This is a no shopping, no reading recipe. All it requires is rooting around on your shelves for items you already have – things that will thicken – and an approximation for the correct amount of water.
Examples of thickening grains; rice, quinoa, oats, bulger, and couscous
For the water to grain ratio, it’s about 2 to 1. Two cups of water for every cup of solids.
When I make this, I place the dry items in a pot, then eyeball the water to cover it.
Here’s what I included with this batch.
Quinoa blend. This thickening grain comprised the bulk of the mixture.
Since lentils are thicker than the quinoa, the cooking time was based on these.
If using a bouillon base, calculate the amount to coincide with the amount of water used.
Heat on medium, stirring occasionally.
Taste test for doneness.
*Tip: If the grains still need more cooking time as the water begins to evaportate – add more.
Saute in skillet until onions are clear and meat is thoroughly cooked.
2 – 8 oz cans seasoned tomato sauce
-12 oz can corn, drained skillet
1/2 cup pitted olives, sliced
Few dashes hot pepper sauce
2 – 2 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
Add above to skillet.
1 cup chicken broth
2 eggs slightly beaten
3/4 cup cornmeal
Blend in a bowl until smooth then add to skillet & cook for a few minutes.
Cook in a baking dish in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.
Add cheese, if desired, in the last ten minutes.
Lisa’s Adaptations:
Same way of prepping and cooking – slightly different ingredients
1 pound ground elk meat
1 chipotle pepper
1 – 12 bag frozen peas, corn & green beans, thawed
1 large onion, chopped
1 entire bulb of garlic, chopped
two pinches salt
6 shakes chili powder
1- jar sundried tomatoes, blended
Saute in skillet until onion and meat are cooked.
To pan, add
1 cup polenta
1 – 6 oz can green olives with juice ( I like them whole)
1 – 7 0z can Embasa Salsa Casera
1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
2 tblsp. oregano
1 tsp. Better than Boullion Chicken Base (water from olives adds more salt and dilutes chicken base)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
Mix thoroughly & cook for a few minutes.
Cook in a baking dish in 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.
Add 1 lb of shredded cheddar cheese, if desired, in the last ten minutes.
Lisa’s modified version of Windus Macaroni Casserole made with white rice angel hair pasta. *A short style pasta – on the bottom layer – is the optimal way to prepare this hearty one dish meal.
1 lb ground beef
1 whole onion – chopped
1 – bulb garlic – cloves peeled & chopped
3 tblsp. Italian herbs
2 – 16 oz cans chopped tomatoes (*drained or with liquid – see notes below)
4 – 6 cups cups macaroni (partially cooked) – enough to fill whatever sized baking dish you have
Pour macaroni into greased / sprayed casserole dish. Top with remaining ingredients and back uncovered at 350 degrees 30-45 minutes.
Lisa’s additions:
2 fresh zucchinis thinly sliced
one bunch of fresh, chopped parsley
juice from one lemon
pinch of salt
Notes: For the version that I prepared (photographed above), I used an entire 8.8 oz package of white rice angel hair pasta. (This is what I had on hand.) It worked, but with the added zucchini, a short pasta would have been better to soak up the extra juice. Pasta on the bottom, as the recipe instructs, is the right way to go.
*Include the juice from the chopped tomatoes or drain it depending on how much liquid you need to make this dish moist.
Upon receipt of the recipe, I noticed several things. There was only an ingredients list – no measurement amounts, and like the other family recipe collections that I’ve studied, casserole cooking used to be popular. The lack of measurements told me that Virginia was a cook, like my Grandma, who could get the proportions right by ‘feel’ or eyeballing it. She had a lot of mouths to feed and casseroles were an economical way to satisfy it.
This recipe is from the Adrian (Bud) Schmidt collection. (Betty Wrysinski’s younger brother.) It was passed down through the family from Margaret Windus, maternal grandmother to Mary Schmidt Schwaller. Margaret was a neighbor to Betty’s mother, Lillian Schmidt.
Fortunately for John T. Dorrance, his uncle was the president of the Joseph Campbell Company (Campbell’s Soup) in 1897. Just out of at MIT, with a degree in science, John was hired as a chemist. He earned $7.50 per week and had to use his own laboratory equipment. John was about to make a contribution that would contribute to the companies long-running success.
John formulated a method to remove water soup. He was able to reduce the volume from thirty-two ounce can to less than half of that. Soup that sold for .34¢ per unit could now be reduced to .10¢! His good work merited a two dollar a week raise.
Not long after his revolutionary product development, John went on the road offering taste tests. He hoped he could convince housewives to use canned soup. Most home cooks made it from scratch. Soup wasn’t the only thing that would be reduced. Women immediately understood the time spent over a hot stove would be minimized as well.
The Joseph Campbell Company gained international recognition at the Paris Exposition in 1900 when it won the Gold Medallion for excellence. That medallion has been a featured element on their labels for at least one hundred and fifteen years.
