Layered Bean & Potato Pie

    This week Dear Husband and I are trying out two new casserole recipes from the Better Homes & Gardens One Dish cookbook My Awesome Parents got me one Christmas. (My paternal unit inscribed it "You're surprising!" because he hadn't though I possessed the interest and attention-span for cooking.) DH and I have found and adapted a number of tasty dishes from it over the years. Yesterday I made a delicious concoction of pasta, sausage, spinach, and cheese, and I'll get around to posting it eventually. But the one DH prepared for tonight was so surprisingly good that I resolved to put it up immediately for your edification and delight.

Layered Bean & Potato Pie

1 lb. small red or yellow potatoes, thinly sliced -- We can get these at our farmers market.
10 3/4 oz. can condensed cream of potato soup
15 oz. can garbanzo beans -- Also known as chickpeas; not the same thing as Great Northern white beans.
15 oz. can small red beans
1 cup frozen peas -- If I had been cooking, I would have put in at least 2 cups.
2 stalks chopped celery -- I left this off because DH doesn't like it.
1 cup chopped green bell pepper -- I left this off because I think it's wasted when it's cooked.
1 cup onion, chopped -- I would have chopped the whole dang onion, but DH measured carefully because it's not his favorite thing.
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese -- I omitted this because yesterday's casserole also had cheese.

Seasonings: 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp. coriander, 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper -- The cumin and coriander were courtesy of my grandmother, who brought us back a small spice rack from Turkey. I also like to add 1/2 tsp powdered sage.

Steamy delicious goodness!

1. Wash and chop vegetables. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cook potatoes for 4-5 minutes in just enough boiling water to cover them. Drain and set aside, or just leave them in the pot until you're ready for them. (This reduces baking time.)

3. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a saute pan. Add garlic and onion. The recipe said to cook 5 minutes or until tender--but again, leaving the heat on will reduce baking time.

4. Mash 1/2 cup of garbanzo beans. Add mash, all the beans, peas, soup, milk, cumin, coriander, and sage to the vegetables in the pan. Mix carefully.

5. When she emerges from her study, let wife talk you into using a 2-qt casserole dish instead of a pie plate, since both baking dishes are still full of yesterday's casserole. Try to remember to grease the dish. Line with potato slices. Spoon the bean mixture on top. Cover with potato slices.

6. The instructions say to bake, covered, for 45 minutes, but at that rate it wasn't going to be done in time for DH to eat before rehearsal. Since DH had not rinsed the potatoes with cold water and everything seemed to be mostly cooked already, we just popped it in the oven for 15 minutes to heat through. (If using cheese, sprinkle on top for the last 5-10 minutes, uncovered.)

    I can't tell you enough how good this tasted. In fact, the rainbow chard I fixed as a side dish with butter, onion, tomato, and salt was a complete let-down. Next time I'll add more salt, or maybe some lemon juice. If you prepare this dish, I'd be interested to know what alterations you made and what you served it with!