CASSEROLES & SIDES – Page 37 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

JELL-O TRICKS

I think most everyone knows this trick by now, but it always amazes me how much better it makes a bowl of Jell-O so I thought it was worth mentioning again. Around our house we always put canned fruit (peaches or pears usually) in the Jell-O for a little bit of extra UMPH! When you drain those canned fruits, use a sieve and drain them into the measuring cup for the cold water first. Then just add enough water to bring the level to where you need it. I usually get about 1 1/4 cup of fruit juice. Doing this will make for a better, more substantial flavor to any Jell-O. Just after I pour in the Jell-o I use a small salad fork to stir up the fruit in each bowl. The fruit is usually well distributed in the Jell-O. We also don’t like the film that forms on the top. And I hated trying to stack all the bowls in the refrigerator, so I started using my Pampered Chef prep bowls for making Jell-O. Once you’ve made it, put the lids on and you can easily stack them in the frig. If I keep this made, we both tend to eat this at night when the munchies strike and stay away from the chips and ice cream.

Simple Saturday – Hasselback Potatoes

Welcome to Simple Saturday!

Today I have a fun simple side for you …

Hasselback Potatoes

Scrub baking potatoes

Stick metal skewers through the bottoms lengthwise
(so you won’t accidentally cut all the way through the potato)

Cut thin slices all the way along the potatoes

Rub with olive oil

Slather tops with butter, minced garlic, and parsley
(I don’t think the original version had garlic – I’m Italian, everything has garlic!)

Bake just as you would a baked potato

Wouldn’t these look pretty next to a nice steak and some greens?
Eat and enjoy!

Visit me over at Seaside Simplicity for more simple recipes.

Have a great weekend!

POTATO PANCAKES

3+ cups peeled, grated & squeezed* potatoes
1 large bunch green onions, minced or 1 small Vidalia onion, minced
1/2 cup self rising flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Sift together the flour, salt and pepper.
Whisk together the buttermilk, egg and butter until smooth.
Whisk in the flour mixture until well blended.
Fold in the potatoes and onions.
Drop onto hot griddle and make your pancakes.
Serve with applesauce and sour cream or with the Sauerbraten gravy.

*I use a flour cloth towel as my base. I grate the potatoes on top of it and then bring all the corners together like a knapsack wrapping the potatoes inside. I continue to tighten the turns until I squeezed all the moisture from the potatoes.

RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

Grams made this as a broccoli casserole for years and I recently converted it to include carrots (I love the color combo), remove the yucky for you condensed soup and then I also discovered Joanne at Eats well with Others who is hosting BSI for this month – talk about perfect timing!

RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
4 medium carrots
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
pinch cinnamon

Wash, peel and slice carrots diagonally.
In a saucepan combine the water, salt and sugar.
Add carrots. Bring to a boil.
Turn down heat to simmer and cook until JUST tender crisp.
Drain.
Toss with butter and cinnamon.

6 broccoli crowns, washed and trimmed into 2 inch pieces (stalks also)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Jumbo egg
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/3 cups ritz cracker crumbs**
4 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook broccoli in boiling, salted water or steam until JUST tender.
Drain well, cool slightly and toss with carrots and onions.
Layer into a greased 9×9 baking dish.
Top with cracker crumbs.
Melt butter in bottom of saucepan. Whisk in the flour until smooth.
Add the chicken broth, milk, mayonnaise and egg, whisking until smooth.
Pour over broccoli mixture.
Cover and bake 40 minutes.
Top with cheese and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes.
Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

**I love to substitute Keebler buttery garlic club crackers and add garlic!

GARLIC SMASHERS

GARLIC SMASHERS
6-8 small YUKON potatoes, skin on
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 stick butter, melted
4 cloves minced garlic
olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Scrub potatoes
Boil potatoes until tender
Generously spread olive oil on cookie sheet
Sprinkle with a little sea salt
Space potatoes a couple of inches apart
With a potato masher, SMASH each potato
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika
Melt butter and whisk butter and garlic together
Pour a tablespoon of butter mixture over each potato
Bake 30 minutes or until tops are crispy

BACON CHEESEBURGER HAMBURGER HELPER NOT!!

BACON CHEESEBURGER HAMBURGER HELPER NOT!!
6 bacon strips cooked crisp and crumbled
1 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cups green giant frozen corn, thawed
2 large Yukon potatoes, sliced
Land o’ Lakes American Cheese Slices

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Toss bacon and corn together.
Layer potatoes over top.
Generously salt and pepper the potatoes.
Place a thin layer of cheese slices over potatoes.
Brown hamburger and onions together. Salt and pepper well while meat is browning. Drain off fat.
Layer over the potatoes and top with another layer of potatoes.
Salt and pepper again and layer with another layer of cheese.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover and bake another 15 minutes.

