Meatball and Pasta Casserole

The Recipe: A variation of Baked Ziti... which I've never actually made.

How it Went: This was tasty. Husband thought it was a bit strange to have the onions and peppers in there. Kind of like a cheesesteak, he said. But I thought it was quite a tasty meal. Also, it made a lot of food!

What You Need:
one box pasta (any shape you like, but I used medium shells)
one jar pasta sauce (Francesco Rinaldi, Tomato & Basil is good)
one half bag of frozen meatballs
one yellow onion
one half green pepper
one half package shredded mozzerella
one half package shredded Parmesan 

Your Turn:
Boil water and cook the box of pasta to al dente.

Chop one yellow onion and half of a green bell pepper into small pieces. Heat a bit of butter in a small skillet and saute the onion and pepper until tender.

In a large saucepan, heat the jar of sauce and about 30-35 small meatballs. (It's not as many as you think. I promise.)

In a large casserole dish, greased with butter (I actually ended up using two medium dishes), layer cooked pasta, peppers and onions, sauce and meatballs, and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Taco Casserole

The Occasion: Satisfying that taco craving, but with a new twist.

The Recipe: From Pillsbury's Annual Recipes 2009 cookbook.

How it Went: This seemed like an easy thing to make, but you can never be sure with something this straightforward. Sometimes the easy things are actually too easy for their own good and end up tasting totally blah. Also, Husband is never too thrilled when I set out to try something new, and I know he was nervous about this one. However, when I brought it piping hot to the table, and the taco-y aroma wafted through the room, I had a feeling it was all going to be OK. We both loved it.

What You Need:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 can refried beans
1 jar medium salsa
1 package taco seasoning mix
tortilla chips
1/2 green bell pepper
4 scallions
1-2 tomatoes, depending on your tomato preference
1 C shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack or something similar)
1/4 C sliced black olives
shredded lettuce
sour cream

Your Turn:
Chop 1/2 green bell pepper. Slice 4 scallions from the white end about halfway up the green part. Dice up 1 or 2 tomatoes. I used just one, but if you like tomatoes more than me, use two. Set this mixture aside.

Cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a large skillet until brown. Drain fat.

Reduce heat to medium, then stir in 1 can refried beans, 1 jar medium salsa, and 1 package taco seasoning mix.

Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

In the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish, crumble about 2 C tortilla chips. You basically want to cover the bottom of the dish completely. Top this with the meat and bean mixture from the skillet.

Over this, scatter your vegetable mixture.

Sprinkle 1 C shredded cheese, and 1/4 C chopped black olives on top of this.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and additional tortilla chips.

Start-to-Finish Weekday Chicken Pot Pie

The Occasion: I didn't plan on making pot pie this week, but I seemed to have all the right ingredients and it's a meal that lasts a few days, so it was perfect for a busy week.

The Recipe: Mostly the same as the one I posted here before, from Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2011. But I wanted to share the step-by-steps this time. Not only is it helpful, but I've shared some tips that help you conserve ingredients and make the most of your hard work!

How it Went: I love this pot pie. Husband doesn't like it quite as much, but it's mostly because he doesn't like biscuits like the ones baked into the top of this. I think it's scrumptious!

What You Need:
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 chicken breasts
dashes of thyme, black pepper, and coriander
2 russet potatoes
1 C baby carrots
4 stalks celery
3/4 C frozen green beans
2 T butter
6 T flour
1 C milk + 1/2 C milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 C Bisquick
2/3 C milk

Your Turn:
In the morning, before leaving for work, boil some water. Put two chicken bouillon cubes in a glass measuring cup. When the water boils, pour two cups over the cubes and stir well to dissolve.

Place three raw chicken breasts in a crock pot. Sprinkle with black pepper, thyme, and coriander, or a blend of poultry seasonings. Pour the two cups of chicken broth on top. Set to low.

Peel 2 russet potatoes, rinse off, and cut into small cubes.

Chop 1 C baby carrots into small cubes.

Wash and dice up 4 stalks of celery.

Bring about 2 inches of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan and add the vegetables you chopped, plus 3/4 C frozen green beans.

When these are tender, after about 10-15 minutes, drain the water into the crock pot with your chicken. All the nutrients are in the water, so don't wash it down the drain.

Now, spoon out the veggies into a large dish, cover, and refrigerate.

Go to work.

When you get home, remove your cooked chicken breasts from the crock pot and place them in your upright mixer. With the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low. The chicken will shred like a dream!

