Casseroles are wonderful things, one-pot-wonders which can feed an army of hungry stomachs a complete meal out of one pot.  While there are as many variations of the Chicken Casserole as there are American women cooking them, this one has become my all-time favorite…it’s simplicity is simply unmatched!

This is my old, faithful standby!  Anytime we’ve had one of “those” days and the last think I want to do is think about dinner, let alone have to wash up the kitchen afterwards, this is where I turn.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Prep Time:  10 min / Cook Time:  50 min

(original recipe came from www.campbellskitchen.com but I found it to be too bland; I’ve added spices, veggies, and doubled the rice and liquid)

Easiest Ever Chicken and Rice Casserole

1. In the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish mix 2 cans cream of anything soup (mushroom or celery work best) and 2.5 cups water
2. Stir in 1.5 cups uncooked regular rice (not instant), 1 small bag of frozen mixed veggies (I prefer to use half the bag and then add in a can of sweet corn), 3/4 tsp salt, and pepper, dried onion, celery salt, garlic powder to taste.
3. Top with 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I recomend sprinkling chicken with seasoning first else it will be pretty bland…chicken seasoning, salad dressing, or your favorite spice blend)
4. Cover with foil and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. 
5. Uncover and sprinkle liberally with grated cheese (cheddar or colby-jack work well); return to hot oven and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

First, thank you for your feedback on my last post. It always helps to know that other’s have the same experiences, feelings and struggles. Also, thank you to those who sent in Sweet Potato recipe suggestions. I’ll definitely be trying them all out!

First, isn’t the smell of warm Almond Breeze amazing?! I ended up heating a bit seperately to add to my coffee this morning and I was reminded of what a wonderful aroma it has So I had a few new things today. Well not new in the big picture, but newly added back into my diet, aka, things I’ve been missing!

New Thing #1

Apple! This morning I woke up wanting a bit lighter breakfast but still something warm. So I decided to try out a combo I saw on Kath’s blog for Hot Breakfast Apple Crisp. It turned out not to be as light as I had intended, but it was delicious!

In the mix:

Granny Smith Apple

Oikos Honey – 5.3 oz

Barney Butter – spoonful

Mix-My-Granola

Cinnamon

pre-crunchiness

New Thing #2

Larabar! I’ve been looking forward to trying these little treats as I’ve seen them all over the blog world. Today I tested out Cinnamon Roll. I apologize for the crappy iPhone pic

Grade: Not for me. It was tasty and I love that the ingredient list is literally 6 whole foods ingredients, but it’s just to calorie dense for my purposes. It’s pretty small and still has over 200 calories.

New Thing #3 & #4

Cottage Cheese! Oh how I’ve missed you so :p Snack today was 1/2 c Fiber One Cottage Cheese with a 1/4 cup of this new find..

For whatever crave-creating reason, Cinnamon Toast Crunch was on my list of things I wanted post-comp. So when I saw this organic healthier version at Sprout’s I had to give it a shot. Report card: A-, pretty darn good. Definitely fulfilled my CTC craving and is wayyy healthier!

After work I hit up Whole Foods to pick up more Kabocha. But I made a horrible rookie mistake.. I went hungry! As a result I ended up picking up a few more things than I perhaps should have. But the time I left I was starving and nibbled on a few of these (another iPhone shot)..

I am totally sprung on anything and everything Chocolate Peppermint right now. Fortunately  I also have Candy Cane Celestial Seasonings tea or a homemade Peppermint Mocha coffees!

Dinna – Ezekiel Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Chicken Casserole

I’d seen a few Sweet Potato & Black Bean recipe combinations and wanted to give it a shot. I also have a ton of Sweet Potato and Chicken I need to use before it goes to waist, so I layered the following items and threw it in the oven at 375F for 35 minutes.

Ezekiel Corn Tortillas

Sweet Potato

Chicken Breast

Black Beans

Rice Shreds – Cheddar Flavor

Pico de Gallo

Enchilada Sauce

ready to go in the oven

yum

I Promised to be Honest …

I mentioned my current obsession with Peppermint, and after passing this by multiple times, I finally caved.

pretty, pink, pudgy

I’ve been having all sorts of trouble falling asleep lately but have still been getting up at 6am. So I’m planning to crawl into bed early tonight, curl up with a book or magazine and hopefully get to sleep at a good time. On the agenda for tomorrow:

1. Actually get my puffy butt to the gym
2. Meeting with trainer over 2010 plans (should help inspire #1)
3. Get car check-out (its been moody about starting in the morning)
4. Take-home Final for my Customer Relations Management course.. and yes, it really is as boring as it sounds.. unless you love SPSS, then please feel free to come assist me, I’ll bake you cookies :p
5. Apply for part-time jobs

Happy almost-Friday everyone! Any fun weekend plans?

