Cheeseburger Pie

There have been many perks to marrying into Chris’ family. High up there is his mom’s cooking. As I’ve mentioned before, I took the “This isn’t how my mom’s tasted…” comments early in our marriage in stride. Primarily because I was trying to achieve exactly that – her recipes – because they taste so good. I did not grow up with a casserole menu. I grew up on the soup pot menu – got a few things, throw them in a pot and hope for the best because that’s what mom made for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday…

Enter casserole exhibit 1. Cheeseburger Pie.

Hear the angels’ chorus? Its legit.

This can be made with a more, uh um, “healthy crust” (sans Crisco and use butter instead) but you be the judge. I have used wheat flour too. It was so-so. Using turkey meat instead of beef however was a real trick, no one knew. So I now always make it that “healthier” way. This dish is FANTASTIC Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… It can be thrown at any child who is sitting up (all three Mini Macks started eating this at six months and devoured it. CLEAN). Without further ado:

Mini Mack’s Cheeseburger Pie
Courtesy of Grandma

Crust:
2 2/3 cup flour
1 t. salt
1 cup shortening (or butter if you prefer)
Mix together

Add 6-8 T ice-cold water, sprinkling in 1 tablespoon at a time until dough ball forms, mixing after each tablespoon (Food processor does this in two seconds flat. Pulse a few tablespoons of ice water with flour mixture until little “peas” are formed. Dump out, squish together, dough ball!)

Pat dough ball onto bottom and sides of 9×13 pan. Bake 15 minutes at 425.

Filling:
2 lb ground beef or turkey
1 – 1 ½ cups finely chopped onions (One large onion)
¼ t. garlic
Brown together and drain

Sprinkle meat with 1 t. salt and ½ cup of flour

Then add in:
2/3 cup dill pickle juice
2/3 cup of milk
1 cup of chopped dill pickles (or if you are a Mini Mack, 2 cups plus a few on the side for grazing while cooking).
2 cups of cheddar cheese, grated

Dump meat and pickles, etc. into cooked crust.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with a bit more cheese and bake for about 5 more minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!