For His Master's Veneration: Beef Florentine Under a Blanket

This recipe started out as a roll-up, then it became a casserole and was taste tasted by our 4 for 4 panel here at the apartments. They seemed to think this was the best one so far, but it is only the second. This is an easy to put together meal that is very impressive.

The key to this dish is to let it rest before serving. One of the suggestions was to use sausage in place of the hamburger, also a mix of the two would work.

Try it out and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lbs Hamburger
½ c chopped onions
6 eggs + 1 egg yoke set aside for egg wash
1 bag fresh spinach, slightly cut up
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1 1/2 cups half and half
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1½ tsp kosher salt
Crescent dough

Directions:

Do your cutting first.

Chop the onion, dice the yellow pepper. Wash and dry the spinach, pull the stems and run the pizza cutter through the leaves.

Warm 2 tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in the chopped onions. Let cook until they soften. Add the ground beef and let cook until it is brown, not just gray. Add the diced yellow pepper. Taste and adjust for any salt and pepper. Drain any excessive amount of liquid. It doesn’t have to be completely dry.

Add the spinach by handfuls while stirring. This will wilt down quickly and you will be able to get the whole bag in! Cover and let cook for about 4 minutes.

Remove to a large bowl. Let this cool a bit while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking casserole dish.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs with half-and-half and kosher salt. Whisk in ¼ cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside. (Whisk again when ready to use.)

Now that the oven is ready, you can assemble:

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Whisk together the beef-spinach mixture with the egg mixture. Make sure they are well combined. Pour into the dish. Set into oven along with a dish of water on a different shelf. This will let the egg mixture cook properly.

Let this cook for 40 to 45 minutes.

Lay out a sheet of wax paper to cover the counter and sprinkle with 2 tbs of four. Unroll the crescent dough. Sprinkle a bit of flour in your palm and rub into the rolling pin, then lightly roll out the dough to almost the size of your 9 x 12 casserole dish. Don't over work this or obsess on it.

Then carefully slide dish out and top with the dough. (slave did this in three pieces.) Don't worry if it is not perfect and reaches all of the edges. You want room for steam to escape. Brush with the mixed yolk and water. Then carefully slide it back into the oven for another for 15 minutes.