this! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
I found this post though Pinterest. The photo was so beautiful that I just had to come here to read the recipe! Love it! And love your site :-).
I would like to invite you to share this post (and your other posts 🙂 ) on a new photo based recipe sharing site that launched in May. The idea is simple: all recipe photographs are published within minutes of submission. And, of course, the images link back to the author’s site.
It’s called RecipeNewZ (with Z) – http://recipenewz.com
I hope you get a chance to visit and to share some of your delicious posts with our viewers. It would be a pleasure to have you on board 🙂
I am making this tomorrow!! Looks yummy!!
Hello! I’m stopping in to invite you to join us at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop
this week!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/11/clever-chicks-blog-hop-7-country-craft.html
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Kathy
The Chicken Chick
Thanks Kathy! I’m heading over to check it out. Thanks so much for stopping by!
~Kim