Macaroni Ring

 Macaroni Ring

I came across this recipe while looking for the last Meat/Fish Entree for #FiftyTwoInTwentyTwo. It is from a 1933 Bond Bread Recipe Cookbook. I wanted to try this, because it sounded "unique" and, the finished product is definitely unique. It's like having macaroni squashed together with stuffing.  The recipe recommends serving with vegetables in the middle of the un-molded ring and/or serving with a mushroom or tomato sauce. I had cream of chicken soup, so I used that.  I have to say I am glad I tried it and I'm glad I got to use my Pyrex ring mold, because I've had it for years and years, and never gotten to use it. I do not plan to make it again. If I do, I would definitely serve with hot cream of mushroom/chicken soup, cheese sauce or gravy.  I recommend you do that also.  Give it a try, because you may like it.  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups scaled milk

1 1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped pimiento

1/4 cup grated American cheese (I used finely shredded Monterrey Jack cheese)

2 eggs, well beaten

1 1/2 cups cooked macaroni

1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk and pour over bread crumbs. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except butter) one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the macaroni last. Add your mixture to a buttered ring mold. Dot bits of butter on top of the filled ring mold. Set in a pan of hot water and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Run a knife around the mold to loosen. Turn a plate on top of the mold; hold the plate tightly to the mold and flip over. Gently shake the mold to remove the macaroni ring. Fill the middle of the ring with vegetables if you wish. Serve with hot cream of mushroom/chicken soup, cheese sauce or gravy.

Macroni Ring Prior To Unmolding

Macaroni Ring Unmolded

Macaroni Ring Served With a Nice Salad

Week 31 - Macaroni Salad

 Macaroni Salad

Week 31 of 52

Salad #5

This macaroni salad recipe comes from "Cheese and Ways to Serve It". Published in 1931 by the Kraft-Phenix Cheese Corporation of Chicago. The copy I have belonged to a lady named Thelma Clark. This cute, tiny cookbook has a number of things I like. One, it is really old, literally. It is 89 years old. It's artwork reflects the dress of the early 1930s. It has pictures of products from the Kraft-Phenix Cheese line. And I also like the font it is printed in.  I liked this macaroni salad and even better, after it had chilled overnight. It's pretty perfect for a hot Summer day. There is no added salt or seasoning, so season to taste with your favorite seasoning, if you like. I thought it was nice though without any added seasoning. Use less or more of the celery or green pepper if you like. Make this and enjoy! 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked macaroni

1 cup chopped celery (I used two stalks)

1 green pepper, chopped

2 pimentos, choppped (I used 1 tablespoon from a jar of diced pimentoes)

6 sweet pickles, chopped (I used 1 tablespoon of sweet relish)

1 cup grated Kraft cheese (The original says you could use Velveeta and I'm sure you could, but that's not for me. I used 1 cup finely shredded Monterrey-Jack cheese)

Kraft Kitchen Fresh Mayonnaise or French Dressing (I used 1 cup mayonnaise)

Directions:

Boil macaroni to desired 'doneness'. While your macaroni is cooking, wash and chop your veggies.  Add each veggie ingredient to a large bowl. Add in your mayonnaise. Stir completely, so that all ingredients are coated with mayonnaise. Drain and rinse your cooked macaroni with cold water. Drain again, making sure to completely drain excess water.  Serve immediately, or chill for two or more hours.  The original recipe says you can serve this salad over lettuce, so feel free to do that. 

Green Pepper, Celery, Pimento, Sweet Pickle Relish

Celery, Green Pepper, Pimento, Sweet Pickle Relish, Cheese

Macaroni Salad

Week 6 - Johnny Marzetti

Johnny Marzetti

Recipe 6 of 52 in 2022  

Meat/Fish Entree #2

    This recipe comes to us from Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Casseroles - Including Breads. Published in 1968, it is the same cookbook which the recipe for the Meltaway Casserole from Week 4 is in. I'd seen variations of this recipe in other cookbooks and this cookbook has multiple versions. The version I based my recipe on was submitted by Mrs. Walter Steward of Perryville, Tennessee.  I was intrigued by the name of the dish. Where did it come from? Well, I finally did the research. Italian immigrant, Teresa Marzetti (Teresa) opened the first of her Italian restaurants in Columbus, Ohio.  Before Teresa opened her first restaurant, she was quoted as saying "We will start a new place and serve good food. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must, but we will serve good food." I absolutely love that statement. This tells me a couple of things about Teresa. 1) She cared about the quality of her food and 2) It sounds like she cared about her community, because she wanted to still cook good food for them, even if her restaurant was not profitable. 

    One of the dishes Teresa served at her restaurants, was a creation of hers which she named after her brother-in-law, Johnny Marzetti. The ingredients in this casserole dish include, ground beef, tomato sauce, noodles and cheese. It has been said that nobody knows when Teresa first offered the dish at her restaurant, but the dish had become popular across Ohio and the Midwest, by the 1920s. 

