Casserole #14 - Meat-Noodle Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #14 - Meat-Noodle Casserole

    This recipe was submitted to the Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Meats: Favorite Recipes From Progressive Farmer Readers cookbook by Janet Lynn Wilson of Jacksboro, Tennessee, and the cookbook was published in 1967. This recipe is in the Ground Pork section and calls for lean ground pork. I modified and used ground turkey. You could use ground beef as well.  It was good, but could use more seasoning; consider adding chili powder to taste and/or garlic (powder or minced fresh). My friend who was my taste tester liked it and had a second helping! My modifications to the recipe are in italics. Also note that I re-wrote the directions. 

Ingredients:

8 oz noodles (Use your favorite: macaroni, egg noodles, dumpling style, bow-tie, etc)

3/4 lb ground meat (lean pork, hamburger or turkey) *Ms. Wilson used lean ground pork

2 small onions, chopped

2 cups diced celery

1 small green pepper, shopped

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tbsp minced garlic (optional)

1 10oz can condensed tomato soup

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 cup grated cheese *Ms. Wilson used American cheese and only 1/2 cup

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. In a large skillet, brown meat, drain and add onions, celery and green pepper. Add minced garlic if using. Cook until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper and additional seasoning if you are using.  Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray.  Mix together tomato soup and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Alternate layers of meat and noodles in the casserole dish, starting with meat mixture. Over the first layer of noodles sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Finish with a layer of noodles, and pour the tomato soup over top. Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes. *The original recipe gives the yield of 6 servings. 

Meat-Noodle Casserole

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

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 

Casserole #2 - Acapulco Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #2 - Acapulco Casserole

    Finally writing about this recipe, which I made almost a month ago. Life has been a whirlwind since the beginning of the year.  I found this Acapulco Casserole recipe in the Woman's Day - Plain & Francy Ground Beef Cookbook published in 1978. There are a ton of recipes in this book and I'd love to try more of them. I like that substitutions exist for ground beef. Maybe you don't eat red meat or maybe you just want a healthier meat substitute. For this recipe, I used ground turkey. Use whichever ground meat you prefer. I would say that I used a 3-quart casserole dish, instead of a 2-quart dish and I'm glad I did, because it was really full and I've no idea how it would have fit in a 2-quart dish. That said, although I liked this dish, it would be better to eat fresh; eat leftovers quickly. I had so much that I froze some of the casserole and I didn't like the texture of the tortillas in the casserole after it had been frozen.  I'm always glad I try a recipe, even when it is not a favorite. I did like the taste of this, so try it! Serve with a side salad. 

Ingredients:

1/2 to 1 lb - ground beef/turkey/chicken/pork

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 clove garlic (I love garlic, so I added more like a tablespoon of minced garlic)

1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp chili powder

16 oz red kidney beans, drained

16 oz creamed corn

1 cup tomato sauce

8 flour tortillas

1/2 - 1 cup shredded cheese (I used my favorite, Monterrey Jack)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat in a large skillet. Drain fat when meat is browned and add all ingredients, except for tortillas and cheese. In casserole dish, layer meat sauce and tortillas; you can start with a tortilla on the bottom. Break up tortillas if needed before starting a new layer, so they will cover the meat sauce. Continue until you've used all of the sauce with sauce as the top layer. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Makes six to eight servings. 

Acapulco Casserole 

Acapulco Casserole 

Acapulco Casserole

Casserole #1 - Fiesta Tamale Bake

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #1 - Fiesta Tamale Bake

    This recipe comes to us from 1988's Better Homes and Gardens - New Casserole Cook Book. The original recipe calls for canned tamales, which I know are maybe all that some people might be able to find. I however live in Texas, where fresh tamales are usually pretty easy to find. I decided to buy fresh. I liked the tamales and the meat sauce from the recipe. However, I liked them better separately than together. The meat sauce was really good; I decided to freeze the leftover sauce and will enjoy it with macaroni or rice.  I'm glad I made this recipe. The original recipe says four or five servings. While I didn't count how many servings, there was a lot of food. I am confident you could definitely serve at least six. 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bulk pork sausage

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 cup onion, chopped (about 1 medium)

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

16 oz can tomatoes, chopped (or buy diced tomatoes); do not drain

6 oz tomato paste

1/4 cup sliced, pitted ripe olives (I didn't use these)

1 tbsp chili powder

15 oz canned pork or beef tamales (I used 6 fresh tamales)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (I used my favorite cheddar jack)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet cook sausage, hamburger, onion and green pepper until the meat is browned and the vegetables are tender. You could cook these separately if you like and then combine them. Drain grease from skillet. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, olives (if using) and chili powder. Pour meat mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Arrange the canned/fresh tamales on top of the meat mixture. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes. 

