Casserole #11 - Beef and Cheese Bake

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #11 - Beef and Cheese Bake

    I am so far behind on posting in general and behind in posting this recipe as well. I made this casserole two weeks ago. The recipe is from Better Home and Gardens - Jiffy Cooking cookbook published in 1967.  It's nice that none of the recipes in this cookbook are difficult or time consuming. 

    I modified this recipe by adding rice, because I forgot the casserole had the biscuit topper and while I liked the finished casserole, I would leave the rice out next time.  You may ask "Kathy, how did you forget that this casserole had a biscuit topper?". The answer is that I am currently job searching and dealing with stress from that. So, I just simply forgot.  

Other changes I made, were not adding olives, using ground turkey in place of beef and adding a couple teaspoons of pimento. Feel free to substitute ground turkey or ground pork in your dish.  

I liked this recipe and would make it again.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey/ground pork

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup milk

1 10 1/2-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/3 cup ripe olives, sliced (optional)

2 tsp pimento (optional)

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp salt

1 package refrigerated biscuits

1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef with onion in large skillet. Blend cream cheese and milk. Stir in soup, ketchup, salt, pimento and olives (if using either). Combine with the meat and onion mixture. Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish (I used a round casserole dish which may have been larger; I'm giving you the size the original recipe mentions). Bake for 30 minutes and remove. Separate biscuits and arrange on top of the casserole. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are browned on top. Remove from oven and spread butter over the biscuits.  Serves 6 to 8. 

Beef and Cheese Bake

Beef and Cheese Bake

Ranch Pretzels

 Ranch Pretzels

    I made Ranch pretzels for a gathering at my church. Most ranch pretzel recipes use oil or butter and only 1/2 cup. I made a double batch and it turned out buttery tasting, which I liked because it enhanced the flavor. Use 3/4 cup melted butter if you like. I also used Zesty Pub Pretzels from Aldi, which was accidental, but delicious. I like this snack, because you can try out substituting or adding seasonings to it. Make it your own!

Ingredients:

1 bag of plain mini pretzel twists or zesty seasoned pretzels

1/2 cup to 3/4 butter, melted

1 packet ranch dressing/seasoning mix

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Empty pretzels into a large bowl. Slowly pour melted butter onto pretzels and stir. Sprinkle 1/2 ranch seasoning packet and stir. Add the rest of the seasoning packet and stir. You want the pretzels to be evenly coated with butter and seasoning. Pour pretzels onto a large cookie sheet or 9x13 pan, spread pretzels. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stir and return to oven for 10 to 12 more minutes. Watch the pretzels at the end to make sure they are not burning. Remove early if they are getting dark. Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container. 

Ranch Pretzels

Casserole #10 - Shipwreck Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #10 - Shipwreck Casserole

    I wanted to be adventurous, so tried this recipe from the Classic Cooking with Coca Cola cookbook. Published in 1994 and 1998, all of the recipes include a Coca Cola product. I write about recipes whether or not I liked them and this was a recipe I did not like. I think if I were to make this again, I would use undiluted tomato paste, not undiluted soup. Along with the Coke Zero (It's what I had on hand and was an appropriate substitute), the finished casserole was way too soup-y. This recipe also did not say to cook the ground beef and I did not want to put raw meat into the casserole, so I browned the ground beef. I would also figure out seasonings to add, because the recipe only had salt and pepper to taste. I sprinkled Italian seasoning when I tested the recipe. Although I did not like the finished recipe, it was pretty easy to make and you might like it. Play around with seasonings and try chili or chipotle powder, Italian or add chopped garlic or garlic powder. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 lb ground beef, browned

2-3 stalks celery, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped or 6 mini sweet orange/red/yellow peppers chopped

1 large potato, sliced

1 can red kidney beans

1 can tomato soup (undiluted) or small can of undiluted tomato paste

salt to taste

pepper to taste

10 oz Coca Cola

sprinkle Italian seasoning

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread oil in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Layer ingredients in order listed, finishing by pouring the Coca Cola on top. Bake for one hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle Italian seasoning over casserole when plated. 

Shipwreck Casserole 

Gozleme (Flat Bread With Spinach)

            Gozleme (Flat Bread With Spinach)

    I really love trying cuisines from all over the world. This is a delicious recipe I found in a cookbook I bought after attending a cooking demonstration at the Dialogue Institute in Richardson, Texas. The cookbook is titled Turkish Culinary Art - A Journey Through Turkish Cuisine. I found a lot of recipes I would like to try from this cookbook published in 2014. The recipe does not list amounts for the seasoning, so my suggestion would be "season to taste". I will list  amounts I used/modifications will be in Italics. It takes a little bit of time to make the Gozleme, but it was easy and I will definitely make this again.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bag baby spinach, about 9oz, washed and chopped

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 cup feta cheese

15-20 flour tortillas (You may have a lot more filling than tortillas like I did, so buy two packages of 12 tortillas and make as many as you like.) 

water

butter

cooking spray or oil

Directions:

Mix onions, spinach and seasonings in a large bowl. Mix in feta cheese and stir until combined.  Place a tortilla on a clean work surface (I used a large cutting board). Place a small spoonful of the spinach mixture onto one half of the tortilla. Brush a bit of water along the edges of the tortilla and fold tortilla over the filled side. Use a fork to seal/crimp the edges of the tortilla.  Flip and crimp the other side, before laying the filled tortilla on a large baking sheet. Continue filling until you have used all tortillas. Lightly oil or spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray. Lay filled tortillas on pan (I used a cast iron pan) and cook until browned on each side. Remove from pan and lightly brush with butter. You can bake these in an oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes if desired. 

Gozleme