Monday, June 4, 2018

Amish Yummasetti

by Jan Drexler

I can hear you now - "What in the world is Yummasetti???"

Yummasetti is one of those dishes I had always heard about, but I never tried it until I made the casserole for a recent get-together with the ladies from our church.

It's a Pennsylvania Dutch recipe, so you know its roots go way back...at least 50 to 75 years when casseroles became popular.

I updated this recipe the way modern Amish housewives would make it (they're all into convenience foods - don't let the Amish fiction books fool you!), but my original recipe was written by an Amish housewife of a different generation. She used homemade everything - bread for the croutons, cream of mushroom and chicken soups, and sour cream.

Yes, of course you can make all those things from scratch - and they're better for you - but you have to plan on spending a lot of time in the kitchen.


Yummasetti



ingredients (serves 8-10):

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped

6 cups cooked and drained Amish noodles, or a 12-ounce package of store bought noodles, cooked and drained - hint: cook the noodles for less time than stated on the package since they continue to cook in the oven
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can water
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups seasoned croutons hint: I used large croutons. The next time I'll crush them up a bit.

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

First of all, what are "Amish Noodles?" It's just a fancy name for delicious homemade noodles. I used this commercial product from my favorite restaurant:

The restaurant is in Amish Country, but I purchased
this package at my local Walmart.

Brown the ground beef with the onions and put in a large bowl. Add the peas, soups, water, sour cream and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions, but you want them to be slightly underdone.

In a 9" x 13" greased casserole dish, layer the cooked noodles, then ground beef mixture. Top with the seasoned croutons and cover with foil.

Bake in a 350° oven for 50 minutes. Uncover the casserole and sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

This was a hit at our supper - it's the perfect comfort food.

Would you ever try eating something with such a funny name?



Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.




11 comments:

  1. Jan, this is like a stroganoff style recipe with peas, and how can that be a bad thing? I love recipes like this and how you can feed a family for a reasonable cost. That's huge in big families. While I know that fresh veggies and fruits are a wonderful convenience for us (at a price not all can afford) full tummies of delicious food are crucial to growth and work and health... So brava for an affordable and filling recipe, Jan!

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    1. This casserole isn't quite as creamy as stroganoff, but you're right - the same basic idea.

      And that thing about feeding many for low cost? Super important! And you can boost the veggie content by adding more peas or stirring in some frozen chopped spinach. Serve it with a side of applesauce or canned peaches, and you have a nutritious, filling meal for a crowd. :-)

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  2. I bet if I used cream of celery and green beans instead it would be just as good. If I can find a way around using cream of mushroom and peas I will! I also was not aware we could buy those noodles at Walmart!!

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    1. Yes, it would be just as good, Katie!

      And the noodles at the Lacrosse Street Walmart are on the bottom shelf...hiding...

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  3. Hmmm...I have an Italian bakery close by that makes their own noodles. I could use them and ditch the beef and veggie up the casserole to make a vegetarian version. Not very Amish about that but...

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    1. LOL! I'm not sure there are very many vegetarian Amish, but I could be wrong!

      You could try making this with TVP burgers broken up as a substitute for the ground beef, and a sauce made with vegetable broth to substitute for the 'cream of' soups. That might bring you close to the comfort food aspect of this recipe.

      And of course, you need to add in those veggies!!!

      If you try it, let us know how it turns out!

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  4. Jan, you are so right about comfort food. The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking, "this is some major comfort food." And that can't be a bad thing. Those noodles kind of reminded me of the bohemian noodles we get from a local company. I usually get the thinner ones for chicken noodle, soup, but I might have to pick up some larger ones for this. One more thing, can you tell me how to pronounce this dish?

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    1. You're right - this is MAJOR comfort food!

      And to say Yummasetti, you start out saying "yummy" and end up with "spaghetti." Super simple, right?

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  5. Thanks Jan ! It is surprising to be reminded how recent "food convenience" has been a thing. I am old enough to remember that cans of peaches would always have an occasional worm. Now we poison the fruit to kill the worms. Progress

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    1. Hi, Amos! Welcome to the Cafe!

      I remember having to be very careful when eating my grandmother's home canned cherries. She pitted the cherries before canning them, but once she missed a worm in the process...I'm not sure how...but I was always cautious about eating the cherries after that!

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  6. Jan, I somehow missed visiting the blog for two days! I love the sound of this dish. I'll be sure to try it!

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