**I like to make this and the ITALIAN SAUSAGE BAKE back to back (that way I also have 2 meals ready to go with half the mess) so the left over bits of browned sausage and caramelized onion add flavor to the hamburger.

Italian Sausage Bake

ITALIAN SAUSAGE BAKE
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, (no casings)
1 small Vidalia Onion, chopped
2 large Yukon potatoes, chopped
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 can diced tomatoes with herbs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning mix
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown sausage and onion. Drain off grease.
Place sausage in the bottom of a 9×9 casserole.
Drain tomatoes, reserving juice.
Toss together the potatoes and carrots and layer over the sausage and onion mix.
Top with the tomatoes.
Whisk together the tomato juice, ricotta cheese and seasoning
Pour over top of everything.
Top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake 45 minutes or until potatoes are done.

For some reason hubby loves Hamburger helper. Must be left over from his bachelor days. Now I can’t have pre-prepared foods due to health issue so I made him a substitute recipe that tastes even better. I make it in advance too which makes a great weeknight casserole ready to pop in the oven when you get home. Hubby likes the texture of Velveeta, but I find it a bit rubbery. So I tried Land of Lakes American cheese and it slices great while still giving you that smooth creamy cheese texture when it melts.

2 1/2 BEAN SALAD

I love 3 bean salad, but I hate kidney beans. So, I developed this recipe to cater to my own likes. If you like kidney beans, add them back in.
2 cans green beans
1 can wax beans
1-2 oz. jar pimentos
1 cup white vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons salt

Drain beans and pimentos and place into a jar with enough room for the liquid.
In a sauce pan dissolve the sugar and salt into the vinegar and bring it to a boil.
Let it cool.
Pour it over the beans.
Marinate at least 24-48 hours for the best flavor.

Faux Grilling – Salmon Skewers with Maple-Mustard Glaze ala Year on the Grill

Before I get to the post, I have a question for you ladies… Actually two…

Remember me, Dave here from MY YEAR ON THE GRILL. I am the guy who gave you ladies advice on pleasing your man with two ROMANCE POSTS…

So…

Did any of you get diamonds for Valentines Day???

and

Did any of you make Moink Balls for your man???

If you answered “no” to both those questions, you have no one to blame but yourselves. I did my best for you.

But that is old business. Time for today’s post with an explanation of what I call “Faux Grilling”.

It has just been too cold, windy and nasty around here to do any grilling. Unusual for Kansas, but I really can’t remember a day since Christmas when it was above 40 degrees. I did my mandatory, “I can still grill in the cold and snow” session just to prove I could. But it is just no fun.

So, I started “Faux Grilling”. It is pretty easy. I have made Moink Balls, shrimp, pineapple wrapped in bacon (that’s a post for another day) and now Salmon skewers. So, I guess it is time I explained the process.

You need skewers. The flat kind work best so the do not roll. If you don’t have flat skewers, you can use 2 of the long “toothpick” style and create a flat type. In the photo on the right, I am showing the look that you want. I skewered the meat, and suspended the skewers between the sides of a small casserole dish. These were single round toothpick style, and my first efforts at “Faux” grilling. They worked… OK, but when I moved to flat skewers, I was able to turn them and grill top and bottom…

Like this photo to the left. the blades of this skewer are flat, combined with the heads in the shape of bulls and shrimp, I am able to turn the bacon wrapped pineapple (that’s a post for another day), and get both sides “grilled”.

Once I have the meat positioned correctly, I just put them in the oven, set on broil and instead of direct heat grilling over coals, I am direct heat grilling under a heating element.

But it works the same. Notice the char marks, similar to grill marks. You lose those beautiful grill marks, but the taste is as close as I can get and not get my fingers frostbit.

Til I move to a tropical Island (next week), as long as I live in Kansas in February, this is as close to grilling as I am going to get.

But before I leave you for the week, I want to share this quick, easy and great tasting recipe. This post is part of a cultural exchange program called TASTE AND CREATE! Once a month, Taste and Create pairs you with another blogger. You are asked to look over their blog and cook something from it. This month I was paired with Marthe from the Netherlands. Her blog, CULINARY DELIGHTS was great fun to look over. While she is native born Dutch, she does write in English, and very well. You would never guess this was her second language. Marthe makes lots of cupcakes and cookies; plays along with Tuesdays with Dorrie and Craving Ellie in My Belly. She started blogging about the same time I did. It was fun to get to know her.

Plus, I was reminded of my youth. 35 years ago, when I was in high school, I dated the foreign exchange student from the Netherlands. You can file this under too much information, but that Dutch girl was the first I ever… Well, you know the rest, better keep the details to myself. Suffice it to say, anything Dutch always makes me smile just a bit.

