Victory Garden Casserole

Maybe I should call it a hot dish, as that's what they do in Northern MN and that's where this recipe originated.  Its one of my favorites that my grandmother made for us when we visited summers when I was growing up.  Both of them had quite a few veggies in their garden and they wound up cooked in all sorts of "hot dishes".

This also happens to be one of the first things I ever cooked on my own.  The basic recipe that my grandmother used is simpler than this.  Veggies, fresh in the summer, veg-all in the winter, browned ground beef and a can of cream of celery soup.  How simple is that.  Very and its tasty too.

As I've kicked it up a bit.  Don't ever use canned veggies as they have way too much salt in them, lack flavor and color.  Canned is gross and here in SoCa we are pretty much the land of never ending fresh produce so its hard not to go that route. If you can't go that route then by all means use frozen thats been thawed in the microwave so you can keep your oven time reasonable.

Mincing garlic has gotten easier.  Consider this your tip of the day. Take  your garlic clove and run it over a fine toothed microplane right over the pot you are going to cook in. Voila instant minced garlic without the hassle and stinky hands.

casserole before final layer of onion rings

Victory Garden Casserole

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 bunch green onions sliced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 carrot, small dice
• 1 1/2 c trimmed green beans
• 1 c peas
• 1 1/2 c corn kernels
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 can half and half
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t fresh ground black pepper
• 6 oz can french fried onion rings

Preheat oven to 350F

Crumble beef into a skillet, add salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat stirring often until well browned.  Stir in onion garlic and cook 1-2 minutes until onion turning translucent and wilted.  Reduce heat.  Add soup and half & half.  Stir until dissolved.  Fold in veggies.  Grease a large casserole dish with cooking spray.  

Add half of the veggie mixture to the casserole dish and spread it out evenly. Top with 1/2 can of french fried onion rings.  Top with remaining veggie mixture and even out in dish.  Bake covered for 25 minutes.  At end of this baking time remove lid and spread out remaining half can of french fried onion rings over the casserole.  Return to oven for 5 minutes more and bake until golden and crispy.  Serve hot.

Beef Tamale Casserole

It was Iron Chef night in my neighborhood this past weekend. Rather than pick a secret ingredient we opted for a theme. We chose "Mexican" in honor of the coming cinqo de mayo celebrations. I came up with this casserole and took 3rd place out of 20 entries. Not bad, eh!?

Beef Tamale Casserole

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 c onion chopped
• 1 4 0z can diced green chiles-drained
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 2.25 oz can sliced olives
• 2 cups frozen corn - thawed
• 3 T taco seasoning
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1 c cornmeal
• 2 eggs - beaten
• 2 c shredded cheese (I use a cheddar/jack blend)

Heat oven to 350F. Spray a 9 X 13 pan with nonstick cooking oil spray.

In large skillet brown ground beef and onion. Cook until beef is well browned and onion is translucent. Off the heat add chiles, tomatoes, olives, corn and taco seasoning. Stir well to blend.

In bowl add milk, corn meal and eggs stirring well to combine. Pour over meat mixture and fold in.

Pour into prepared baking dish and even out. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle on the cheese. Return to oven and bake another 5 minutes until cheese is melted. Let set on wire rack 10 minutes to set when done baking.

Cut and serve with a dollop of salsa fresca on top and some refried beans on the side.

Chili Mac - cassoulet or "hot dish"?

During a light rain this last week we got quite a little chill here in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles.  Low near 40 may look like a heat wave to my fam in Minnesota but here its enough to drag out the sweats and heavy jackets.  Days like this I like my comfort food.

I'm not quite sure where this particular dish came from.  My Ma has made similar over the years with the same name.  I can remember having it when I was really little in MI so I suspect the idea of chili and pasta drifted our way from Ohio where the folks in "cincy" serve their chili over spaghetti.

With the beans and such stewed together with meats is has a vague resemblance to the classic french cassoulet.  Make that very vague.  Of course we call one meal dishes casseroles with its route in that classic here in the US.  Well, most of us do except for the Iron Range of Minnesota where they call it a "hot dish".  Regardless of what you call it, it is hot, hearty and tasty.  Comfort food at its best.

Chili Mac

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef

1 onion - coarsely chopped

1 T chopped garlic

1 14 oz can chopped tomato

1 14 oz can tomato sauce

2 14 oz cans kidney beans - drained

2 14 oz cans low sodium beef broth

salt

1/2 t ground pepper

1 t oregano

2 bay leaf

2 T chili powder

olive oil

1 c elbow macaroni.

In large sauce pot add enough oil to just coat the bottom.  Heat until it begins to shimmer over medium-high heat.  Crumble in ground beef.  Add black pepper.  Cook until meat is no longer pink.  Move meat to side of pan, add onion.  Cook 5-10 minutes stirring occasionally until onions translucent and meat has some really dark caramelization.  Add garlic, oregano, chili powder, bay leaf and cook 1 minute longer.

Add tomato, tomato sauce and broth.  Heat to boil then reduce heat.  Simmer covered about 1 hour.  Stir occasionally.  Test seasoning at this point and add more salt if needed.

Add macaroni and stir in.  Cook 10-15 minutes longer until macaroni is cooked through.  If the mixture starts to dry out add 1/4 - 1/2 c water.  Serve hot with grated cheddar/jack cheese.