While I thought this was pretty good, my husband LOVED it. He said it was surprisingly good because it doesn't look all that appetizing. The clincher for me is that it is such an easy recipe to put together (and likely have all ingredients on hand). I did brown ground beef first and baked only 50 minutes total. I also added some garlic salt to cooked beef (potato layer definately needs to be salted on its own) and shredded cheddar on top after it was done--just put back in oven long enough to melt cheese.

This is an excellent recipe, and very versatile. My only suggestions are: 1.Spice the meat while you are browning it, and 2.Use two cans of tomato soup. One can just cannot cover everything. My family loves this recipe and we enjoy any leftovers (I make more so there can be leftovers).

I added oregano to the potatoes and precooked the hamburger with some extra seasoning. I only needed to cook for about 45 minutes and topped with mozzarella. My toddlers loved it!

TRY THIS: For those who found the results a bit dry or lacking a bit of "umph", consider using a can of plain BAKED BEANS rather than the kidney beans. That's how my mom makes it, and it really juices up the dish and rounds out the flavor. I would also recommend seasoning the potatoes and meat a little, but the beauty of this recipe should definitely remain in its simplicity.

From reading all the other reviews I knew I'd have to make several changes to what appears to be a bland and fairly dry casserole. Once I did that it was a FANTASTIC recipe for a quick dinner that holds well in the refrigerator. It came out as a cross between chili and stew that my husband fell in love with. I made these additions/changes... I pre-cooked the ground beef with additional onion and seasonings. I cubed the potatoes, coarse-chopped the onion (using a large one), added 1/2 t. Penzeys bay leaf seasoning, 1 t. Morton's Natures Season, one rounded tablespoon of jarred minced garlic in liquid (the type from the produce dept.) and 2 8-ounce cans of tomato sauce. I also mixed everything instead of layering so the flavors would blend. I used a 3-quart casserole and baked it covered for 75 minutes. I then uncovered it, topped it with 4 oz. of shredded cheese and baked for an additional 10-15 minutes.

I was in the mood for an easy "homey" meal and this did the trick. I also browned the meat first and baked it for an hour. I also added some spaghetti sauce on top because we always like extra sauce. Everyone enjoyed this one! Thanks Sue!

I made this simply for the fact that I had little in the house to work with and I had everythign for this. I was actually pleasently surprised with the result. I browned the meat ahead of time, added lots of garlic and other spices, and used tomato sauce instead of soup. It was really good with cheddar cheese melted on top. Great for when you want a hot meal but aren't in the mood to mess around in the kitchen all night. Will probably make this again.

I was surprised at how good this simple recipe tasted the first time I made it. It's even good using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I've even used black beans and loved the new flavor.

The recipe made as-is would probably be pretty plain and salty. However, on the advice of reviewers, I made some changes. I did around 22 oz. of spaghetti sauce instead of tomato soup, I reduced the salt to 1/2 tsp total and that was fine. I browned the meat first because I did not want all that grease in my meal, and I spiced the meat with white pepper, oregano and thyme while browning. I cooked it covered for one hour and only 20 minutes uncovered because I was using red potatoes and they cook faster. Overall, this was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, and even though it takes awhile to cook, it was pretty easy.

i really like this recipe as does my family - hubby, teen, picky little girl and all. I've made it a few times and I always brown the meat first with spices. If you like a lot of sauce, plan on using 2 cans of tomato soup. Recipe needs plenty of salt, and the soup/beans will dry out if you uncover it as directed. Plan on cooking it the FULL time, or a little over