CONFESSION: I have casserole fetish
 

My mother recently passed away and I inherited all her kitchen
goodies. People keep telling me no matter how old I get, I'll never get
over missing mom's cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her catfish
something terrible.
Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and I both had several
casserole dishes. Now I've got an entire cabinet stuffed full of
casseroles and I can't give them up! My husband asks me just when I'll
ever need 20 casseroles all at once. I tell him, "THBPT."
Mom also had at least 150 different casserole recipes in her box of
loose recipes, and hundreds more in her cookbooks. Combined I bet I
have 1,000 recipes for casseroles, although most probably contain
Velveeta, cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
I love casseroles.

Stacia

Glitter Ninja wrote:
> My mother recently passed away and I inherited all her kitchen
> goodies. People keep telling me no matter how old I get, I'll never
> get over missing mom's cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her
> catfish something terrible.
> Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and I both had several
> casserole dishes. Now I've got an entire cabinet stuffed full of
> casseroles and I can't give them up! My husband asks me just when
> I'll ever need 20 casseroles all at once.

Who says you'll need them all at once? <G> But that one you toss will
probably be just the perfect size for something you need down the road and
then you'll kick yourself for getting rid of it. Besides, I think there is
inherently something comforting having things that belonged to family. I
have some things from my grandmother and a couple of pretty enamel baking
dishes my aunt used for her chicken pot pies. Wouldn't trade them for the
world even though I don't use them for chicken pot pie.

> Mom also had at least 150 different casserole recipes in her box of
> loose recipes, and hundreds more in her cookbooks. Combined I bet I
> have 1,000 recipes for casseroles, although most probably contain
> Velveeta, cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
> I love casseroles.
>
> Stacia

I have gotten more into casseroles as I get older. Mom wasn't much for
preparing them, other than mac & cheese with ham added. But I find them
easy to prepare and they usually freeze well, too. Cooking for one, I often
make something akin to hamburger helper or a rice dish with meat and veggies
and put the leftovers in the freezer in small portions for meals at a later
date.

Jill

LOL, when I read that you had a cabinet full of casserole dishes, I
thought you meant recipes. I was like, "wow, that IS a lot of casserole
dishes!"

So now, of course, you know I'm going to ask - got a good recipe to
share?

:)

-Jen

Glitter Ninja wrote:
> My mother recently passed away and I inherited all her kitchen
> goodies. People keep telling me no matter how old I get, I'll never get
> over missing mom's cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her catfish
> something terrible.
> Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and I both had several
> casserole dishes. Now I've got an entire cabinet stuffed full of
> casseroles and I can't give them up! My husband asks me just when I'll
> ever need 20 casseroles all at once. I tell him, "THBPT."
> Mom also had at least 150 different casserole recipes in her box of
> loose recipes, and hundreds more in her cookbooks. Combined I bet I
> have 1,000 recipes for casseroles, although most probably contain
> Velveeta, cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
> I love casseroles.
>
> Stacia


I have been collecting casserole dishes for several years. Especially
the covered ones. I use them as serving dishes, they keep the food hot
and look pretty with my white pottery. Our Thanksgiving table looks
delightful with all the different colored and shaped casserole dishes.
I'm sure you will enjoy using yours.

jillie
Roseville, CA

On Thu, 6 Oct 2005 23:10:40 +0000 (UTC), (Glitter
Ninja) wrote:

> Combined I bet I
>have 1,000 recipes for casseroles, although most probably contain
>Velveeta, cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
> I love casseroles.
>
>Stacia
>

Recently I read a food magazine where a top chef commented on how we
chase recipes, and how magazines, websites, and foodlovers latch on to
hundreds of recipes whereas a good chef will have a small range of
recipes that he/she will perfect. That rang a bell with me. He
commented on simplicity, the freshest ingredients, cooked well, and
not getting too complicated. Again that rang bells.

Just a thought....
Kathy

"Glitter Ninja" > wrote in message
...

