Thanksgiving 2012 - Part IV (Green Bean Casserole)

It was never really a common dish at my family Thanksgiving dinners, but I know a LOT of people make green bean casserole only on that day. We did have it once in a while, but most often we substituted candied yams or home made mashed potatoes instead. But, those are other entries. This one is to share the simple recipe and my family recipe for green bean casserole. Simple one first.

Ingredients

• 1 - 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• Dash ground black pepper
• 3 - 14.5 oz cans French style green beans, drained
• 1 1/4 cup shredded cheese 
• 1 1/3 cups French fried onions

Directions

1. Mix soup, milk, pepper, beans, cheese and half of the onions in a 2 qt casserole dish.
2. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes (when it is bubbling slightly). 
3. Stir and cover with the remaining fried onions.
4. Bake for 5 minutes.

Okay, that is an easy recipe to make that tastes pretty good. But my grandmother made this casserole too, and made me learn it.

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP flour
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 cups cooked green beans
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup smashed Ritz crackers
• 1 TBSP melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium, stir in flour, and heat for 1 minute.
3. Mix in the onion, sour cream, green beans, and shredded cheese. Stir to evenly coat.
4. Pour that into a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. 
5. In another small bowl, mix cracker crumbs and remaining butter.
6. Drizzle over the beans.
7. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

As you can see, both recipes take about the same amount of time, the first is very simple, but the second adds some additional taste and texture. The green beans in the second one can be the canned and drained ones from the first recipe, but steaming fresh and raw green beans makes them memorable. Either way, enjoy...

WTF Casserole

One of the very few recipes that I got from grandma while growing up. The rest of them are still imprinted on my memory. But, as a father, why not share something with the world that the kiddos are likely to eat? A casserole that combines macaroni & cheese with hot dogs. I'm typing online what has only ever been scribbled down on the back of an envelope. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Prior to baking

• 1 to 1.5 cups macaroni pasta, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 12 oz. condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 2 hot dogs (cut into penny thin slices)

Directions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 F
2. Spread pasta in the oiled/sprayed casserole dish that fits your oven
3. Mix milk and Worcestershire sauce with the soup (a whisk is recommended)
4. Pour that over the pasta and stir together
5. Arrange hot dog slices over the top of the pasta mixture
6. Bake 25 mins or until mixture is hot and bubbly

Serve with a side of veggies and fruit, and a glass of milk... Add spices if you desire a little more flavor, but kids like it bland...

Unstuffed Cabbage Soup

I can't say that I ever had stuffed cabbage rolls...if I did, I don't remember because my family never really used cabbage, except to make coleslaw, and we always had sauerkraut on New Years. But, I have heard a LOT of people talk about it, and they seemed to like it. So, when I came across a recipe on allrecipes.com, I decided to at least try it and make a pot full of what would taste like stuffed cabbage, but be a warm soup.

The recipe below was typed as I made it but I actually cut the amounts in half because I was making it for just me, like my grandmother always taught me, "recipes are nothing more than a good guideline...make it what you want, and with what you have..."

(cabbage boiled for 15 mins, patties about to be dropped in)

Unstuffed Cabbage
1/2 of a large head of cabbage
1 (12 oz) bottle chili sauce + 12 oz of water 
1 liter Schweppes Black Cherry ginger ale
1 lbs ground mild Italian sausage
Various herbs & spices (explained below)
1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste. Cut cabbage into 1-inch wide strips and put in a 5 quart stock pot or Dutch oven. Add ginger ale and chili sauce, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes.


Meanwhile, add Italian seasoning, Old Bay seasoning, and garlic pepper into meat. Amount depends on what you want it to taste like. Mix well with egg. Form into patties and add to the pot.

Simmer, covered 2 hours. Taste for seasoning and serve. Makes 8 servings.