Fiesta Tamale Bake

Keftethes Me Saltsa Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

 Keftethes Me Saltsa Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

    This recipe is in Hellenic Cuisine, produced by St. Helen's Philoptochos Society and Saints Constantine and Helen Parent-Teacher Association in 1957. My copy is a thirteenth printing from 1966 and belonged to a man named Frank Guarnacci. I just searched Mr. Guarnacci's name and I not only found him, I identified his wife, Marguerite. Mr. Guarnacci served in the United States Navy during WWII and he sounded like an amazing person. He and Marguerite were married for 55 years before his passing. I dedicate this post to Mr. and Mrs. Guarnacci. This recipe was not difficult, but you do have shape small meatballs (I used a tablespoon and ended up with 40) and it is worth the work. It was yummy and I am excited for my leftovers. You could serve this over rice, noodles or even make a hot sandwich with nice, toasty French bread.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (try it with ground chicken or turkey)

3/4 cup bread or cracker crumbs (I used fine, plain bread crumbs)

1 small onion, minced

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup cream or milk

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil or butter (I used avocado oil)

6 tbsp flour (divided use)

2 cups water

1 cup red wine

salt

pepper

Directions:

Mix together ground beef, crumbs, onion, egg, cream/milk and salt. Shape into small balls. I used a tablespoon for scooping and rounded them out, but rolling between my hands (This method produced forty small meatballs and I thought were the perfect size for this). In a small bowl, roll meatballs in 3 tbsp of flour and set aside. While you are working on shaping the meatballs, start heating the oil in a large skillet (I used a 12 1/2 inch cast iron skillet and it was perfect). When you've floured all of the meatballs,  your oil should be hot enough. You can test out the oil by dropping a little piece of meat or flour in and seeing if it sizzles. Brown the meatballs a few at a time and remove to a bowl or platter. Blend flour with the oil left in the skillet, stirring in wine and water. Stir with a whisk, cooking and stirring until smooth. Place meatballs back into the grave and simmer on low to medium low for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Keftethes Me Salts Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

Pizza Sandwich

 Pizza Sandwich

    I mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters and this past Sunday, I had my Little Sister (she's eight years old) over to my house.  She has enjoyed baking with me, so I had planned for us to be in the kitchen. I chose a recipe called "Pizza Sandwich" from my Laurel Centennial Cook Book (1881-1981).  This is a community cookbook in which members of the community, mostly women, submitted recipes. This recipe was submitted by Judy Atcher. Modifications in italics. My Little Sister and I didn't layer the ingredients correctly in our dish, but it sure ended up pretty tasty. 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef/turkey/pork (I used turkey)

sliced pepperoni (optional)

2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce. 

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp Italian seasoning (I may have actually used 2 tsps) and a little extra to sprinkle on top

2 cups Bisquick (or other brand) baking mix

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

8 slices American cheese (we used sharp cheddar)

1 small can mushrooms (I didn't use this)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

red chili pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook your ground beef/turkey/pork in a large skillet and drain. Stir in one can of tomato sauce and desired seasonings. Simmer for ten minutes. In a separate bowl, combine Bisquick, egg and milk. Grease a 9x9 inch pan (I used a round dish) and spread half of the batter into the pan. Poor the second can of tomato sauce over the first layer of batter, then add four slices of cheese, followed by the meat mixture, pepperoni if desired, mushrooms and the rest of the cheese. Spread the rest of the batter over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

    I somehow got mixed up and layered the meat, second can of sauce and cheeses, followed by all of the batter. I still baked for about 23 minutes. We were a little rushed, or I would have given it a few more minutes. The batter wasn't cooked all the way through (the part closest to the meat, sauce and cheese wasn't a bit raw), but it tasted really good. I don't believe the problem was with the bake time; it was with my not layering the batter.  My Little Sister did great and she liked the way it tasted, so it was an all around success. I definitely recommend this dish and if you forget to layer the batter, just cook it longer.  

My Little Sister!

Pizza Sandwich

Pizza Sandwich (would have looked more sandwich-y if I'd layed the dough like I was supposed to)

Week 37 - Bierocks

 Bierocks

Week 37 of 52

Appetizer #5

    Bierocks are yummy, savory stuffed rolls. They're stuffed with ground meat (ground beef in this recipe), onion, sauerkraut and seasoning. Wikipedia tells us that Bierocks originated in Russia and were brought to America in the 1870s by German/Russian Mennonites.  They are popular among those of Russian and German ancestry. I have some German ancestry, and I'm studying the German language on Duolingo. So, when I saw this recipe, I was intrigued. This version is in the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Plano "From our Family to Yours" cookbook, published in 2016.  I never thought I'd buy sauerkraut (which I'd never tried before last night).  I liked the tangy-ness of the sauerkraut and it makes me so happy to successfully tried something I've never had. I made a couple of modifications to the recipe, which I'll highlight in italics and I was really pleased with how this came out. The original recipe says you can make three dozen. I ended up with two dozen and I liked the finished size.  I am curious about trying to make a smaller version, so I'll probably make these again. D

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (Don't worry too much about the leanness of it, because you're going to drain of the grease)

1 16oz can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained (I used a 14 1/2 oz can)

1 package onion soup mix

1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thinly

cayenne, to taste (I used 1 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 to 3 cans refrigerated crescent rolls (I used 3 cans of 8 rolls which gave me 24 Bierocki)

1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, completely brown your ground beef, adding the onion about half-way through. When the onion is soft, drain the grease from the pan, return to the stove and stir in your soup mix and seasoning(s) followed by the sauerkraut. Make sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Lightly grease baking sheets (as many as you need for 24 Bierocki). The original recipe says to carefully unroll the dough, pinch together the dough and then cut into small squares. What worked for me was unrolling the dough, separating the pieces and bringing the small pointed bit up to the wide end.  So, it's more square than triangular.  Pat the dough out a bit and then spoon filling into the middle. Wrap the dough around the filling and pinch together. Place the seam side down on your baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. For my oven, a little bit less than 30 minutes would work. ou can freeze these, by wrapping completely cooled Bierocki in foil or other freezer wrap and store in your freezer. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator, and bake in vented foil at 300 degrees for 15 to 25 minutes. 

Bierocki

My first Bierocki!