Set aside 1 C of the crock pot chicken broth. You'll need it. Strain the rest of the broth through a cheesecloth over a funnel into a few jars to be saved for a future soup or something.

Melt 2 T butter in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium-low. Add 6 T flour and whisk to blend until smooth and bubbly. Add 1 C milk and the 1 C broth you saved. Whisk constantly until it boils and thickens. You want it pretty thick, but not quite as thick as a cream of chicken soup from a can would be.

Pour the cream base you just made into a large mixing bowl. Add another 1/2 C milk. Also add 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir well.

To this, add the vegetables you cooked this morning, and 1 and 1/2 C of the shredded chicken. Put the rest away for chicken salad or another casserole or something.

Combine 1 & 1/2 C Bisquick and 2/3 C milk in a bowl and whisk. Distribute evenly in 12 biscuits over the top of the pot pie. 

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until filling is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

Not only will you have a marvelous pot pie, which is quite a feast, but you've also made yourself about 15 ounces of flavorful chicken broth and a few cups of delicious shredded chicken!

Ugly Chicken Casserole

The Date: 9 April 2012

The Occasion: Monday night comfort food dinner.

The Recipe: A hodgepodge inspired by various chicken casserole recipes.

How it Went:

This was actually wonderful. This time I layered it into the casserole dish, and I think next time I’d mix it all together and put it in the dish all together. (I'll try to make it again and take a decent picture.)

What You Need:

4 red potatoes, peeled

12-15 baby carrots

1 medium broccoli crown

1 C dry rice

2 cooked chicken breasts

2 T butter

3 T flour

1/2 C chicken broth

1/2 C milk

Thyme

Garlic powder

Coriander

Salt & Pepper

3/4 C sour cream

1/4 C mayonnaise

1/2 onion

Your turn:

Bring 2 C water and 1 C rice to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until water is absorbed, about 18 minutes.

Chop 4 potatoes, 12-15 baby carrots, and 1 broccoli crown into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook them in an inch of boiling water until tender.

To make cream base, melt 2 T butter in a sauce pan. Add 3 T flour and stir until bubbly. Add 1/2 C chicken broth, 1/2 C milk, 1/2 tsp thyme, a dash garlic powder, and a dash coriander and stir until thickened.

In a medium bowl, combine

· Cooked chicken

· Steamed vegetables

· Cooked rice

In a large bowl, mix

· Cream mixture

· 3/4 C sour cream

· 1/4 C mayonnaise

· 1 tsp salt

· 1/4 tsp black pepper

· 1/2 onion very finely diced

Combine two mixtures and spoon into casserole dish. Bake at 350 about 40 minutes, until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

Creamy Pesto-Chicken Casserole

The Date: 29 March 2012

The Occasion: Thursday night

The Recipe: From Betty Crocker’s Annual Recipes

How it went: Yum! Loved this. I’d like to try my own version of it with broccoli and a homemade alfredo sauce. I think I could concoct a more from-scratch version that would be really good. I’ll get back to you if I do.

What You Need:

2 cups uncooked “fancy” pasta (Recipe calls for radiatore. I couldn’t find that so I used cavatappi. Campanelle would also be good)

1/2 C roasted red bell peppers from jar (I omitted these)

1/3 C basil pesto

1/4 C milk

10 oz jarred alfredo sauce

12-16 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked

1/4 C shredded Italian or parmesan cheese

Your Turn:
Cook the chicken. As I’ve said before, the best way I’ve found to do this is to cook it in the crock pot all day. For something that’s going to be pesto flavored, like this recipe, cook the chicken in broth with basil and garlic to start those flavors going.

When you get home, or when your chicken is done, cook the 2 C pasta until al dente. Drain.

Mix pasta in a large bowl with

· the cooked chicken

· 1/3 C basil pesto

· 1/4 C milk

· 10 oz jarred alfredo sauce

· 1/2 C roasted bell peppers (optional)

 

Spoon into a square 8x8 baking dish.

Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Cover with aluminum foil, then bake another 10 minutes.

When you remove it from the oven, sprinkle with 1/4 C shredded Italian cheese. (I sprinkled this on before I baked it. Oops!)

Enjoy with steamed fresh broccoli or green beans.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

The Date: 25 January 2012

The Occasion: Just wanted to make this old favorite of Husband's.

The Recipe: From my mother-in-law, just slightly tweaked.

How it Went:
We love this tasty, comfort food casserole. Yumm!

