Casserole #9 - Wild Rice Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #9 - Wild Rice Casserole

    Casseroles can be main dishes, but can also be great side dishes. This side dish casserole is from Noted Cookery - Favorite Recipes From Friends Of The Dallas Symphony Orchestra published in 1969. My copy of this cookbook is from the third printing in 1972. This recipe was submitted by Mrs. William R. Newsom III. I quite enjoyed this casserole. I enjoyed it as a side dish, but you could make this a main dish, by adding chicken to it. Seasoning can be adjusted to your taste; add more or less! One change I would make is to use a medium sized onion (I used most of a pretty large onion); I like onion, but a little less in this recipe would be fine. If you really like onion though, by all means, use a large onion. I would also drain any excess liquid you may have from cooking the rice and I would use about 1/4 cup less milk. I would guesstimate that you could get at least eight servings if used as a side dish (the original recipe says 6). Serve alongside chicken or other meat of your choice. My modifications are in italics. 

Ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup cooking oil (canola)

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 cup parsley, finely chopped (I used stems and all, but go ahead and use just the leaves if you prefer

1 3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese (I used my favorite shredded Monterrey Jack)

1 box (4.3 oz) wild rice mix (I used Rice-A-Roni) or 1 1/2 cups wild rice, cooked

1 cup milk (Feel free to use just under a full cup)

salt to taste

chipotle pepper or your favorite seasoning, to taste

1 tbsp paprika

Directions:

Cook wild rice and allow to cool. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Chop onion and parsley. Combine onion and parsley in a bowl. Beat eggs in a large bowl and gradually add oil while mixing. Mix in onion and parsley. Stir in cheese, cooled rice, milk, salt and whatever seasonings you desire. Thoroughly combine ingredients and pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, allowing to cool slightly and serve alongside chicken or other meat. 

Wild Rice Casserole 

Wild Rice Casserole

Charley the Muffin Man supervising picture taking of the Wild Rice Casserole. 

Easy Potato Soup

 Easy Potato Soup

    This recipe is based off of a recipe from a former co-worker. This soup is easy to put together. You can adjust seasonings and add ingredients as you like. This recipe is easily made vegetarian/vegan, by using all vegetable broth and vegan gravy packet. Alternatively, you could use all chicken broth and/or add diced ham or bacon.  If you don't like onion or peppers, you can leave out those ingredients. This makes a large a big pot of soup and you'll get numerous servings out of it. Actual servings depend on how large you make them! I really enjoyed this soup and I hope you do as well. 

Ingredients: 

32 oz bag frozen diced (hash brown) potatoes (For extra variety, use the O'Brien styled hash browns)

48 oz chicken or vegetable broth, or a combination of the two

1 packet white, country gravy mix

1/3 - 1/2 cup diced onion (cook in butter/margarine, in the microwave for one minute)

1 tsp butter or margarine

1/2 cup diced green/red/yellow/orange peppers 

salt to taste

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp or to taste, chili powder seasoning

1 cup diced ham, optional

Optional Toppings: shredded cheese, finely sliced green onion, crumbled cooked bacon

Directions:

Empty the potatoes into a large cooking pot. Pour vegetable/chicken broth into the pot. Add onion, peppers and seasoning. Add ham if using. Cook on medium to medium-high heat until gently boiling. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a side salad if desired. 

Easy Potato Soup

Charley the Muffin Man was interested in my Easy Potato Soup

Cheddar-Apple Muffins

 Charley The Muffin Man

Muffin #1 - Cheddar-Apple Muffins

       So, when I adopted my pup from the SPCA of Texas in Dallas, in January, his shelter name was Muffin. However, he is most definitely not a "Muffin". His name is Charley and his very, first name is "Charley The Muffin Man". His Instagram page his @charleythemuffinman. This series of muffin recipes are for him. This recipe is in one of my favorite cookbooks. The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook published in 1996. It is one of the first cookbooks which I bought for myself. I used Colby-Jack cheese in lieu of plain cheddar, because that's what I had. I couldn't really taste the cheese in these muffins and I wished there was more flavor. Consider adding a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg or serving with cinnamon-sugar sprinkled on top. That said, I liked these muffins; they had a good texture. Try them and let me know what you think. Modification(s) in italics. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar or Colby-Jack cheese (2oz)

1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

2 tbsps sugar

2 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup cooking oil

3/4 cup finely chopped, pealed apple

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease twelve large muffin cups (2 1/2-inch muffin cups) and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cheese, rolled oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and set aside. In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the egg, milk and oil. Mix liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until combined; the batter should be a little lumpy. Spoon mixture into muffin cups so that they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack for five minutes and remove from pan. Serve warm with butter and cinnamon-sugar if desired. 

