Cinnamon Roll Murder (Hannah Swensen, #15)(18)

“What’s the matter?” Michelle asked when Hannah didn’t explain further.

“I think I saw that pill matrix.”

“Where?”

“On the bus, right below the driver. If he had it on his lap, it could have fallen down when the bus overturned.”

“That’s right. You’d better call Mike and tell him to go out to the accident scene. It could be important evidence.”

“I know, especially if the pills have been moved around.”

Michelle waited a moment and then she frowned. “Well? Aren’t you going to call him? He has to get out there right away before they haul the bus away.”

“There’s no reason to call him,” Hannah said with a heavy sigh.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not there anymore. It’s right here. I picked it up without thinking, and I zipped it into my parka pocket.”





HAMBURGER BAKE

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., rack in the middle position.





The Filling:





1 pound lean ground beef

? cup chopped onion (you can also use frozen chopped onions)

1 can (10 and ? ounces) condensed Cheddar cheese soup (I used Campbell’s)

1 cup frozen vegetables (I used peas and carrot

mix—I’ve also used a corn and chopped bell pep- per mix)

? cup whole milk





The Crust:





? cup butter (1 stick, 4 ounces, ? pound)

? cup whole milk (in addition to the ? cup used in the filling)

1 and ? cups all-purpose flour (don’t pack it

down—just scoop it up in a measuring cup and level off the top)

2 and ? teaspoons baking powder

? teaspoon salt





The Topping:





1 cup shredded cheddar cheese





Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. (You can also grease it generously if you’d rather not use the spray.)



The filling takes the most time, so you’ll start that first by crumbling the raw hamburger into a 10-inch or larger frying pan.



Add the chopped onion to the hamburger in the pan.



Fry the meat and onions over MEDIUM heat on the stovetop until the hamburger is nicely browned.



Drain the hamburger and onions. (You don’t want a lot of hamburger fat in this dish.)



Add the condensed soup, frozen vegetables and the ? cup milk to the hamburger and onions. Stir well. (You can do this right in the frying pan.) Cover the frying pan and set the mixture aside.



Put the ? cup of butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the ? cup whole milk and heat it on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir. If the butter isn’t melted, heat it for another 30 seconds and stir. Continue to heat in 30-second increments until the butter has melted. Then take the bowl out of the microwave and set it on the counter to cool slightly.



Hannah’s 1st Note: Michelle and I used a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup to melt the butter with the milk. You could also do this in a saucepan on the stovetop, if you wish.



Measure out the flour and put approximately half of it in a mixing bowl. (You don’t have to be exact—nobody’s going to complain if it’s less or more than half.)



Sprinkle the baking powder and salt over the top of the flour in the bowl. Add the remainder of the flour and stir the bowl with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are thoroughly combined.



Add the butter and milk mixture to the mixing bowl, and mix until the resulting dough is well moistened.



Hannah’s 2nd Note: In case you haven’t guessed it, you’re making baking powder biscuit dough.



Spoon the dough into the bottom of the cake pan you prepared earlier. Spread it out so that the dough forms an even layer in the pan. This will be the bottom layer of your Hamburger Bake.



Spread the hamburger mixture on top of the biscuit dough. Do this as evenly as possible.



Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the top of the hamburger layer.



Bake the Hamburger Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Then take it out of the oven and let it cool on a cold burner on the stovetop or on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. (It’s just too hot to serve straight out of the oven—eager eaters could burn their mouths.)



Hannah’s 3rd Note: This dish is perfect to take to a potluck dinner. All you have to do is prepare a cardboard box big enough to hold your baking dish and line it with a bath towel. When you take the Hamburger Bake out of the oven, place it in the box, and cover it with the towel. It should stay warm for at least 30 minutes.



Yield: This delicious, quick, and easy main dish makes 10 servings if you pair it with a green salad.



Hannah’s 4th Note: If there’s any Hamburger Bake left after dinner, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerator it right in the pan. You can simply reheat it in the microwave the next day for lunch.



Hannah’s 5th Note: If you invite Mike to dinner and serve Hamburger Bake, don’t plan on having any leftovers. When Michelle and I made it for him, he ate half a pan all by himself!