Lizzard’s Leftover Casserole – Comfort Food to the Max!

Warning – this is not  “healthy eating”, but it is comfort food to the max!  

I call it Lizzard’s Left Over Casserole because what goes into it are leftovers from dinner, with some very “unhealthy” ingredients added – such as deep fried french fries, gravy, and lots of cheese.

I actually used left over prime rib for this recipe – but you could use any left over meat you have.  I have used left over pot roast and that works well too.

The day I plan on making this I go to my local hot dog joint and pick-up a dog and lots of extra fries.  Where I go they make their fries fresh every day with their skins on – the way I like ’em. These extra fries go in the refrigerator till dinner.  If you can’t get to your local fast food joint you could bake some frozen fries to use in the recipe.

Then I scan the refrigerator for leftovers.  For this batch I had some roasted peppers and some fresh mushrooms that needed to be used.  I also like to add frozen peas & carrots, so I took those out to defrost.  You can use any kind of veggies you like or have leftover.

For the gravy I always use Heinz mushroom gravy in a jar, but you can use whatever gravy you like. If you have leftover gravy from your roast that would be great to use!  Or feel free to make home made gravy, however I am a very bad gravy maker, so I just use the Heinz.

INGREDIENTS:

• Left over French fries (from your local fast food joint, or use frozen fries and prepare as directed ahead of time. Use your best judgment on amount needed.
• 2 cups of leftover beef roast cut into bite-sized cubes
• 2 cups frozen peas & carrots mix (or whatever veggies you have on hand)
• 1 medium onion – diced
• 1 green pepper – diced (optional)
• 2 Cups (8 oz. bag) shredded cheddar – or your favorite cheese
• Cheese curds (optional)
• 2 jars of Heinz Mushroom Gravy (or 1 beef & 1 mushroom)
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 325°

Saute chopped onions and green peppers.  Then add the cubed beef, peas & carrots, salt, pepper, garlic and cook for a few minutes just to warm.

Mix in 2 jars of mushroom gravy, 1/2 of the shredded cheese and, if you choose, the cheese curds. Then mix in the French fries and top with remaining cheese.

I use a Dutch oven to salute the veggies and then mix in all the rest of the ingredients in it and place that directly into the oven – but you could put the ingredients into a casserole instead.  Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes till the gravy is bubbly and the cheese is browning on top. Enjoy!