1-2-3 Cheddar Broccoli Casserole

★Time: 30 minutes
★Serves: 6

Ingredients

♥ 1 (1lb) jar cheddar cheese sauce
♥ 2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen broccoli florets, thawed
♥ 1/4 cup italian seasoned breadcrumbs
♥ 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In 1 1/2 quart casserole dish, combine cheddar cheese sauce and broccoli,
• Evenly top with bread crumbs combined with butter.
• Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown and tender.

Spaghetti Squash Gratin

I had some spaghetti squash and didn’t know what to do with it.  So I made this gratin:

2 spaghetti squash

2 cups 0% fat Fage Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

2 T dried chives

Cut the squash in half horizontally.  Scoop out the seeds.  Bake 350 degrees cut side down on a baking sheet 45 min.-1 hr. until done.  Scoop out the squash into a bowl.  Add the yogurt, cheese and chives.  Save some cheese to sprinkle on top.  Bake in an uncovered casserole dish at 350 degrees for 30 min.  Serve warm.  Depending on how crispy you like it on top, you can up the heat or the time for cooking.

As promised a couple of days ago here is a brand new product review! Well, let’s be honest and tune the enthusiasm down a notch. It’s not really a product review, but a product announcement :p (a review will probably follow in a while) If you’ve read the title (and how could you not?), you will already have derived that I am now a proud owner of a Le Creuset cast iron round casserole! What’s “Le Creuset” and “cast iron” you ask? Good question! Keep reading!

Let’s start of with cast iron. Cast iron means that something is made out of molten iron, which is poured in a unique mold, thus creating the shape of the casserole. This may all sound pretty technical and boring, but it breaks down to the fact that cast iron casseroles (or pans, skillets,…) are superb at obtaining and dispersing heat evenly. This means that you’ll probably never need to use a high heat. A medium or low heat will be all you ever need. Another great feature is that you can use it on any heat source, and put it directly in the oven. The casserole itself is quite heavy compared to normal casseroles, especially the lid. The tight fit of the lid assures you that none of the precious flavours escape while you’re cooking!

So what’s “Le Creuset”? Le Creuset is, simply put, one of the best manufacturers of cast iron cookery. It’s a french company that has been making these things from 1925 and if you go to any professional kitchen or chef that uses cast-iron cookery, they’ll probably be using Le Creuset. Their high quality is obtained by at least 30 different experts who examine a product before it leaves there factory, as a result they offer a lifetime guarantee (under normal use of course, don’t go smashing it on the flour, obviously). All this means that their products are pretty expensive, so if you want to save some money buy them second hand or wait for some massive discounts like I did! Last week, amazon.co.uk was heaving a 12 days of Christmas discount on a whole range of products, including a Le Creuset cast iron 24cm casserole! The discount was actually 50% (!) and came to a total of 72 euros, which might still seem like a lot of money (and it is), but if I would’ve gone out and bought it in a cookery shop I would have easily dropped 120-150 euros!

On another note, Santa came around early this year, and brought me a nifty Canon EOS 450D camera! (in the USA also known as the Canon Rebel XSi) So hopefully you’ll see an improvement in the pictures that are posted here. This also the reason why I haven’t added any personal pictures, but stock pictures from the interwebs. I still have a lot of reading and practicing to do on how to properly take pictures with it (to use the automatic on camera like this is pure blasphemy!), but I’ll try to shoot some pictures this weekend that are blog-worthy and update this post, along with a new recipe post!

From: Claire

mmmmm!

To: Janice

Subj: Sweet potato casserole

I told Molly and Mazall about the sweet potato casserole dish and they had never heard of it. Mazall said that marshmallows and vegetables should never mix (a fair point, although in this case she’s mistaken). Molly says she’s from Georgia and she’s never heard of it. But her family is Greek. Can you please explain where the dish came from so people will stop making fun of it?

