Posts Tagged ‘casserole’

• Apple Strata

  Date: 2010.02.25 | Category: Cooking | Response: 0

  I love apples and enjoy them as often as I can. If the old adage is correct, we should all be eating an apple a day to keep that doctor away! Popping one in your bag for a midday snack or including them in your lunch are great ways to keep that doctor away. I am always seeking new ways (and sometimes more decadent ways!) to have my daily apple. This recipe is one of those slightly decadent and new way to have your daily apple.

  Ingredients:

  6 slices day old sourdough bread, cubed
  4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
  2 apples, peeled and chopped
  1/2 c. raisins (optional of course)
  6 large eggs
  1 1/4 c. whole milk
  1 Tbsp. brown sugar
  1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  1/4 tsp. ground cloves
  dash of ground nutmeg
  confectioners sugar or maple syrup for topping (or both!)

  Place half the bread cubes in a lightly sprayed 8 x 11 baking dish. Distribute cream cheese cubes over bread cubes. Top with apples and raisins and cover with remaining bread cubes.

  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Pour over bread mixture. Make sure bread is completely covered with egg mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

  When you wake, preheat oven to 375. Remove strata from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Bake, uncovered, until set, approximately 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve. Add the maple syrup at the table.

  With the maple syrup & bread, I feel like I am having pancakes in addition to the eggs. It’s the perfect breakfast. Enjoy!

  xo–me

• Overnight Egg Casserole

  Date: 2010.02.21 | Category: Cooking | Response: 0

  Several of you have been writing, “Hey Amy!  We need more breakfast ideas.”  I hear you loud and clear!  I too need a few more breakfast ideas.  Recently I read that we should eat like Kings at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at supper.  To me, that is rearranging everything I have been taught and executed in my life.  The last meal of the day is a gathering, a social affair, a time where I can take my time to prepare something delicious for us.  Relearning this new edict is going to be a challenge for me.  I love to sleep until the last possible second.  Breakfast usually consists of a glass of juice, a piece of peanut butter toast or a ‘nooks & crannies‘.

  This week I am going to share some recipes I hope will satisfy your request for ideas.  Many are very simple and a few can be made the night before (which I am realizing is a bonus to my ‘must sleep until the last second’ lifestyle).  Today’s recipe comes from my hometown newspaper cookbook that was published in the early 90′s.  Nany gave it to me for Christmas in ’93 and I cherish it for many reasons but mostly because it was my very first cookbook.

  Ingredients:

  8 slices bread (I prefer country bread)
  2 c. milk
  8 eggs, well beaten
  1 tsp. salt
  1 tsp. dry mustard
  pinch of pepper
  2 c. grated cheddar cheese
  1 c. cubed ham

  Tear slices of bread into cubes (or you could cut them if you are particular about the shape of your bread) and set aside.  Combine milk, eggs, salt, mustard and pepper.  Lightly stir together milk mixture, bread cubes, ham and cheese.  Place in casserole dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.

  When you wake, preheat oven to 325.  Bake for one hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

  For the vegetarians, you easily can make this without the ham.  Occasionally, I will substitute the cheddar for other flavors of cheese.  Very delicious!

  xo–me

• Mushroom & Wild Rice Casserole

  Date: 2010.01.20 | Category: Cooking | Response: 0

  Today I am sharing a delicious vegetarian dish from the Crock Pot Recipe Collection.  I love this cookbook and the recipes never fail me.  This treat is for the vegetarian friends I have out there.  You meat lovers will enjoy it too, I promise!  This can be a great main course or a perfect accompaniment to a piece of beef or chicken.  I have used it in my meals both ways.  And like most rice dishes, they get better with time so don’t forget the leftovers once they get into the fridge!

  Ingredients:

  2 Tbsp. olive oil
  1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
  l large green pepper, finely diced
  8 oz. button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  2 cloves garlic, minced
  1 14-oz. diced tomatoes, drained
  1 tsp. dried oregano
  1 tsp. paprika
  2 Tbsp. butter
  2 Tbsp. flour
  1 1/2 c. milk
  8 oz. pepper jack, cheddar or Swiss cheese, shredded
  1 tsp. salt
  1/2 tsp. pepper
  2 c. wild rice, cooked according to package

  Coat slow cooker with nonstick spray.

  Heat oil in large skillet.  Add onion, bell pepper and mushrooms and cook until soft.  Add garlic, tomatoes, oregano and paprika.  continue to cook and stir until heated through.  Transfer to large bowl to cool.

  Melt butter in same skillet and whisk in flour.  Cook and stir until smooth and golden.  Whisk in milk and bring to a boil.  Whisk shredded cheese into boiling milk to produce a velvety textured sauce.  Combine cooked wild rice with vegetables in large bowl.  Fold in cheese sauce and combine gently.  Pour everything into crock pot and cover.  Cook on low 4 to 6 hours.

  When I want a bit of a kick, I use the pepper jack and add a splash of Tabasco.  As you can imagine, the cheese you choose changes the flavor of the casserole.  Enjoy!

  xo–me

• Christmas Casserole

  Date: 2009.12.23 | Category: Cooking | Response: 0

  I got this recipe from the Gooseberry Patch Celebrate Winter collection of recipes my second mom, Gwen, gave to me a few years ago.  It’s a great casserole for any day but really works well for a lazy Christmas Day.  Mommie made it last year and there wasn’t a drop remaining at the end of the meal.