> My mother recently passed away and I inherited
> all her kitchen goodies. People keep telling me no
> matter how old I get, I'll never get over missing mom's
> cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her catfish
> something terrible.

I'm sorry for your loss.

> Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and
> I both had several casserole dishes. Now I've got
> an entire cabinet stuffed full of casseroles and I can't
> give them up! My husband asks me just when I'll
> ever need 20 casseroles all at once. I tell him, "THBPT."

Just exactly the right response. :) Welcome to the kitchenware slut club,
we who collect any number of things, for various reasons, that rarely get
used, but are much treasured for any number of reasons. Just take it from
me, someone who has going on 1500 cookbooks.

> Mom also had at least 150 different casserole recipes
> in her box of loose recipes, and hundreds more in her
> cookbooks. Combined I bet I have 1,000 recipes for
> casseroles, although most probably contain Velveeta,
> cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
> I love casseroles.

Care to share any recipes? I'd prefer the "from scratch" ones, since I no
longer have access to a lot of processed foods ... well, I still have access
to processed foods, but generally not American processed foods ... it's
interesting to see how the Danes are finally embracing the microwave. When
I got here five years ago, there were very few microwave convenience foods;
now, there are *way* too many. Anyway, I'd love to have a few more
casserole recipes to tuck away.

In fact, I'll start. I have no attributions for this one; I got it many,
many moons ago (1990-ish? Cripes, how time flies!) from my sister when I
needed to feed the vegetarian girlfriend of one of the first-husband's
buddies. It's good. It's not low-fat, but it is vegetarian.

Walnetto Casserole
Serves 6

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
3 tbsp oil or margarine
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
3 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup water chestnuts, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/4 pound jack cheese, shredded
1/4 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups cooked rice or pilaf

eat nuts in oil or margarine in heavy skillet over medium heat until
browned; do not burn. Remove nuts, drain and save oil. Add onions and
mushrooms to this oil and cook until softened. You may need to add a bit
more oil. Add broccoli and cook until softened. Stir in water chestnuts
and garlic. Remove from heat. Add walnuts, soy sauce and sour cream. Stir
lightly. Line 9" square pan with rice. Cover with vegetable mixture and
top with mixture of cheeses. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

"jacqui{JB}" > writes:

>Just exactly the right response. :) Welcome to the kitchenware slut club,
>we who collect any number of things, for various reasons, that rarely get
>used, but are much treasured for any number of reasons. Just take it from
>me, someone who has going on 1500 cookbooks.

That is amazing. I have about 20, the craziest one being a cookbook
mom bought at the Missouri State Fair in the early 80s; it's got
recipes for racoon and squirrel in it!

>Care to share any recipes?

The Walnetto Casserole you posted sounds good!
Mom got this one from the back of a food product and it's sort of "by
scratch". I'm not sure what food product it was, but it's really tasty
and uses a lot of low-fat or fat-free ingredients. (If you use the
full-fat versions of some of the stuff, it is very rich.)

Southwestern Chicken Casserole

2 cups cooked chicken
1 8-ounce can mushroom pieces, drained
16-ounce container fat free sour cream
1/2 large white onion, chopped
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, undrained
14 ounces (one can) fat free chicken broth
about 16 small or 8 large flour fat free tortillas cut into 4ths or 8ths
2 cups grated cheddar (fat free, if you can find it)
1 T corn starch
1 T flour

For the chicken, I prefer to cut chicken breasts into strips, sprinkle
with fajita seasonings and grill. Any chicken will do, even
pre-packaged, seasoned chicken.

Spray a 9x13 casserole with cooking spray and line bottom with some of
the tortilla pieces.

Saute onion in 3 T of the broth on medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add
rest of the broth and sour cream. Simmer for 2 minutes. Add the flour
and cornstarch, mixing with a wisk. Stir in the chiles and mushrooms.
Fold the chicken into the sauce and heat through. Spoon about 1/3 of
the sauce over the tortilla pieces in the casserole and sprinkle with
1/2 cup of the cheddar. Layer with more tortilla pieces. Repeat
layers, topping the entire casserole with the remaining cheese. Bake at
350 for 40 to 45 minutes. Let sit at least 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 6.