From: Janice

To: Claire

Since one can not “copyright” recipes, this recipe is my own creation. What their mothers don’t do that too?? (Oooo- that private girls school Southern b*tchiness rears up at the strangest times. Don’t bother me– I am mid contract negotiations!) Take care, Love, MOM

From: Janice

To: Claire

In honor of you, I have decided to name this recipe : “Little Monkey’s Sweet Potato Casserole”- (Banana- Monkey- get it?) how about that? Take care, Love, MOM

Dre’s main request for Friday’s dinner was Mac & Cheese WITH BACON to accompany my Roasted Tomato, Mushroom, & Smoked Mozz Stuffed Chicken Breasts. On a shopping trip last week, I picked up the most adorable red casserole dish and this was the perfect opportunity to christen it. I needed to refresh myself on Mac & Cheese basics and Alton Brown seemed like my go to man. I forgot how easily you can turn a basic rue, some milk, onion, & cheese (and bacon, of course) into the most comforting of foods. Mmmm, Mac & Cheese!

Shredded Mozz, Cheddar, Smoked Gouda, & Velveeta

I put Dre in charge of finishing up the Mac & Cheese. He crumbled bacon and tossed it into the macaroni & melty cheese mixture. The jumbo macaroni were perfectly filled up with the bacon & gooey cheesiness. He gets half the credit on this cooking venture for that move!

Smokey Bacon Mac & Cheese

No Baked Mac & Cheese is complete without a crunchy crust and why not have it add to the cheesiness! Dre crushed up some Cheez-Its, tossed with melted butter, and sprinkled on top. It added a crunchy texture to the creamiest, yummiest Mac & Cheese I’ve ever tasted, if I do say so myself! And how cute is that casserole dish?!

Smokey Bacon Mac & Cheese w/ a Cheez-It crust

Smokey Bacon Mac & Cheese

adapted from Alton Brown’s Macaroni & Cheese Recipe

• Macaroni – (1) lb, cooked al dente
  • Farfalle, Orchiette, Spirals & Shells all work well, too
• Butter – (3) T + (2) T
• Flour – (3) T
• Milk – (3) cups
• Whole Grain Mustard – (1) T
• Paprika – (2) tsp
• Bay Leaf - (1)
• White Onion – (1/2) med onion, chopped
• Egg – (1)
• Shredded Cheeses – (4) cups or more
  • I used (2) cups Mild Cheddar, (2) cups Mozzarella, & (1) cup of Smoked Gouda
• Velveeta - (8) oz, cubed
• Smoked Bacon – (4-5) slices, cooked & chopped (optional, I guess…)
• Cheez-Its – (1.5) cups, crushed
  • Next time, Goldfish!

1. Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Pre-heat oven to
3. Melt (3) T of butter in a heavy pot on Med and add flour. Stir for about 5 min until it turns a light caramel brown, watching closely.
4. Add Milk, Mustard, Paprika, Bay Leaf, Onion, & S&P and stir. Bring to a simmer on Med for about 5 min. Remove Bay Leaf.
5. Beat (1) Egg in a small bowl. Add a bit of the milk mixture to temper it, so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs.
6. Add the beaten Egg, Cheeses, and a quick grind of S&P to the pot and stir to combine & melt cheese.
7. Immediately add your pasta and coat with the cheese mixture. The bacon crumbles can go in now, too.
8. Pour mixture into a large, greased baking dish or casserole.
9. Crush (1.5) cups of Cheez-Its in a sealed plastic baggie and then toss with (2) T melted Butter in a bowl. Sprinkle over Mac & Cheese.
10. Bake for about 30-40 min until bubbling. Remove and let it sit for (5) min before eating.

I made sweet potato casserole for our Thanksgiving potluck at work last year. There were no leftovers, and I even got a few requests for the recipe. So I decided to make it again this year (make a double batch, in fact, so I could have it with chicken for dinner), with the same results. I love this recipe because it’s easy to make ahead of time, especially if you use canned sweet potatoes. And if you eat the leftovers cold, it’s kind of like eating pumpkin pie.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Filling Ingredients: 3 C Mashed sweet potatoes (4-5 medium potatoes or a 40 oz can), 3/4 C Brown sugar, 2 Eggs, 1 t Vanilla, 1 t Cinnamon, 1 large can Evaporated milk (you’ll probably only use about 1/2 to 3/4 of this), 1/2 stick Margarine

Topping Ingredients: 1 C Brown sugar, 1/2 C Flour, 1 stick Butter–COLD, 1 C Chopped walnuts (can also use pecans or another type of nut)

1. Mix all filling ingredients together with mixer (or whisk, if you don’t have a mixer) and pour into a square baking dish (or leave in oven-safe pot that you mashed the potatoes in, if using fresh potatoes).
2. Mix all topping ingredients together, using a fork or a pastry blender to cut butter into dry ingredients. You can cut the nuts in after the butter if it makes it easier, but don’t mix too much, because you want it to be chunky.
3. Top with topping mixture and bake at 350°F for 45-60 min.

