Springtime Potluck Classic: Just 6 ingredients. I make it when I want dinner handled hours ahead.

This slow cooker Amish country casserole is the kind of springtime potluck dish my neighbors expect to see on the church basement table, bubbling away in its creamy red sauce. It uses just 6 familiar ingredients and leans on that old Midwestern trick of “hiding” the macaroni right in the sauce so it cooks up tender without any extra pots. It’s the sort of recipe I turn to when I want dinner handled hours ahead—stir it together after breakfast, snap the lid on, and by late afternoon the house smells like Sunday supper at my grandmother’s. The flavors are simple and comforting, very much in the Amish and farm-country style: ground beef, tomatoes, cream soup, and pasta, all slow-simmered into a thick, rich casserole you can scoop straight from the crock.

Serve big spoonfuls of this casserole in wide bowls so you catch all that thick, creamy red sauce and hidden macaroni. It’s lovely with a simple green salad—leaf lettuce, sliced radishes, and a light vinaigrette—to balance the richness. Buttered peas or sweet corn on the side feel right at home on a Midwest table, and a basket of warm dinner rolls or thick slices of buttered white bread will help mop up every last bit. For potlucks, I keep it right in the slow cooker on warm and set out dill pickles and a jar of pickled beets the way my mother always did.

Servings: 6

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until no pink remains. Drain off the excess fat so your casserole sauce stays rich but not greasy.

Lightly grease the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with a bit of butter or cooking spray. This helps keep the edges from sticking as the casserole bubbles and thickens.

In the slow cooker, whisk together the condensed cream of mushroom soup, condensed cream of tomato soup, and the entire can of diced tomatoes with their juices until the mixture looks like a smooth, creamy red sauce.

Stir the browned and drained ground beef into the sauce in the slow cooker, making sure the meat is evenly distributed so every scoop will have plenty of beef.

Add the uncooked elbow macaroni straight into the slow cooker, stirring well to tuck the pasta down into the sauce. The macaroni should be mostly hidden and coated so it can slowly soak up the flavorful liquid as it cooks.

Sprinkle about half of the shredded cheddar cheese over the top and gently fold it in. This will melt into the sauce as it cooks, giving you that thick, rich, almost gelatinous texture around the pasta and beef.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours, or until the macaroni is tender and the casserole is bubbling around the edges. Avoid lifting the lid during the first 2 hours so the pasta can properly steam and absorb the sauce.

Once the macaroni is tender and the sauce is thick and creamy, sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese evenly over the top. Cover again and let it sit on LOW for another 10 to 15 minutes, just until the cheese on top is melted and glossy.

Give the casserole a gentle stir to reveal the hidden macaroni shapes under the rich red sauce. If it seems thicker than you like, you can loosen it with a splash of hot water or milk, stirring until it reaches your preferred consistency.

Switch the slow cooker to WARM for serving. Ladle the casserole into bowls while it’s still bubbling and serve straight from the crock, letting that comforting, creamy red sauce speak for itself.

For a bit more vegetable presence, you can stir in 1 to 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables or peas along with the macaroni; they’ll cook through nicely in the same amount of time and keep the one-pot simplicity. If you prefer a slightly tangier sauce, use diced tomatoes with green chiles or stir in a spoonful of tomato paste for deeper flavor. Ground turkey or bulk pork sausage can stand in for the ground beef—just brown and drain them the same way. For a cheesier, more indulgent version, swap half the cheddar for Colby Jack or mozzarella, which will give you long, stretchy strands when you scoop. If you need to stretch the casserole for a bigger crowd, add an extra 1/2 cup of macaroni and a small splash (about 1/2 cup) of water or milk to keep the sauce from getting too tight; watch the last hour and stir once to be sure the pasta stays tucked under the liquid. To get a little “Sunday dinner” flair, you can transfer the finished casserole to a buttered baking dish, scatter a few extra shreds of cheese over top, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes for a browned, bubbly crust before serving. And if your slow cooker tends to run hot, start checking the pasta at the 2 1/2 hour mark so it stays tender but not mushy, the way old-fashioned Amish casseroles are meant to be.