The casserole poll! Love them - hate them?

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It depends on what is in the casserole, but as I rule, I love 'em! I like to take the leftovers to work for my supper when I work second shift – just throw it in the microwave, and you have a nice hot meal. Sure beats the greaseburgers in the cafeteria!

I like the baked pasta dishes the best. These are easy to make meatless for Lent, and if you wish, you can throw in some of that frozen ground meat-substitute – it’s in the freezer case next to the veggie burgers. 👍
 
I think my favorite use of a casserole is to freeze it in serving portions to eat later. So many things don’t come out of the freezer as nice as they went in, but many casseroles can take a licking and keep on ticking.:nunchuk:
 
Cat said:
“Hot Dish” is a Lutheran thing (hence Minnesota).

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I beg to differ. My family is Catholic, has been Catholic all the way from the old Country and we have always called them hotdishes! I learned about Casseroles when we moved around, like from that soft spoken Southern Belle when we lived in Germany, oh, and she was Episcopalian.

Brenda V.
 
Casseroles simply don’t fit into a diet for people like me who are overweight. My husband and I are trying hard to eat more dinners with just a 3 oz piece of meat and a half of plate of steamed veges. We like these things, but they don’t taste as delicious as my wonderful Crunchy Cheese-aroni Casserole–.
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I agree, and I think the only solution is to sprinkle potato chip or cornflake crumbs on top of the “Atkins” meal
 
When my mom was here for a visit in October we made this one from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine:

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is super easy - AND - it makes two!! So you eat one and freeze the other. And when I baked up the second one from frozen about six weeks later it was a massive hit, and was better than the first time around!!

A tip for freezing - push down a piece of parchment on top of the pasta so that it fits inside the baking dish but doesn’t bunch up the sides. Then cover very tightly with foil to store it. JUST DON’T FORGET to take the parchment out before baking! 😉 This helps keep frost bite from happening to the top layer of pasta.

Really awesome dish - I would add more sun dried tomatoes though.

~Liza
 
Hot Dish

Macaroni with homemade spaghetti sauce with melted cheddar cheese on top. Simple easy great comfort food.
 
Brenda_V said:
I beg to differ. My family is Catholic, has been Catholic all the way from the old Country and we have always called them hotdishes! I learned about Casseroles when we moved around, like from that soft spoken Southern Belle when we lived in Germany, oh, and she was Episcopalian.

Brenda V.
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I picked up the term ‘hotdish’ from an Episcopalian family from Michigan. Sort of stuck. But my family always called them casseroles…Dad was from south MO.
 
My problem w/ cooking casseroles is that they often require you to cook pasta or rice first, then cook again w/ other stuff and a sauce. Too many dishes, too many steps!

Cat’s point about the carb-richness is also good. We ran into some problems where my iron ended up low, and since then we’ve eaten mostly red meat, beans, veggies, and fruits. Plus many have a cream sauce or lots of cheese - and I’m also lactose intolerent, so again, lactose isn’t heavily used in any of our main courses. Some of the potato dishes sound like good sides, but still a lot of work.

But I like to eat casseroles. Then again, I just like food in general!
 
I like things that are cooked IN a casserole, like a gratin or lasagna, etc. but I’m not one for the egg noodles and cream of something or other soup mixed with whatever meat, veg etc. No, not appealing. Honestly why does anyone eat condensed soup? It’s an afront to all that is good an nutritious in God’s creation. yuck.
 
shannyk said:
I like things that are cooked IN a casserole, like a gratin or lasagna, etc. but I’m not one for the egg noodles and cream of something or other soup mixed with whatever meat, veg etc. No, not appealing. Honestly why does anyone eat condensed soup? It’s an afront to all that is good an nutritious in God’s creation. yuck.
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It makes an awesome pot roast in the crock pot! 👍

~Liza
 
Yum, yum…just made a tuna noodle casserole. Delicious! Instead of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup I made my own mushroom sauce and it turned out fantastic.
 
turtle18 said:
Yum, yum…just made a tuna noodle casserole. Delicious! Instead of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup I made my own mushroom sauce and it turned out fantastic.
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I have been putting it off because I want to make it during Lent, and it’s not something we like to eat a lot of. But I like the idea of making my own mushroom sauce, that sounds really good!!! 👍

~Liza
 
Ok a few things about casseroles:

yes, you have to pre-cook everything and then cook it again as someone mentioned. But as a busy mom this actually works to my advantage! When I get a minute when the baby is sleeping, I go to the kitchen and assemble the casserole, let it cool in my pyrex dish then cover it and throw it into the fridge for either later on that day or the next day. That way, I’m sure of having the food ready when DH gets home for dinner!! I’m not always guaranteed time right before hubby gets home to cook so this way I can make it ahead of time and have it ready for when I’m ready. Awesomeness! (yes, that’s a word :p)

