Did you know that John Wayne originated from Iowa? Winterset Iowa to be exact….home of the Covered Bridge Festival and America’s most loved Cowboy!
I came across this recipe a while back and it caught my attention as I have some cowboy loving boys running around. I figured it was a sure fire way to get them to eat dinner….the “cowboy casserole” was a hit for everyone. Even had requests to make it again! Onto the dinner rotation it is!
Out of curiosity, I did a little investigating into the recipe, I mean…what makes this John Wayne’s casserole anyway? Back in 1978, while John Wayne was dying of cancer, he received a request from a young girl asking for recipes from celebrities to make a cookbook as a fundraiser for cancer. John Wayne submitted a recipe….that was actually a breakfast casserole, which over the years has been adapted and changed to similar recipes as this below.
Even though this is not his original recipe, it is a winner! Be sure to give it a try!
- 2 lbs hamburger
- 1 packet taco seasoning or 1 batch homemade seasoning (found on blog)
- ¾ cup of water
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cups Bisquick
- 1 cup water
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 (4 oz can) green chilies (optional)
- Heat oven to 325 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray
- Brown ground beef and drain, add taco seasoning and ¾ cup of water (or as seasoning packet states)
- In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, ¾ cup cheddar cheese and ½ chopped onion
- In separate bowl combine Bisquick and water together and mix to form soft dough. Press into bottom and ½" up sides of greased 9x13" pan
- Sautee remaining onion and green pepper until barely tender
- On top of biscuit mix, evenly layer ingredients in this order: ground beef, tomato slices, sautéed green pepper and onion mixture, optional green chilies, sour cream/mayo mixture and top with remaining ¾ cup of cheddar cheese
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges of dough are slightly browned.