"Glitter Ninja" > wrote in message
...
> My mother recently passed away and I inherited all her kitchen
> goodies. People keep telling me no matter how old I get, I'll never get
> over missing mom's cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her catfish
> something terrible.
> Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and I both had several
> casserole dishes. Now I've got an entire cabinet stuffed full of
> casseroles and I can't give them up! My husband asks me just when I'll
> ever need 20 casseroles all at once. I tell him, "THBPT."
> Mom also had at least 150 different casserole recipes in her box of
> loose recipes, and hundreds more in her cookbooks. Combined I bet I
> have 1,000 recipes for casseroles, although most probably contain
> Velveeta, cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
> I love casseroles.
>
> Stacia

I have to remember Mom's cooking before they went on the road. Somehow, my
mom got it into her head that she was keeping both dad and herself on a
diet. They didn't eat enough to feed a bird and some of the food I smelled
cooking in her latter years did not tempt my tastebuds.

But the meals I had as a child and growing up are all still family
favorites.

MoM

"Glitter Ninja" > wrote in message
...
> My mother recently passed away and I inherited all her kitchen
> goodies. People keep telling me no matter how old I get, I'll never get
> over missing mom's cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her catfish
> something terrible.
> Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and I both had several
> casserole dishes. Now I've got an entire cabinet stuffed full of
> casseroles and I can't give them up! My husband asks me just when I'll
> ever need 20 casseroles all at once. I tell him, "THBPT."

<Snip>

Tell him they're collectables and one day you'll be able to retire.

;-)

Dimitri

I love casseroles, too! I'm looking for some interesting chicken
casserole recipes. Have any?
Thanks,
Lisa

I love casseroles, too! I'm looking for some interesting chicken
casserole recipes. Have any?
Thanks,
Lisa

I'm new to this and I must have posted again by accident. Sorry.

"Glitter Ninja" > wrote in message
...
> My mother recently passed away and I inherited all her kitchen
> goodies. People keep telling me no matter how old I get, I'll never get
> over missing mom's cooking, and that's the truth. I miss her catfish
> something terrible.

My condolences.

> Something I've noticed, though, is that mom and I both had several
> casserole dishes. Now I've got an entire cabinet stuffed full of
> casseroles and I can't give them up! My husband asks me just when I'll
> ever need 20 casseroles all at once. I tell him, "THBPT."
> Mom also had at least 150 different casserole recipes in her box of
> loose recipes, and hundreds more in her cookbooks. Combined I bet I
> have 1,000 recipes for casseroles, although most probably contain
> Velveeta, cream of mushroom soup, and/or "one bag frozen broccoli".
> I love casseroles.
>
> Stacia
>

Brown ground beef with onions, celery, and bell pepper. Add rice, mushroom
soup, and chicken gumbo soup (and maybe cream of celery), and a couple cans
of water and bake at $350-357*f until the rice is cooked and most of the
liquid is absorbed.

You can adjust it to make the amount you need; for example: 1 lb ground beef
with 1 med onion, 1 bell pepper and a couple stalks of celery...add 1 cup of
rice, 1 can of each soup and 1 can of water. Increase as needed. Salt and
pepper to taste. It's actually very tasty!

kimberly

Potatoes/veggies au gratin:

1 box au gratin potatoes (the kind you mix the dried potatoes, sauce
mix, cheese sauce, milk, butter, water)--mix ingredients per package
instructions.

Add grilled, cut-up veggies to the potato mixture(onion, bell pepper,
fresh mushroom, pineapple, yellow squash and roma tomatoes are great
additions)

Bake per instructions on the au gratin box

Could add ham, turkey, chicken to this too. Good, quick meal.--r3