Layered Mexican Casserole

Here's a mild but hearty "Mexican" casserole that could be spiced up if you have the palate for it. Grandpa wasn't big on spicy food and Grandma always toned things down out of respect for him. This one was a flavorful favorite though and even Grandpa liked it. It's easy, budget friendly, and the servings are generous. Served with a little cornbread and salad on the side, it's a full meal deal. You could probably go meatless on this one too and never notice a difference!

If I were to jazz it up a bit I might sprinkle some pepper Jack cheese on top instead of the cheddar, add a little more chili powder and some hot sauce. That would be all you'd need to warm up a cold winter day!

Layered Chili Casserole

1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons butter
1 large chopped onion
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Dash pepper
4 cups (2 1-pound cans) red beans
1 cup (8-ounce can) tomato sauce
¾ cup crushed corn chips
1/3 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Brown meat in heavy skillet; spoon into a 2-quart casserole. Melt butter in skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is clear. Add spices, beans, tomato sauce, and corn chips. Mix thoroughly and spoon over meat. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in 350F oven for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly. Serves 4.

Lasagna Belmonte

Lasagna has gotten to be a mainstay because it's so filling and hearty. Of course it's also been sorely lost on convenience and there are plenty of frozen ones out there, but they're in no way reminiscent of home made.

The quality of any lasagna is dependent upon the quality of the sauce put into it. That's the key ingredient that has to be good. Grandma would whip up some of her own spaghetti sauce on one night and use up the leftovers in this lasagna dish on another night. The fact that the sauce mellowed a day or so after it was made with the flavors having a chance to fully develop made all the difference.

This particular recipe contains a mini-recipe for a homemade sauce and although it's not the one Grandma used, it's still delicious. If you have your own favorite sauce, by all means use it and eliminate the sauce ingredients and processing altogether.

Lasagna Belmonte

Sauce:
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
½ cup each dry red wine and water
salt
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp each pepper and sugar


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1-½ pounds ground chuck

12 ounces lasagna noodles
Boiling salt water
Butter
2 cups ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese
½ pound mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in wide frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Add meat and cook until browned and crumbly; discard any fat.

At this point you may add in your own sauce, or continue to sauce recipe as follows:

Combine garlic, tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, water, salt, oregano, pepper and sugar. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 1-½ hours.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions. Do not overcook. Drain and rinse with cold water and drain again. 

Arrange one-third of noodles in criss-cross pattern in bottom of buttered shallow 3-quart or 9x13 inch baking dish. Spread one-third of meat sauce over noodles, and top with one-third each of the ricotta and mozzarella. Repeat layering, ending with a top layer of cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Bake uncovered in 350F oven for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Serves 6-8.

Wild Rice Chicken Casserole

The first time I had wild rice I swore I would never eat white rice again. Wild rice is filling and hearty and stays with you for hours, the way food should. It's healthy too and many nutrition experts say it contains lots of Vitamin E and folate and is a good protein source.  Mix it with fresh vegetables or meat and you've got a healthy full meal deal. This would also be a great side dish (then you might have a little left over!).

Wild rice is fairly easy to find now, but this wasn't always the case. Years ago, it was only in certain grocery stores and a bit expensive so Grandma didn't have it often, but when she prepared it, it was done up in a special way like this one with almonds, chicken, and onion. The recipe is flexible though. You can add whatever you want--water chestnuts, mushrooms. Throw in anything that brings you joy! 

Wild Rice Chicken Casserole

1 cup wild rice, prepared with chicken broth
½ cup onion, chopped
1 stick butter
¼ cup flour
1 can chicken broth
1 cup light cream
3 cups cooked chicken, diced
¼ cup pimiento, diced (optional)
2 tablespoon dried parsley
1½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ cup slivered blanched almonds

Prepare wild rice according to package directions (use chicken broth for liquid when preparing). 

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook onion in butter until tender but not brown. Reduce heat. Stir in flour then add chicken broth gradually stirring into flour mixture. Add cream. Cook and stir until thick. Add wild rice, chicken, pimiento (optional), parsley, salt and pepper. Pour into large casserole dish and top with slivered almonds. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in 350F oven. 8 servings. 

French Green Bean Casserole

It's a shame what's been done to Green Bean Casserole. 

In an effort to make it "convenient" it's been turned to mush! The old-fashioned-from-scratch way is not at all difficult and the results are superior. So why serve mush?

Grandma always made hers from scratch. The one time she made it the "convenient" way, she quietly returned to the old way the next time. Without a doubt, she knew what tasted good and you will taste the difference too!