Second, it doesn’t have to be so full of calories or fat!! I just made a chicken, broccoli and brown rice casserole and not an ounce of cream of whatever in it! This is what I did:
  1. cubed up some boneless skinless chicken and browned it in a pan
  2. took some frozen broccoli, the kind that comes in the square package, defrosted it and added it to the pan with the chicken
  3. added MORE veggies, this time I only added onion, shredded carrot and garlic but finely diced celery and mushrooms work here too. Whatever you have on hand, just dice it up small enough so it cooks quickly in pan!
  4. cooked brown rice and let it cool (actually, I did this part first before I did the chicken)
  5. when veggies are soft, add butter and flour to make a roux (I used 2 TBS butter and flour, equal parts always) then whisked in some warm 2% milk. NO you don’t have to use heavy cream or cream of whatever. Regular ol’ 2% milk works great and makes a great bechamel sauce (which is what this is). Let come to boil so it will thicken
  6. Season sauce, I like to use parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg. Delicious.
  7. Add rice, stir altogether, let cool
  8. Put in pyrex and cover with plastic wrap, stick in fridge. You have a meal ready to go for whenever. I added more cheese on top (sharp cheddar was yummy) but you can do your crunchy topping if you like. I don’t really care for the extra carbs so I just go with more cheesy goodness hahaha.
There you go! The most fattening thing is the 2% milk and cheese. The starch is brown rice which is very good for you and the casserole is full of veggies and less rice. Just portion how you want to eat (less starch, more veggies) and use good cooking techniques and you can cook healthier and more flavorful food without making huge changes. 🙂
 
lizaanne said:
Everyone has a distinct feeling about casseroles - either you love them or you hate them. Very seldom do I see anyone who is mostly indifferent.

So - in this cold season of comfort food - do you love them, hate them, and what are your favorites?

~Liza
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inexpensive, filling, delicious, easy to prepare comfort food for the kids… what’s not to like? Oh yeah. Makes me fat. :eek:
 
lizaanne said:
It makes an awesome pot roast in the crock pot! 👍

~Liza
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Yes, it does!!
I use a can of mushroom soup and a can (the:p soup can, of course) of red wine.👍👍

But its true: There is no reason under the sun why you couldn’t make a sauce of your own. (That is. after all, how you make mac & cheese.)
 
gam3rchic said:
Ok a few things about casseroles:

yes, you have to pre-cook everything and then cook it again as someone mentioned. But as a busy mom this actually works to my advantage! When I get a minute when the baby is sleeping, I go to the kitchen and assemble the casserole, let it cool in my pyrex dish then cover it and throw it into the fridge for either later on that day or the next day. That way, I’m sure of having the food ready when DH gets home for dinner!! I’m not always guaranteed time right before hubby gets home to cook so this way I can make it ahead of time and have it ready for when I’m ready. Awesomeness! (yes, that’s a word :p)

Second, it doesn’t have to be so full of calories or fat!! I just made a chicken, broccoli and brown rice casserole and not an ounce of cream of whatever in it! This is what I did:
  1. cubed up some boneless skinless chicken and browned it in a pan
  2. took some frozen broccoli, the kind that comes in the square package, defrosted it and added it to the pan with the chicken
  3. added MORE veggies, this time I only added onion, shredded carrot and garlic but finely diced celery and mushrooms work here too. Whatever you have on hand, just dice it up small enough so it cooks quickly in pan!
  4. cooked brown rice and let it cool (actually, I did this part first before I did the chicken)
  5. when veggies are soft, add butter and flour to make a roux (I used 2 TBS butter and flour, equal parts always) then whisked in some warm 2% milk. NO you don’t have to use heavy cream or cream of whatever. Regular ol’ 2% milk works great and makes a great bechamel sauce (which is what this is). Let come to boil so it will thicken
  6. Season sauce, I like to use parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg. Delicious.
  7. Add rice, stir altogether, let cool
  8. Put in pyrex and cover with plastic wrap, stick in fridge. You have a meal ready to go for whenever. I added more cheese on top (sharp cheddar was yummy) but you can do your crunchy topping if you like. I don’t really care for the extra carbs so I just go with more cheesy goodness hahaha.
There you go! The most fattening thing is the 2% milk and cheese. The starch is brown rice which is very good for you and the casserole is full of veggies and less rice. Just portion how you want to eat (less starch, more veggies) and use good cooking techniques and you can cook healthier and more flavorful food without making huge changes. 🙂
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That sounds delicious!!
 
lizaanne said:
When my mom was here for a visit in October we made this one from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine:

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

This is super easy - AND - it makes two!! So you eat one and freeze the other. And when I baked up the second one from frozen about six weeks later it was a massive hit, and was better than the first time around!!

A tip for freezing - push down a piece of parchment on top of the pasta so that it fits inside the baking dish but doesn’t bunch up the sides. Then cover very tightly with foil to store it. JUST DON’T FORGET to take the parchment out before baking! 😉 This helps keep frost bite from happening to the top layer of pasta.

Really awesome dish - I would add more sun dried tomatoes though.

~Liza
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Liza–thank you, thank you , thank you! You have just solved my problem of what to fix for my Cursillo group Thursday night! I was racking my brains out trying to find something different. Perfect.
 
Yup… here in Minnesota it doesn’t matter what religion you are… it’s still “HOT DISH”. I never knew what everyone was talking about. And BARS? Bring BARS? like candy bars? NO they are pan cookies cut up. LOL

I love living in Minnesota.
Steph
 
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