Notes:

• Don’t overbake, or else the topping will get too sticky and chewy.
• Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the baking dish once the topping looks as cooked (melted and a little browned) as you’d like, to keep it from getting hard while the rest of the casserole cooks.
• If you need to make this recipe low-sodium, you could probably use unsalted butter for all or part of the recipe. About half of the butter in the topping today was unsalted because I ran out of regular butter, and it tasted just as good to me.

Herbs de Provence Chicken

Herbs de Provence Chicken

Ingredients: chicken tenders, dried herbs de provence, olive oil, onion powder, salt, pepper

1. Add a little olive oil to a saucepan and warm at medium heat.
2. Sprinkle some herbs de provence, salt, pepper, and onion powder and let simmer in the oil a little.
3. Add chicken and season top of chicken in pan with same spices.
4. When lightly browned, turn chicken to cook the other side until lightly browned.

Sometimes I get really sick of meat. Chicken, beef, pork, all of it. When this happens, I often make a soup, but other times, I just feel like something different.

Today’s something different is “Corn & Cheese Souffle,” from the Country Kitchen Cook Book.

I’ve never made a souffle. If a proper French Chef were to assess this dish, he or she would probably say that I still have never made one. However, the Country Kitchen Cook Book says this is one, and for the purpose of this blog post, I will take their word for it.

CHEESE SOUFFLE

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 c. milk
1 t. salt
cayenne or paprika
3/4 to 1 c. American cheese, grated
5 eggs, separated

Make a white sauce of the first 5 ingredients. Remove from fire; add cheese and beat until it is melted. Add beaten egg yolks. Cool slightly. Fold in beaten egg whites. Pour into buttered baking dish and bake in a pan of hot water, in a very moderate oven (350 F.) for 50 minutes. When done, an inserted knife comes out clean.

CORN AND CHEESE SOUFFLE: Add 1 c. canned or cooked corn and 1 T. butter to cheese souffle.

This was super easy. It took a bit over an hour to make, 55 minutes of which were spent in the oven. I used cheddar cheese, American cheese being against my religion (Foodieism, if you must know.) Other than that, I followed the recipe, using canned corn. (It is December, remember.)

To make a white sauce – a cooking basic back then, but not so now, in the age of “cream of” soups – you melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, then whisk the flour in slowly, continuously whisking until smooth. Then you slowly add the milk, continuing to whisk the mixture through smooth and until thickened. Add your seasonings (salt, etc.) and you are done!

This is delicious. It is fluffy and custard-like, cheesy without being goopy or stringy. My long-suffering husband and I, after finishing our sad little Banana Salads, dug into this with gusto, actually finishing the thing in one sitting.

He suggested adding bacon and sauteed onions. I heartily agree with the bacon suggestion, and I could go along with the sauteed onions. I put my foot down at his suggestion for adding canned mushrooms, however. It is possible to take these things too far, you know.

I could probably eat this once a week, if I were a farm hand who worked off several thousand calories a day. It is comfort food of the highest caliber, and perfect for a dreary December day.

Definitely worthy of Cookbook Obsession.

Submitted by Char

There are a lot of fabulous Shepherd’s Pie recipes but I like this one because it’s really quick and easy to make. I always have the ingredients, and it’s the perfect meal for a cold day.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cups frozen corn (or 1 can corn drained)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (with roasted garlic – optional)
• 2 cups mashed potatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Boil and mash potatoes (approx 3-4)
3. Cook beef and onion till brown and tender. Add garlic if you want. Drain well
4. Stir in the corn and soup and cook till hot (4 min)
5. Place meat mixture into 9 inch pie plate
6. Top with mashed potatoes
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes. Serves 6

I have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I have an amazing, supportive family; understanding and caring friends; and a wonderful fiancé who has stood by my side during both good and difficult times.  We did have some family members pass-away this year – my grandmother (in her 90s), our family dog (18 years old), and the family cat (21 years old); and we had one new addition to the family, my parent’s new puppy, Molly.