It made the apartment smell FANTASTIC all afternoon while it simmered. I occasionally stirred it, and added some ground black pepper. And yes, I did use my instant thermometer to make sure that the patties reached 170F. So, overall, I liked it. I have enough of it left that I'll probably be eating it for a few days. A couple of neighbors caught the aroma when they were walking by and I had opened my door for a second, so they begged me to give them some of it.

I'm glad I used my Italian cooking background on seasoning this recipe, because I love the tastes...and I always keep grandma's quote in mind. So, I used what I had on hand. Hence the black cherry ginger ale, ground sausage, and herbs.

The only other thing that I think I'll do next time, is make them into small meatballs instead of patties. Though, the patties make a good sandwich if you use a slotted spoon to take them out of the pot, and wrap them in a tortilla, with a slice of muenster cheese....

Easy Peasy Soup

3 ingredients, 3 steps, 3 tips... similar to Easy Peasy Casserole for 3 because it has "PEAS" in it...

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup macaroni noodles (all I had left in the pantry)
• 1 boiled chicken breast cut to bite size cubes (from the fridge)
• 1 cup frozen peas

 Directions:

1. Bring 4 cups of water to boil, including a vegetable bouillon cube
2. Add chicken breast and peas to simmer for 20 minutes
3. Add macaroni to simmer for another 15 minutes

 Tips:
      ✔ If you pre-boil several chicken breasts (for 20 minutes), refer to these other recipes too: 
          Homemade Chicken Helper Casserole 
          Scrabble Soup
          Mish-Mash Casserole (thank you Elektra Q-Tion for the name)
          Apartment Style Chicken Breast.
      ✔ Gently stir the mixture once or twice during the simmering
      ✔ Serves 3 if you provide a side of fruit, a beverage, and dessert

Scrabble Soup

I am hungry, but it is winter, so I want soup. I raided my pantry and the fridge and threw together this. I'll keep it simple to read, but it was awesome.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 1 Knorr's Vegetable Bouillon Cube
• 1/3 cup Nishiki Brown Rice
• 1 boneless, already cooked chicken breast, chopped to bite size
• 1 can mixed vegetables (drained, rinsed)

Directions:

1. Put all of the water, the bouillon cube, and rice in a 2 quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a soft boil, and then simmer for 40 minutes.
3. Add chicken bites, and simmer for 10 more minutes.
4. Add drained & rinsed can of mixed vegetables, and simmer another 10 minutes.
5. Put in a bowl, grab a spoon and enjoy.

It was actually filling, warm, and made my day...easy too...

Pork Chop Soup

It is finally snowing here in Cleveland...
So, you know that means...SOUP!!!
I searched my fridge and pantry, to get an inventory of what I had. Then I bopped over to allrecipes.com to search for something that matched close to what I had. And I found a pork chop soup recipe (click HERE for the original). But, like grandma always said, "recipes are a guideline, use what you have, and make it taste the way you want." So, of course, I modified the guideline according to what I had. What appears below is what I am making.

Pork Chop Soup

Ingredients

• 3 (8 ounce) boneless pork chops
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic & pepper powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 4-1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 medium potatoes, cut into small chunks
• 2 cans of mixed vegetables (drained)

Directions

1. Place pork chops, Old Bay, oregano, garlic & pepper powder, pepper, bay leaves, vegetable broth, and water in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, uncovered, then reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 1 hour. Remove the pork chops and set aside to cool.
2. Whisk 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid with the flour; set aside. When the pork chops are cool remove and discard any bones or fat. Chop the meat into bite size pieces.
3. Add the potato, mixed vegetables, and cooked pork back to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir in the flour mixture. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Serve with some bread for dipping...

It makes about 4 quarts of soup. I used my 5 quart Dutch oven to make it (see pic above).

Well, it will be done in a few hours... But while it is simmering, I think I might be able to cut down the preparation time a bit, from 2 hours to 1 hour. Well, if I am successful in doing that, I'm sure I'll post another blog entry...