  If you are looking for a great cross section of recipes and sweet ideas, the Gooseberry Patch series of books are wonderful.  Gwen gave me mine years ago and I have since found a few others that I love.  The recipes never disappoint!

  Ingredients:

  5 1/2 oz. seasoned croutons
  1 lb. bulk sausage, cooked, crumbled and drained (I use turkey apple)
  4 eggs
  2 c. milk
  1 can cream of mushroom soup
  16 oz. frozen Italian vegetables (or any frozen veggies you like)
  1 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
  1 c. Monterey jack cheese, shredded

  Preheat oven to 350.  Line the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish with the croutons.  Sprinkle cooked sausage over the croutons.  Beat eggs and milk until thoroughly mixed and add remaining ingredients., stirring well.  Pour egg mixture over the sausage.  Bake for one hour.

  Best part about this recipe?  You can prep everything and assemble the night before.  Keep it safely in the fridge overnight and pop it in the oven in the morning.

  xo–me

• Maple Sausage Casserole

  Date: 2009.11.14 | Category: Baking | Response: 0

  I seem to prepare and prepare for the big holiday meal but all anyone in the house can say is “What’s for breakfast?”  Now I like to point to a bowl and a box of cereal every time but if you have out of town guests you may want to prepare something hot to begin the day.  This is a ‘prepare ahead’ dish as it requires overnight refrigeration.  All the better for you in the morning when the question is posed and you can simply point to the oven!

  Ingredients:

  1 lb. ground pork sausage (you can sub turkey or tofu sausage)
  1/4 c. maple syrup
  1/4 c. butter, melted
  7 slices country potato bread torn into small pieces
  1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  5 eggs
  1 pint half & half
  1 tsp. salt

  Brown sausage in a skillet and drain.  Reduce heat and stir in syrup.  Remove from heat.  Spread butter in a 13 x 9 baking dish and arrange bread over butter.  Spoon sausage over bread and then toss cheese on top.  In bowl, blend eggs, half & half and salt.  Pour over cheese.  Cover and put in refrigerator overnight (at least 8 hours).  In the morning, uncover, and bake for 45 minutes at 350.  Enjoy!

  The best part about this dish is if you are eye deep in prepping for the big day, someone else can toss this in the oven.  And it will sit nicely next to Mr. Tom Turkey.

  xo–me

• Shrimp de Jonghe

  Date: 2009.06.04 | Category: Cooking | Response: 0

  Shrimps!  Delectable shrimp.  This recipe has it’s roots in Chicago, coming out of De Jonghe Hotel and Restaurant at the turn of the century.  Not this century but the 19th to the 20th.  It’s a bit like a casserole dish but can also be an hors d’oeuvres.

  Ingredients:

  2 lb. cleaned cooked, shelled shrimp
  5 cloves of garlic, sliced
  1 c. butter
  1/4 tsp. tarragon
  1/4 tsp. minced parsley
  1/4 tsp. shallot
  1/4 tsp. minced onion
  dash each of nutmeg, mace, thyme
  2 tsp. salt
  1/4 tsp. pepper
  1/2 c. cooking sherry
  1 c. dry bread crumbs

  Preheat oven to 400.  Place shrimp in 8 individual petite baking dishes.  Cook garlic in butter until butter browns, remove garlic.  Add herbs, seasonings and sherry to butter.  Remove 1/4 c. butter mixture and toss with bread crumbs.  Pour remaining butter mixture over shrimp.  Top with buttered crumbs.  Bake 15 minutes.  Serves 8.
  

  If you want to make a casserole a giant casserole for a buffet or family style dinner, follow the directions as stated but put in large casserole dish.  You may want to give the dish 20 minutes to bake.

  xo me

• Tuna Noodle Casserole

  Date: 2009.04.14 | Category: Cooking | Response: 0

  This recipe is one of those that the aroma, flavor, and merely speaking the name takes you back in time.  Mommie made this when she was first starting her adult life because she was, in her words, “a 20 year-old, new mom who didn’t know how to cook and made this every week!”  I am sure she made other things but this was a staple.  Mommie still surprises me with this when I come home.  I love it as much today as I did growing up.  Mine never tastes as good as hers but I know that’s because she puts the special Mom love in it when she makes it.  This dish lasts for days as like most pasta casserole dishes, it gets better with time.  Sitting in the fridge soaking up the juice.  ☺

  Ingredients:

  6 oz. (3 1/2 c) egg noodles
  1 can tuna
  1/2 c. mayo (The child of the 70′s in me uses Miracle Whip)
  1 c. sliced celery
  1/3 c. diced onion
  1 tsp. salt
  1 can cream of celery soup
  1/2 c. milk
  1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

  Preheat oven to 425.  Cook noodles in boiling salt water until tender; drain.  Combine noodles, drained tuna, mayo, vegetables and salt.  Blend soup and milk; heat through.  Add cheese to soup mixture and stir until cheese melts.  Add to noodle mixture.  Turn into 1 1/2 quart casserole.  Bake for 20 minutes.

  Sometimes I add peas or carrots to this recipe. It looks prettier.