This year, Adam and I spent a lovely Thanksgiving with my family in Vermont.  Though there were only four of us, my mother cooked for an army!  She ordered a 23 pound turkey, made five pies, and the usual side dishes.  Needless to say, she sent us home with leftovers.  Usually we just reheat the same foods until they are gone, but this year we just couldn’t get through the leftover turkey fast enough.  I started hunting for Thanksgiving leftover recipes, and was tempted by the soups, enchiladas, etc.  However, I’ve made a few soups and stews, quesadillas and burritos recently, so I thought I’d try something new – Turkey Tetrazzini.

I’m a huge fan of noodle casserole – I make a mean noodle kugel!  I love the crunchy topping with the creamy, cheesy, noodley goodness.  Some tetrazzini dishes are made with canned soup.  I wanted a bit more of a challenge, and chose a recipe from Simply Recipes, where the cream sauce is made from scratch.  I also liked the idea of adding Swiss cheese and peas to give depth to the traditional cream sauce and mushrooms.  I used Panko flakes instead of bread crumbs, though I think bread crumbs would have browned up a little better.  I added a little onion, I just think onions really help bring out the beauty of mushrooms.

My tetrazzini received rave reviews from Adam.  He was already done his first serving, before I finished the photo shoot!

Turkey Tetrazzini (adapted from Simply Recipes)

12 oz egg noodles, spaghetti, linguine or other pasta
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced (about 4-5 cups)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups of milk
1 cup half & half
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine (or vermouth or sherry)
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked turkey
1 cup peas
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan (divided into 1/3 and 1/3 cups)
1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese
juice from 1 lemon
Salt and Pepper
Ground nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup Panko flakes (or bread crumbs)
1/2 of an onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish. Start heating 2 to 3 quarts of water for the pasta.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt for each quart of water.  Cook the mushrooms and onions in 3 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat, stirring, until all of the liquid the mushrooms give off has evaporated, 5-10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter. Stir in the flour, and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes.

About now, put the pasta into the boiling water you’ve heated. Follow the package directions and cook until al dente. While the pasta is cooking continue on with the recipe.

Into the saucepan with the butter and flour, slowly whisk in the milk, half &  half, broth, and the wine. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 to 8 minutes.

When the pasta is ready, drain it. In a large bowl combine the pasta, the sauce, the mushrooms, the turkey, and the peas. Stir in 1/3 cup of the Parmesan and the 1/3 cup of Swiss cheese. Stir in the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add a pinch of ground nutmeg if using, again to taste.  Transfer the mixture to a buttered 3-quart casserole.

In a small bowl combine well the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the tetrazzini, and dot the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, cut into bits.  Bake the Tetrazzini in the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the top is golden.  Enjoy!

I turned to one of my favorite “comfort food” recipes to use up some of that Thanksgiving turkey: the “Chicken Enchiladas” recipe that I found about a year and half ago on RecipeTips.com. Yes, even at my house, we occasionally walk on the wild side and serve something other than chicken. This casserole-like dish is a snap to make, and it really lends itself nicely to using any type of leftover poultry (although I still prefer to use chicken). Go to RecipeTips.com and check out this great recipe. I know you’re going to enjoy “Chicken Enchiladas,” even if you make them with turkey instead.

By the time you read this, dear reader, I will be sitting in front of a computer in a building a stone’s throw from my house, taking the scariest test of my life. I don’t want to talk about it anymore, because I’ve spent the past two weeks doing naught but wringing my hands over it and giving myself worry lines. And yanno what? I still don’t fucking get geometry.

And I never will.

Fuck it.*

So, this past Sunday I got up and went to the grocery store, and then made myself a breakfast casserole before starting the day’s studying. It is one of my favorite easy breakfast recipes. It’s kinda like a fritata, but it’s called “Sausage and Potato Bake.”

I’m not posting the whole recipe here, but the basic gist of it is thus: grease an 11×7x2 pan**, spread frozen hash browns in. The recipe calls for Potatoes O’Brien, but as I can’t stand peppers in nearly everything and especially by themselves, I just use regular hash browns. Cut up about fifteen links of sausage. Again, I differ from the recipe. It calls for two 8oz packages of frozen already cooked links. I use the already cooked ones, because it’s much easier than cooking all that sausage. But I generally cut down by about a quarter. Mix the sausage with the hash browns. By mix, I mostly mean put the sausage in the pan with the potatoes. Mix to your heart’s content if that’s what you’d like to do though. Grab yo’self about a cup and a half of shredded cheddar (I actually shredded my own for once, pretending that I’m not the lazy bitch I truly am). Add that to the pan as well. Again, the recipe calls for mixing. Generally I just layer them. It all goes the same place in the end: into mah tummeh! So who cares, right?