What You Need:
broccoli
cooked chicken
rice
flour
butter
milk
chicken broth
mayonnaise
lemon juice
cheddar cheese
bread crumbs

Your Turn:
You'll need 2 C of cooked chicken, so get this prepared ahead of time, if you can. If not, slice up a few chicken breasts and bake them in the oven for a half hour or so until they're cooked through. Then cut or shred. (FYI: That Pinterest trick of putting just-cooked, still-warm chicken breasts in your KitchenAid stand mixer and turning it on low totally DOES work to shred chicken!)

You'll also need 2-3 C cooked rice. So go ahead and prepare this too.

Now, cut up two medium sized broccoli crowns into pieces (about 2&1/2 - 3 C).

Boil about an inch of water in a saucepan. Add the broccoli and steam for about 10 minutes, until tender. Then arrange in the bottom of a greased casserole dish.

Now, your rice should be cooked, so add the chicken to the rice and mix well. Add some salt and pepper, and various herbs if you wish. Mine was kind of a homogeneous mixture because I used chicken that I'd cooked in the crock pot a few days ago so it was fall-apart-tender and mixed smoothly with the rice.

Arrange this chicken and rice mixture over top of the broccoli.

In the saucepan you just took the broccoli from (I'm all about creating as few dishes to wash as possible), melt 4 T of butter. Slowly add 6 T of flour, stirring constantly to keep it smooth. Remove from the heat and slowly add 1 C of milk and 1 C chicken broth, stirring constantly. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, then cook while stirring until it thickens. Remove from heat.

To this mixture, add 1/2 C mayonnaise and 1/2 tsp lemon juice, and stir well.

Pour this over the chicken and rice.

Sprinkle with 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese.

Melt 1 T butter and stir in 4 T dry breadcrumbs. Sprinkle this over the top as well.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until top is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Crunchy Chicken Casserole

The Date: 16 January 2012, with half eaten as leftovers tonight

The Occasion: This is a favorite recipe. Husband had asked for more casseroles, instead of the soups I'd become accustomed to making twice or more a week. So I whipped out this favorite.

The Recipe: From Husband's mom, photocopied from Reminisce magazine, I think.

How it Went:
I liked how I did the chicken this time. I've done it a few ways (most often, chopped it small, then sauteed it on the stove), but this was by far the most successful and tasty. It was also the easiest. In the morning, I put about 2 lb of chicken breasts in the crock pot with 2 cups of chicken broth and some herbs. It cooked all day, and by the time I got home, I just had to poke at it with a fork and it fell apart in perfect shreds. Mmmm. I was also then able to use that broth in the recipe and it was much more flavorful than it would have been otherwise, right out of a can or something. And I had extra chicken and broth which I saved for another meal.

I do this dish a bit differently from the recipe in a few respects. First, I don't use a can of cream of chicken soup. I make my own. Those instructions are included below. Second, I don't saute the celery first, as suggested. This is unnecessary. Also, I find this to be a perfect dish for which to use celery that is a bit past its prime. When I've bought it for salad or stir fry or something and then not used it all. This is perfect because it will be baked anyway, and its crunch factor is just slightly lowered. I also use half an onion instead of the recipe-suggested 2 tablespoons. Two tablespoons? You wouldn't even taste that!

What You Need:
chicken
rice
celery
onion
butter
flour
milk
chicken broth
mayonnaise
water chestnuts
almonds
corn flakes

Your Turn:
You need to start with 2 C of cooked chicken.
Get it cooked however you prefer, but I suggest crock-potting it all day and using it in that shredded form. It's better for the casserole than cubes of chicken cooked in a skillet. 

Cook 2 C water with 1 C rice to get 3 C cooked rice.

Time to chop your crunchy things!

Chop up

• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• about 3 stalks of celery
• 1 (8 oz) can of sliced water chestnuts

Blend these in a large bowl. Add about a 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.

Now, in a medium saucepan, melt 3 T butter. Add 3 T flour, one at a time, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 C milk and 1/2 C chicken broth, stirring constantly, until smooth. Return to heat and bring to a gentle boil. Stir constantly until it thickens. Add a few pinches each of salt and pepper. (My version was extra flavorful since I used the broth that had been cooking with the chicken and herbs all day.)

Add this, along with the rice and chicken and 3/4 C mayonnaise, to the mixing bowl.

Toss in 1/2 C sliced almonds.

Stir to mix well. 

Spoon into a casserole dish. 

For the topping, melt 2 T butter in a small bowl. Add 1/2 C crushed cornflakes and stir well. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole. If you forgot to buy cornflakes, like I did, just add extra almonds on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy with a salad or fresh fruit!

