#1,796: Italian Ground Beef Casserole with Biscuit Topping

I am ashamed to see/post/admit, that it's been a month (almost ONE MONTH) since I posted my last recipe.  My goodness, this school year, although wonderful, is really taking a toll on my blog!  :)  It's been a busy, busy couple of weeks and my blog has unfortunately had to take a back seat.  However, there is only 2 days of school left, so let's hope that helps get this blog back in action!!

I've still been making a few new recipes, but with our schedule being so crazy, we've been eating a lot of faster, old favorites instead.  But I still have a few more to post (hopefully tonight...???) that we've made and tried and just not posted.  THIS is one of those recipes.  I think I made this 3-4 weeks ago!!  So as I totally expected this got mixed reviews from my crew.  2 really enjoyed it, and 2 preferred the bread topping.  Some of my kids definitely have my aversion to meat!  We will all eat it, but it has to taste just right or we don't like it.  :) 

I would definitely make this again though (with my additional seasonings...see recipe below).  It was so simple to make and I liked that I could make the meat mixture ahead of time and then just reheat, and throw together when we were ready to make it.  I love any meals I can at least partially prep ahead of time.  

1 lb ground beef

½ cup chopped onion

salt and pepper

¾ cup water

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
I also added some garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasoning.  I thought it was bland without it. 

2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1½ cups frozen peas, carrots and corn (or any mixed vegetables), thawed (I omitted)

1 (16 oz) can refrigerated flaky layer biscuits

1 tablespoon butter, melted

½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef, breaking up as it cooks. When it is about half-way cooked through, add the onion and continue to cook until the onion is soft and the ground beef is fully cooked. Drain, if necessary, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  This is where I also added the garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Add the ¾ cup water, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spread half of the hot meat mixture in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with ⅔ cup of the mozzarella, then spread the vegetables evenly over the cheese. Top with another ⅔ cup of mozzarella. Spread the remaining meat mixture over the top. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

Open the biscuits and split each biscuit in half lengthwise, making 16 thinner biscuits. Arrange layers of the biscuits over the top, overlapping, in 3 rows of 5 each. (You will have one half of a biscuit leftover.)

Brush the melted butter over the tops of the biscuits. Sprinkle with the oregano. Bake the casserole until golden brown, about 25 minutes.