Looks pretty good so far, right?

Separately, mix about half a dozen eggs (I use egg beaters, because a girl has to watch her figure. No, no, nevermind the sausage. It’s in a casserole, it has no calories.) with just over a cup of milk, a tsp of dry mustard and about half a tsp of salt (I used kosher salt this time, cuz it’s what I grabbed). Once you’ve mixed all that together, pour it over the stuff in the pan already.

mmm, gooey

Stick that bitch in the oven. Bake it for about an hour at about 350. Tada, you’ve got breakfast for at least a whole week (depending on how many greedy sons of bitches are stealin’ yo’ foods, that is).

zee feeneeshed product

If you’d like the recipe, just drop me a line and I can send it your way. For more awesome recipes that aren’t this one because this is my own, you should totally check out Fixin’ To Eat.

Other than that, a happy NWW to you. Please send me lots and lots of good luck vibes today. And then perhaps some “stay awake this afternoon” vibes would be helpful as well.

_______
*By which I mean I’m trying really hard not to repeat Sunday afternoon’s freak out/crying episode.
**I used a 9×13 this time, because my smaller dish is in storage somewhere. I increased the hash browns by “eh, that looks like it’s enough” but otherwise did basically the same thing as usual.

The Best Casserole Book Ever by Beatrice Ojakangas

Reviewed by Chris Garbutt

The cover of this book goes against the usual “food porn” type – you know what I’m talking about. Photos on most cookbooks or food magazines are designed to make you slobber lustily after a perfectly staged dish. Here, we see a casserole almost empty, giving the feel of a meal well enjoyed.

It worked on me. My memories of casseroles are not pleasant. In my childhood, they were mushy excuses to get rid of leftovers – throw them all in a pot, maybe with some canned tomato soup or chicken broth, and bake. Ugh – I can still taste the canned peas and nearly dissolved carrots.

Times have changed. Beatrice Ojankangas defines casseroles as broadly as imaginable. I never really thought about it, but I guess a casserole is any meal cooked all in one dish. Here’s the Wikipedia entry.

I’m going to have to jettison my stereotypes. How about a Swedish Lingonberry Pancake Casserole? Or a Black Bean Tortilla?  This is not your mother’s casserole cookbook. The book brags more than 500 recipes, which means you could have a different comfort dish every day for the entire winter, and that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner (and dessert!).

For some reason I was attracted to the vegetarian chapter. I considered the Spiced Brown Rice and Vegetables, or the Black Bean and Red Pepper Casserole before finally settling on the Barley and Mushroom Casserole. There was little prep, and the joy of the casserole is that once its in the oven, you can go off and do other things while it bakes. The flavour of the mushrooms got a boost from homemade chicken stock (the recipe calls for vegetable stock, so it’s veggie-friendly), and a touch of white truffle oil, which I’d bought for another dish last week. And if you haven’t tried truffle oil, do it. It costs $10-20 a bottle, but a few drops will fill your mouth, and it’s amazing with mushroom dishes, or if you need to liven up a chicken breast or piece of fish.

It took a little longer than expected – either too much stock or not enough barley, so the liquid didn’t absorb the way I had hoped. But well worth the wait.

Comfort food is my default. If I’m stuck for what to cook, it’s usually a soup, stew, chili or maybe a roast chicken. But because of my particular past, casseroles were never on my radar. That has all changed.

This year, I did something I have not done in four years. I went home for Thanksgiving. And in three weeks, I’ll be home again for Christmas. While this makes me happier than I can truly express, it also made me a little nervous. When I go home, I tend to treat it like a big, delicious, vacation. So I attempted to prepare myself by eating healthier in the weeks up to heading home for the first time.

Key word, attempted.

Normally, I don’t have too much trouble eating well the majority of the time, allowing for the occasional ridiculous extravaganza of eating. This was just that – an incredibly ridiculous, outrageous, definitely not good for you (but so, so, so, SO good) dish: green chile mac and cheese. The only thing I’d change next time is reduce the cream and increase the cheese. I think this will boost the green chile flavor and make this totally out of this world. Now, the recipe list may seem long, but it’s not complicated. If it still stresses you, make the green chile cream ahead of time. It will hold, refrigerated for a couple days.