    I really liked this dish and would definitely make it again. There is no seasoning besides salt and pepper in this version and it uses tomato soup, not tomato sauce, which is fine if you are someone who just doesn't care for much seasonings. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I grew up eating mostly plainly flavored food, because that's what my mom liked. I happen to be more like my dad, who liked to experiment with food (for the most part).  Anyhow, I'll show my changes in italics. 

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped (I used a medium/large onion; if you like a lot, use more, or less if you don't)

1/2 cup celery, chopped (I sliced mine)

1 lb. ground beef (or turkey, like I used, because I forgot to thaw the hamburger meat)

1/2 package medium noodles, cooked (I used macacroni, which were perfectly; I had no idea what size package this recipe was talking about, so to determine how much macaroni to use, I looked at a similar recipe on the same page, which said 4 oz egg noodles; I decided on a cup of macaroni noodles, which was a little more than 5 oz and it was the perfect amount)

1 can tomato soup (Tomato Soup is bland!!!! See seasoning, below)

Salt & Pepper, to taste (I used two teaspoons of Italian Sofrito Seasoning; I'd possible either add more next time, or use regular Italian Seasoning)

Grated cheese (I didn't really measure, but I used about 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese; I like cheese, but you really can use less or more, to your preference)

Red Pepper Chili Flakes (optional)

Oil/Cooking Spray

Directions: Chop onion and slice (or chop) celery and start cooking in a large skillet (heated), to which you've added a bit of oil. I didn't measure, but I guess it was a couple of teaspoons or so. The main thing, is that you don't want your onion and celery to stick. Add in your ground meat, cooking until it is no longer pink. As you're browning the meat, you want to break up chunks, while you are stirring it together with the celery and onion. The original recipe says to alternate layers of the macaroni and the meat mixture and soup and then to top with the grated cheese. However, I mixed the soup into the meat mixture and made layers of the macaroni and the now flavored meat mixture into a classic 1 1/2 quart Pyrex casserole dish (It was the perfect size for this casserole). The last step is to sprinkle your cheese over top and bake for 30 minutes, in your oven, pre-heated to 350 degrees, Fahrenheit. I sprinkled my serving with red chili pepper flakes. I'd say in today's standards, this makes 4 servings.

Johnny Marzetti 

Johnny Marzetti, as the casserole looked when I removed it from the oven.

Photo Credit is unknown. This is a picture I found of one of the Marzetti Restaurants.

Week 4 - (Chicken-Cheese) Meltaway Casserole

(Chicken-Cheese) Meltaway Casserole 

Recipe 4 of 52 in 2022

Meat/Fish Entree #1

    This week's recipe comes to us from Favorite Recipes From Southern Kitchens - Casseroles - Including Breads. Published in 1968 (I had to convert it from Roman numerals). My version is based on a recipe submitted to this cookbook by Mrs. Lillie J. Smith of Pauline, South Carolina. I'll show my modifications in italics. This recipe really seems like a baked macaroni & cheese, but with less cheese, unless you're me and then "Katie bar the door", because I like cheese. I mostly wanted to make this new to me recipe by the directions, so I only used four slices of cheese. However, I did use a little bit of cheese sprinkled on at the end. I really liked this dish. It was easy and you can very, easily modify it with seasoning, choice of protein or even make it with veggies instead. I would definitely make this again.

Ingredients:

1 cup elbow macaroni

butter or margarine (No amount given; I used about 2 1/2 tablespoons of butter)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I used 1/3 cup)

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups milk 

1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, turkey, ham or roast beef (I used chicken)

4 slices cheese (Type not given; I used sharp cheddar slices)

1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning blend; I used a spicy red chili blend; 

shredded cheese (as much as you want)

Directions:

Cook macaroni in boiling water (I did salt the water a bit) until tender. Drain and set aside. Melt butter/margarine in a saucepan. I used the cast iron skillet I'd cooked the chicken in. By doing this, the sauce ended up picking up the flavor of the spice blend I'd chosen. Add the chopped onion and cook over low heat for up to 3 to 5 minutes. It should be translucent. Stir in your salt, pepper and flour. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. When making a white sauce, I like to heat the milk in the microwave, so it doesn't take as long to heat up and thicken the sauce. The original recipe calls for a 2-quart casserole dish, but I used a 1 1/2-quart and it was perfect. Pour half of the macaroni in the casserole dish, followed by half of the chicken. Pour the rest of the macaroni, followed by the last of the chicken. Lay sliced cheese on top and pour your onion white sauce over the layered macaroni and chicken. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit, for 25-30 minutes. I decided I wanted some cheese on top, so after I removed the casserole, I sprinkled some shredded cheese over top and put it back in the hot oven, until melted. This recipe makes 4 servings. 

Meltaway Casserole
Chicken-Cheese

Meltaway Casserole as it looks without shredded cheese on top.

Meltaway Casserole as it looks with shredded cheese on top.