Hamburger Casserole-Updated

I've blogged about this recipe a couple of other times on my other blog and there's probably a reason or two for that. It's really easy to put together and it's one of those dishes I grew up on, which takes me back to my childhood in my mom's kitchen. I've made this recipe for my daughters more times than I can count but I rarely make it anymore because I hardly ever use the canned cream of mushroom soups. But, now that I know how to make my own cream of "whatever" soups, I can make dishes like this more often. In fact, after making my homemade cream of mushroom soup the other night, I went ahead and made this casserole, too. I've only known this recipe as Hamburger Casserole and I have no idea where my mom got it but here it is, updated from when I was a kid.

Hamburger Casserole

*1 lb. ground beef
1-1 lb. bag of noodles or other pasta shapes
1 can cream of mushroom soup or make your own
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook ground beef until browned. Drain or rinse as desired. While that's cooking, start boiling water for the pasta. Add the mushroom soup and tomato sauce to the ground beef. Drain the pasta when cooked al dente and add to the ground beef mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the cheese and combine until the cheese is melted. Serve. OR, you can combine everything except the cheese, spoon into a casserole dish, sprinkle the cheese on top and put in a 375 degree oven until the casserole starts bubbling, about 30 minutes.

*You can use less ground beef here to save on the grocery budget :)

I'm linking up with Foodie Fridays.