Shepherd's Pie

The Date: 18 October 2011

Tasty!

The Occasion: Pete loves this kind of thing, and I had not yet made him a shepherd's pie in over a year of marriage. So I gave it a whirl.

The Recipe: A combination of a Real Simple recipe and a Recipes.com recipe, with some of my own modifications.

How it Went:
Success! I would add a bit more flavor next time, and would like to try adding the gravy (included in recipe below), but I was pleased overall. "Easy" recipes often use shortcuts that I prefer not to use. In this recipe, I replaced frozen veggies with fresh and made my own mashed potatoes instead of used packaged.

Your Turn:
Wash, peel, and cube 4 medium sized red skinned potatoes. Put them in a pot, cover with water, add a dash of salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and cook about 13 minutes.

While this is boiling, cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a 10-inch skillet. Sprinkle with a few dashes of black pepper and a shake of dried thyme leaves. When cooked though, skim off grease.

In a smaller skillet, cook 2 T butter and 2 T flour until bubbly. Whisk in 1/2 C beef broth and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. (This is not how I made mine, but I think this sounds better. I added 1/3 C ketchup and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, but Pete thought it just tasted like sloppy joe. I think this gravy would be great.) Mix gravy with meat. Move meat mixture from skillet into casserole dish.

Now, in the same skillet, saute

• a handful of baby carrots, chopped
  
• three stalks celery, chopped
  
• half an onion chopped
• about half a pound of green beans with ends snapped off and snapped in half.

Add a dash of salt and a few shakes of black pepper and thyme. Saute about 15 minutes. (Tip: If you chop veggies and add them to the skillet as you go - which is what I do - you want to start with the carrots. They take the longest to soften. Do the onion and green beans last since they become tender more quickly.)

Now, back to the potatoes. When tender, drain, then return to pot. Add

• 1/4 C milk
• 1 T sour cream
• 1 T shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 T butter
• dash of salt

Mash well.

Your veggies should be done now. Transfer them into the casserole with the meat and stir to blend.

Meat and vegetables.

Transfer the potatoes into large ziploc bag, zip shut, cut off one corner, and pipe over the top of the meat and vegetables.

Ready to go in the oven.

Cook at 400 for about 25 minutes or until potatoes start to brown on top.

Greek Pasta with Pork

The Date: 11 October 2011

The Occasion: Wanted to try this dish again. I made it once, but I had some ideas I wanted to try on my second attempt.

The Recipe: From this book, but with modifications

How it Went:
I'm still not thrilled with this dish. I know that's not the best way to entice you to try it out, but I've gotta be honest about that. It's good, but certainly not a favorite.

The first change I made from the recipe was swapping pork for the chicken. I did a little bit of reading about Greek cooking, and they use mostly pork and lamb. So I thought I'd be authentic about that. Using the rotisserie chicken, as the recipe suggests, is great, though, because it's already cooked. Which I love. You just pull the meat off, shred it up, and toss it in. I had to cook the pork first, but that's a pretty quick process, so it wasn't a difficult adaptation.

The first time I made this, I left out the artichokes, but kept the sun-dried tomatoes. Neither Peter nor I liked the taste of the tomatoes and ended up picking around them, so this time I left those out and included the artichokes instead. It was definitely an improvement, but the artichokes seemed to lend an almost vinegary flavor that was a bit strong. Maybe next time I'd rinse them or something. I'd also chop them smaller. They come quartered, and I chopped the quarters up. But I'd even like them more fine. (Can you food-process artichokes?) Also, I didn't buy Greek olives, so I used regular black olives, but I think the Greek ones might be worth it. Regular black olives don't have that Mediterranean zing that everything else had.

In my browsing around online today, I found a recipe for Greek seasoning. I didn't take the time to make this mix, but I did use the flavor ideas and added a lot more spices than the recipe called for. It called for just some fresh minced parsley for garnish. I added parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, pepper, and just a dash of nutmeg to my dish. I was a little nervous, though, so I don't think I really added enough spices to make much difference. I think it would be worth making a batch of the Greek seasoning mix. It sounds like a good combination of flavors anyway.

The next time I try this, I will be more bold with my seasonings and possibly try the Greek olives instead of standard black. I served this tonight with fresh steamed green beans on the side, but I think it would be good with a vegetable in the dish itself. Potatoes? Zucchini? I don't think broccoli is really a Greek veggie, but it would probably be good in this. Another vegetable would also help cut the sour taste of the artichokes.

