Creamy Beef & Noodle Bake

This morning i woke up and felt like rolling over and going back to sleep. I just had no energy, no motivation, nothing. I even had a bowl of stale cereal for breakfast because i knew i had to have something, and i couldn't even force myself to make my usual toast with peanut butter.

I work shift work, and weeks like this one where i work 11 to 7, i need to take both lunch and dinner with me. 10:30 is to early to eat lunch before i leave for work, and 8 is to late for dinner by the time i get home and cook something. So by about an hour after i got up, i knew i had to make something for lunch and dinner today. I try to only buy my lunch/dinner once a week, and the other day when i made beans, i ended up going to Subway instead. Add in the lunch at Jungle Jim's yesterday with my family, and i am already over my budget. So today, i had no choice, i had to make something to take with me to work. Lunch was a PB&J...that was easy enough, but dinner had to be something more hearty.

I found my newest Kraft What's Cooking magazine on the table, the Christmas edition has a few quick and easy meals, supposedly perfect for making on busy holiday evenings. This one was on the last page. I figured i had all the ingredients, since it was one i had planned on trying, so i decided to get cracking. The professional picture:

1 Lb lean ground beef.

1 small onion, chopped.

3 cups egg noodles, uncooked.

2 cups frozen vegetables.

1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup.

1 cup milk.

1 cup water.

1 + 1/2 shredded mozza-cheddar cheese.

Heat oven to 375F.

Brown meat with onions in skillet; drain. Spoon over noodles in 13 X 9 inch baking dish; top with vegetables.

Whisk soup, milk and water until well blended; pour over vegetables. Top with cheese; cover.

Bake 35 minutes or until heated through; uncovering after 25 minutes.

Oops. I just noticed that the recipe said it was supposed to be covered. Shows how much i was paying attention this morning. Anyway...i used a frozen blend of baby carrots, green and yellow beans, and i added a few peas on top, because they are my favorite. I also think i used less cheese, only because that was all i had and i did not bother measuring. Above is before the oven, below is after. 

I was not crazy about this. I think i am going to end up freezing the rest or feeding it to my beau. In all honestly, i am not really sure why i made it. I am not crazy about egg noodles, and i really do not like cream soups, especially mushroom. The recipe states it serves 4, i thought the dish was big enough for six and therefore divided it that way. It was not filling, i was hungry an hour later; if i do eat more tomorrow, i will eat a bigger serving. 

I doubt i will be making this again, even though i really should have known better. It is not bad, but it is not great either.