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.