Meat & Potato Bake-over....

This was today's lunch. It's so easy and it's a meal that can really stretch a food budget dollar. It's something like a pot pie, but flipped. I found this idea some years ago through MaryJane's Farm (the magazine). She had several different types of bake-over recipes all using her "Farmgirl Budget Mix" but me, being the cost-cutting woman that I am, figured out my own Ranchwife Panbread recipe. (It's much like a biscuit recipe)

My Ranchwife Panbread

3 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In a measuring cup, mix together:

3 T. olive oil (or butter melted)
2 T. honey (or 1 T. sugar)
1 cup very warm water

Pour liquid into dry ingredients and stir until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured cupboard and roll out for your bake-over crust. I have also used this recipe for a quick pizza crust.

Meat & Potato Bake-over

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, sliced thin
3 potatoes, sliced very thin
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 to 3/4 c. Gouda cheese (or whatever you like)
1 T. fresh rosemary or 1 t. dried
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425*
In a cast iron skillet (or any oven proof skillet, brown meat and add a little olive oil to the pan as you add in the onions, potatoes, and garlic, rosemary and S&P. Saute just a little bit since the veggies will have time to cook in the oven. Now add the cheeses trying to layer a little bit if you can or just toss it. Lay the panbread dough over top. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until golden. Turn out onto a large plate or platter.

As you might guess, this can be changed up in any fashion with veggies of choice, herbs, meats like sausage, bacon or chicken, or you can do sweet bake-overs -- fig and bleu cheese or apple-raisin-nut. The variations are endless.

I have found that the panbread recipe makes quite a thick crust over my 12" skillet. I would sometimes like less crust, so you can easily make two thinner crusts with the recipe. If you like a thick crust, this is just right as is.