But, I digress. here’s Marthe’s recipe for

Salmon Skewers
with
Maple-Mustard Glaze

4 salmon skewers (ready bought President’s Choice, 320 gram)

1/8 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard (we used regular non-grainy Dijon mustard)

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

In a small bowl whisk together maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper; brush half over salmon skewers. Place skewers on grill over medium-high heat; close lid and cook, brushing once with remaining maple mixture until salmon is done, about 10 minutes.

They came out PERFECT. Nice and flavorful, cooked to just the flaky stage (I did 7 minutes on each side, flipping the skewers once… same as I would on a grill). I loved the mustard sauce. Very easy and wonderful taste. I plated these with some Chinese Garlic noodles with snow peas. This is also one of the recipes I read on CULINARY DELIGHTS. Marthe’s blog is worth a look. I posted the details of the noodles on my “real” site today, so head over to MY YEAR ON THE GRILL to see how to make them!

Come back next week to see what I come up with during the next few days. It might be my first post after moving to the US Virgin islands… should be interesting.

HASH BROWN HAM & CHEESE QUICHE

I found this recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine that I bought at a library book sale – best book sale I’ve been too in a long, long time. I spent $9.80 at the sale and then calculated the retail prices of all the books and magazines plus tax ($309.73) and found I saved $299.93 when all was said and done!

I did make a few changes to the original recipe which are indicated in green and the items I removed are in red. I have to tell you this was one of the easiest brunch items I’ve ever made. Crisp and tasty too!

HASH BROWN HAM & CHEESE QUICHE
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
4 tablespoons butter, divided 1 + 3 tablespoons
1 cup shredded jack cheese
1 cup shredded swiss cheese
+1 large bunch green onions, sliced
+6 button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup cooked ham, diced
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
-1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
PURE

Thaw hash browns between paper towels to absorb excess moisture.
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Spray 9 inch pie plate* with PURE.
Press hash browns into the bottom and along the sides of the pie plate.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and drizzle it all over the hash browns.
Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until edges are browned.
While these are browning, melt remaining tablespoon of butter in a small skillet and saute’ green onions and mushrooms.
Reduce heat to 350 degrees.
Combine the cheese and ham chunks. Layer over potatoes.
In a small bowl whisk together the whipping cream, eggs, salt and pepper.
Pour over the ham layer.
Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until set in the center.
Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

*next time I will use an 8×8 baking dish for ease of serving.

CHILI HOMINY BAKE

Back when I was a latch key kid I was supposed to go home after school, lock the door, do my chores and homework and then start dinner. Dinners were mainly casseroles and a pre-planned set of recipes at that. One of those recipes was my great aunt Louise’s Chili Hominy Bake. I recently ran across that recipe and it drudged up memories – some good, some not so good. You see I can’t stand kidney beans or black olives and I hated hominy – or so I thought. I did love the overall flavor, but since I didn’t like the parts I decided to rework them to make a better whole!

AUNT LOUISE’S JIFFY CHILI HOMINY BAKE
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 pound can chili with beans (2 cups)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can yellow hominy, drained (2 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons sliced ripe olives
1/2 cup shredded American cheese

Cook ground beef and onion until browned.
Stir in other ingredients except cheese.
Put in casserole.
Cover and bake in medium oven for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle cheese over top, continue baking uncovered 5 minutes more.
Good re-heated.

MY CHILI HOMINY BAKE
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet Williams Chili seasoning
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles, drained, but save the juice
1 can cream of celery soup
1 large can hominy, drained & chopped small
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Cook ground beef, garlic and onion until browned.
Add in the chili seasoning mix and tomato juice.
Cook until well blended and juice is absorbed.
Chop hominy smaller.
Stir together the soup, tomatoes and chiles, hominy until well blended.
Stir together the soup mixture and beef mixture until well blended.
Put in greased casserole.
Sprinkle cheese over top, continue baking uncovered 25-30 minutes more.
Good re-heated.

The key was taking out the kidney beans, black olives and chopping the hominy into better sized pieces. Now that might not be the key for you so add them back in! This is a very versatile recipe. I guarantee these changes will make this a great kid friendly casserole.

CHEESY AU GRATIN POTATOES

1/2 cup butter
16 oz. whipping cream
5 large russet potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon minced garlic (jar) or 1 clove
2 cups grated 4 white cheese mix (Gruyere, Muenster, etc…)
2 cups rates sharp cheddar
Wondra Flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel and thinly slice potatoes.
Grease 9×13 baking dish.
In a large sauce pan, melt the butter.
Gradually add the whipping cream and spices. Blend well.
Gradually add the flour until the mixture thickens, but it is still pourable!
Mix the cheeses all together.
Layer the potatoes, cheese and cream mixture ending with cheese on top.
Bake 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

I developed this recipe for a request from our youngest and it quickly became a family favorite.

Category: CASSEROLES & SIDES