French Green Bean Casserole

2 pkg frozen French-style green beans
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ to ¾ cup Corn Flakes, crushed with 2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Cook beans; drain on paper towel. Put in buttered 9x13 baking dish.  In saucepan melt butter, stir in flour, salt, pepper, and sugar until mixed then sprinkle over beans. Spread sour cream over bean mixture and top with grated cheese. Mix cornflakes with melted butter and put on top of green bean mixture. Bake covered for 10 minutes then uncovered for another 10 minutes. Serves 6.

Golden Potato Casserole

Back in the saddle again and glad to have a couple of deadlines behind me!

However, in front of me are potatoes. Lots and lots of potatoes. They're on sale this month because February is supposed to be the ever-memorable "National Potato Lover Month" and all sorts of potato varieties are on sale. I picked up a bag of Idahoes and thought I'd pull out the recipe archives to see what sounded delicious, different, and befitting these worthy spuds. Lo, and behold, I found a casserole that sounded especially hearty and a great pairing to the meatballs we were having. 

In posts past, we've shared a couple of potato casseroles: Hamburger Potato and Cheesy Potato. But compared to both of those, this one is a little lighter, cheesier, crunchier and just plain good!

Another plus to all this excitement was my 16 year old son, "hovering" high above me (he's 6'1" to my 5'6") and willing to help out with the prep--which I'm all for! I peeled, grated, and chopped and he mixed, seasoned, and poured. What a great kid!

So here it is and it may be your new favorite potato side! Let me know what you think or if you have suggestions for improvement!


Golden Potato Casserole

8 medium potatoes, cooked and cooled
1/4 cup butter
1 can cream of chicken soup (try Grandma's Basic Cream Soup instead of canned)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 pint sour cream
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cornflakes, crushed with 2 tablespoons melted butter

Peel and grate the cooked/cooled potatoes. Heat soup and butter in large pan. Blend in onions, sour cream, cheese, salt, pepper, and grated potatoes. Put in buttered casserole dish and top with buttered cornflakes. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Tuna Casserole

On those rare occasions when Grandma would buy a bag of potato chips, we knew there was a good chance that (1) either she was having a guild meeting and would whip up a delicious crab dip to pair with the chips or (2) she was going to make one of her delicious tuna casseroles.

Her tuna casseroles were unsurpassed for crunchy golden deliciousness and, yes, it has the potato chips mixed in and crumbled on top. This is not only simple to make, but also a good budget meal. However, let me tell you right now there probably won't be any left for lunches or leftovers. It's that good! So savor this one for the record books. You and your family will love it!

Tuna Casserole

5 cups uncooked egg noodles (or No-Yolk Noodles)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or Grandma's homemade version)

    PLUS 1 soup can of half & half
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 regular cans of tuna packed in water, drained
3 cups regular potato chips, coarsely crushed (reserve 1 cup for topping)
1 cup frozen petite peas
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a casserole dish with butter. Cook the egg noodles according to the directions on the bag.

In separate bowl, combine soup with a can of milk. Stir in cooked/drained noodles, Worcestershire sauce, drained tuna, 2 cups of the crumbled chips, and peas. Pour into greased casserole dish and top with ground pepper and reserved cup of potato chips.  Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes.

Hamburger Potato Casserole

Planning a menu for the week isn't easy. Writing down "leftovers" for Saturday or Sunday is easy...until Saturday or Sunday arrives. Then the work starts trying to figure out just how to use those leftovers. 

And what happens if you don't have any leftovers? We had a couple popular Grandma mainstays that were totally consumed this week, so there weren't a lot of leftovers to pick from except some hamburger and a big container of mashed potatoes. So I went through Grandma's clipped recipes and found this little gem for Hamburger Potato Casserole that used a few staples and fit perfectly into our leftover shortage.  

One suggestion for this recipe...make sure you use a good lean ground beef.

Hamburger Potato Casserole

½ to 1 lb very lean ground chuck

½ cup bread crumbs

½ cup milk

1 small onion, diced

½ cup celery, dice

1 large egg, slightly whipped

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2-½ cups prepared mashed potatoes

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup salsa or heated marinara sauce

Soak bread crumbs in the milk for about 5 minutes. Mix ground beef, salt, pepper, onion, celery, egg, and bread crumb and milk mixture. Put in casserole dish and bake at 350F for 35 minutes. When done, take out of oven and top with mashed potatoes and shredded cheese. Return to oven and cook for additional 10-15 minutes until potatoes are heated through and cheese is melted. Serves 4.

NOTE: When serving, I placed each helping on top of a spoonful of salsa and it was delicious! Perhaps a dollop or two of heated marinara would be good too! Sky is the limit!