Charley The Muffin Man and 
Cheddar-Apple Muffins

Casserole #8 - Broccoli Supreme

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #8 - Broccoli Supreme

    I love community cookbooks in which individuals in a community, club or church group submit recipes. This recipe is from the 2009 Richardson Citizen Fire Academy Alumni Association cookbook. This is my favorite casserole so far in this Year of Casseroles!! This casserole could be made with cream of celery soup, not cream of chicken if you want a totally vegetarian casserole. Use vegan cream, cream soup and stuffing mix for a vegan casserole. Alternatively, this could also become a main dish, with the addition of chicken breast. The original recipe says you can substitute  zucchini or asparagus in lieu of broccoli. 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs fresh broccoli or a 10oz package of frozen chopped broccoli

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 tbsp flour

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup diced onion

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/8 tsp pepper

3/4 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix (or use plain stuffing mix and add 1 tsp Italian seasoning)

2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. If using fresh broccoli, cut broccoli into 1-inch or so sized florets. Cook 5 to 8 minutes in boiling water. If using frozen broccoli, cook according to directions. In a mixing bowl, mix together soup and flour. Add sour cream, carrot, onion and pepper. Stir until combined. Drain broccoli completely and add to the soup mixture. Stir completely and pour into a greased 2-quart casserole.  In a small bowl, mix stuffing and melted butter (adding the Italian seasoning if using plain stuffing mix). Sprinkle around the edge of the casserole dish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cools slightly before serving. Serve with rolls and salad alongside chicken, pork or steak. 

Broccoli Supreme

Broccoli Supreme

Chocoate-Walnut Pie

 Chocolate-Walnut Pie

    This pie recipe is in the Southern Living Annual Recipes - 2005 cookbook.  I made this pie to take to dinner with a friend and it was a hit! It was easy to make and I would make it again. The recipe calls for a 9-inch pan and I accidentally used a 9.5-inch pan. The pie turned out great, but I did have an extra bit of crust at the top. If you love crust, this is not an issue, so make it with a 9.5-inch pan if you like. I would make sure to try it with the 9-inch pan the next time. 

Pie Ingredients:

1/2  package 15 oz refrigerated pie crust or, one home-made pie crust (below)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup margarine, melted and cooled

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped walnuts

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup shortening

3-4 tbsp very, cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fit pie crust into 9-inch piepan; fold edges under and crimp as desired. In a large bowl, stir sugar, flour, margarine and eggs until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour filling into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Makes 8 servings.

Pie Crust Directions:

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in shortening until pea sized. Using clean hands or spoon, stir in water a little at a time. Make dough into a ball; roll out into desired size, using dusting of flour to prevent sticking. 

Chocolate-Walnut Pie

Serving Suggestion - Serve wedges of pie with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream.

Casserole #7 - Hurry-Up Broccoli Casserole

The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #7 - Hurry-Up Broccoli Casserole

 I'll start off by saying that for a little twist, I used a combination of cauliflower and broccoli. You could also make this with a different vegetable mixture, with chunks of chicken added in, or with a bread crumb topping. This recipe is in from The County Fair Cookbook, published in 1994. My modifications are in Italics. 

Ingredients:

20 oz (2 10oz packages) frozen cup-up broccoli, thawed (I used a cauliflower/broccoli mix)

8 oz cottage cheese

6 oz (1 1/2 cups) Cheddar (or Monterrey Jack), grated

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp spicy seasoning (optional)

1 chicken breast, cut into chunks and cooked (optional)

Optional - Bread Crumb Topping:

  3 tbsp melted butter or olive oil

  1 cup bread crumbs (Seasoned or add your favorite seasoning to crumbs)

Bread Crumb Topping Directions: Stir together oil/melted butter and bread crumbs until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle over top of casserole before baking.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8x8 square baking dish or equivalent casserole. Mix all ingredients, until combined. Do not over mix. Spoon mixture into greased dish/casserole. Top with bread crumb mixture if using. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling and browned on top. Sprinkle with spicy or other seasoning if desired. Serves six. 

Hurry-Up Broccoli Casserole

Casserole #6 - Lemonchick's Cheesy Sausage & Potato Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #6 - Lemonchick's Cheesy Sausage & Potato Casserole

This recipe is a creation of mine. You can substitute your favorite spicy seasoning in place of Penzey's Arizona Dreaming salt free seasoning if you like. Or even try your favorite seasoning. I hope you like it. 

Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 medium onion or 1/2 of a large onion, peeled and diced

1 green pepper, cored and cut into chunks

8oz andouli or Kielbasa sausage, sliced into about 1/4-1/2 inch slices

1 cup Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese, shredded, plus more to sprinkle on top

1 tsp or more to taste of Penzey Spice's Arizona Dreaming salt free seasoning

1 tsp Penzey Spice's dried minced garlic or fresh minced garlic

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups white sauce:

  1/4 cup butter

  1/4 cup flour

  2 cups milk, heated 

  1/2 tsp salt

  1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boiling and cook the chunks of potato until they are fork soft (You don't want them mushy and you don't want them hard). Drain the potatoes and pour chunks into a large bowl. Cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Stir in sausage, green pepper and onion. Mix shredded cheese into white sauce, pour over the sausage & potato mixture and store to combine. Pour mixture into a greased, 3-qt casserole. Sprinkle with additional cheese and bake for 30 minutes. 

White Sauce: Melt butter on low. Blend in flour. Slowly stir heated milk. Add salt and pepper and stir. 

Lemonchick's Cheesy Sausage & Potato Casserole
Picture being supervised by Charley The Muffin Man