Your Turn:
To prepare, chop up

• 1 large onion 
• about a 1/2 cup of Greek (or regular black) olives 
• 1 jar of quartered artichoke hearts

and set aside.

Cook 2 cups of dry penne in boiling water.

While this is cooking, chop up about 1 pound of thinly sliced pork chops into cubes. In a large skillet, cook the pork in olive oil with pepper and any seasonings you like (parsley, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, nutmeg, paprika...) or the Greek seasoning mix mentioned above. If you'd prefer chicken, prepare about 3 cups of cubed or shredded rotisserie chicken.

When the pork is cooked through (and it shouldn't take too long), take it out and set aside. Leave the oil in the skillet. Add a bit more oil (or some butter) and the chopped onion. Season this a little bit as well.

When onions are tender, add 1/4 cup of flour and stir. Then pour in 1 can of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then let simmer about 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in the pork, artichoke hearts, olives, and 2-4 oz of feta cheese. (The recipe calls for 4 oz, but I used what I had which was about 2. That works too.) (Optional: Add 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes.)

Drain your pasta (I hope you haven't forgotten about the pasta!) and add it to the skillet too. If your skillet is ovenproof, you're luckier than most. For the rest of us, transfer the whole thing to a medium sized casserole dish. Broil in the oven for 6-7 minutes, until the top is bubbling and golden brown.

Serve with a salad or steamed green beans or asparagus.

Chicken Pot Pie

The Date: 19 September 2011

The Occasion: Monday night dinner. I had a hankering to make some comfort food, something that would come out of the oven billowing with thick steam, hearty and rich. Also, I had some cooked chicken left from when Mom came over last weekend to help me make chicken noodle soup to assuage my flu.

The Recipe: From Taste of Home, Annual Recipes 2011. I modified it a bit, and I think next time I would customize it even more. 

How it Went:
My first modification was to swap the can of cream of mushroom soup for a second can of cream of chicken soup. I don't do mushrooms. Cream of celery would have worked too, or cream of potato (do they make that?). Either way, first ingredient is two cans of cream of something soup. Here is where I would make another modification next time. I know canned "cream of" soups make dinner prep faster and easier, but they seem like cheating to me. And also, they're loaded with sodium and probably a lot of things I can't pronounce which is never a good sign. So next time I would like to try substituting a homemade version of cream of chicken soup. This looks like a good one to try.
The soups are mixed with some milk and spices.
Then the chicken and veggies are added. Enter, my next modification. Instead of two packages of frozen mixed vegetables, I used my own fresh veggies. I've never liked how frozen veggies come out. I was supposed to use a total of 32 ounces of frozen veggies, so I estimated that a handful of baby carrots, a few stalks of celery, four smallish red potatoes, and half a pound of fresh green beans would be about right. I peeled the potatoes, snapped the ends off the beans, then chopped it all up and boiled it in a few inches of water for about 15 minutes or so. In the meantime, I chopped up my cooked chicken.
I think it's a bit misleading when a recipe calls for "cooked chicken" or "cooked rice" or anything somewhat already prepared. If you're working with raw ingredients, cooking the ingredient before beginning the actual recipe can add sometimes a half hour or more to your total prep time! I loved making this recipe with the chicken already cooked. And I recommend, if it's ever possible, preparing all your ingredients beforehand - maybe in the morning or even the night before - to make meal prep faster.
When the veggies were ready, I stirred them, and the chicken, into the soup mixture.
For the biscuit topping, I have nothing better to suggest than good, old-fashioned Bisquick and milk. Mix it as the recipe directs, then plop it in 12 equal splotches on top of the pie. I thought the biscuits might sort of rise and become one solid topping, so I wasn't too precise on my 12 splotches, but it did not end up rising enough to form a continuous crust, so it would have been better divided into distinct servings with equally spaced biscuits on top.
The meal came out really yummy and served us for two dinners and a lunch for Pete. Lots of food.

Your Turn:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl combine

• 2 cans condensed "cream of" soup (1 chicken, the other chicken, mushroom, celery, or your choice)
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp poultry seasoning

Add

• your vegetables (either a collection of fresh-then-boiled ones, or two bags of frozen mixed veggies) 
• about 1 + 1/2 C cubed/shredded (depending on your texture preference) cooked chicken

Transfer the whole mess to a 9x13 dish, coated with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine

• 1 + 1/2 C Bisquick
• 2/3 C milk

Distribute in 12 equal splotches across the top of the pot pie.
Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until filling is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.