John assumed the presidency of the company at the age of forty-one. Two years later, he published, Helps for the Hostess, a complimentary booklet with comfort food recipes, made with condensed soup. Many of those recipes are ones that we still enjoy today.
The recipe for Green Bean Casserole (one of their most popular) was developed by Campell home economists in 1955.
Product Timeline:
1895 – Tomato Soup
1895 – 1897 Consumé, Vegetable, Chicken & Oxtail
1904 – Pork and Beans
1913 – Chicken with Rice & Cream of Celery
1918 – Vegetable Beef Soup (response to feeding soldiers in WW I)
1934 – Cream of Mushroom Soup
1947 – Cream of Chicken Soup
1960’s Cream of Mushroom Soup commercial.
A few favorite recipes.
November 10, 2015 Campbell’s revamps its products to meet consumer demand for all natural ingredients.
Poking Fun at American Casseroles.
As you can see in this last video, casseroles can be laughed at or loved. It’s just a matter of taste, what you’re used to, and the food you loved while growing up.
(Some foul language, bleeped, except for the very end.)
Meat based liquids with thickening agents. Start with simple pan sauces or gravy and extend it into soups and stews.
Basic Brown Sauce
2 tblsp. Butter
3 tbslp. Flour
1 cup beef stock
½ tsp salt
Pinch of pepper
Melt butter in pan. Stir in flour and cook until browned, stirring continuously.
Little by little, add beef stock. Stir until it boils and thickens, continue to cool three more minutes.
Add any desired seasonings.
Pan Gravy
Approximate the amount of flour needed to thicken the volume of meat drippings available. Place flour in a dressing / gravy shaker or whisk with cool water and shake or blend till smooth.
To meat drippings (fat) [from a turkey, chicken, bacon, or roast] in a deep pan over medium heat, slowly add flour and water mixture. Stir continuously. After the mixture has thickened, continue cooking for a few more minutes to make sure that the raw flour taste has been dispelled.
Peanut Sauce
¾ cup organic creamy peanut butter
¼ cup + 2 tblsp. Water
½ tsp. Hoisin sauce
2 tblsp. Freshly squeezed lime juice (approx. 1 ½ medium limes)
4 ½ tsp. soy sauce
3 tblsp. Maple syrup
1 ¼ tsp. chile-garlic paste
1 med. Clove garlic, mashed to paste
½ tsp. toasted sesame oil
Blend, whisk or stir all ingredients together till smooth. Store in refrigerator, but let warm to room temperature before using.
Can be used a dipping sauce, over noodles, as a salad dressing or in spring rolls.
(can be stirred directly into fat – butter, meat drippings, etc. If mixing with water first, it must be cooked for a while to eliminate the raw, starchy taste)
Instant Blending Flour – Wondra or Shake & Blend
Can add to liquids without lumps
Kneaded Butter (Beurre Manie) – equal parts butter and flour – kneaded till smooth and rolled into teaspoon sized balls (can be frozen for storage). Drop a ball or two into sauce when needed.
Cornstarch – smooth – glossy – clear
Mix starch with equal parts water, then add to warm liquid
Arrowroot flour | tapioca flour, rice flour
Gums – Xanthum gum, agar agar, pectin, and guar gum
Egg Yolks – velvety – smooth
Add to heated liquids (no hotter than 190 degrees) slowly and stir constantly – or scrambled eggs will be the result
Approximate the amount of flour needed to thicken the volume of meat drippings available. Place flour in a dressing / gravy shaker or whisk with cool water and shake or blend till smooth.
To meat drippings (fat) [from a turkey, chicken, bacon, or roast] in a deep pan over medium heat, slowly add flour and water mixture. Stir continuously. After the mixture has thickened, continue cooking for a few more minutes to make sure that the raw flour taste has been dispelled.
Hollandaise Sauce
2/4 cup butter
1 ½ tblsp. Lemon juice
3 egg yolks, well beaten with dash of salt
Cayenne pepper
Divide butter in the three parts. Place one piece in top of a small double broiler, add lemon juice and egg yolks. Place over hot water (not boiling) and cook slowly, whisk constantly.
When butter is melted, add second piece. Keep whisking. As mixture thickens, add the final piece of butter.
Once the mixture is about as thick as gravy, remove from heat, add salt and serve immediately.
Can be used over vegetables (asparagus), fish, shellfish and poached eggs.
Lightly finish with cayenne pepper.
Makes: ¾ cup
Trouble shooting: If sauce is curdling, dilute by the teaspoon with hot water while constantly whisking.
It takes time and patience to prepare chicken this way, but it is so worth it!
6 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs OR about a 4 lb bone-in pork shoulder – chunked into quarters
Rinse, pat dry and place meat into a large food-safe plastic bag
Add to the bag;
1 tblsp. cumin powder
1 tblsp. sea salt
1 tblsp. garlic powder
1 tblsp. oregano
1 tblsp. cayenne pepper (reduce to half or less if you don’t like spicy food)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup lime juice
If you remember Shake-n-Bake …do that. If that reference is meaningless, then shake everything inside the bag until the chicken is evenly coated with the spices.
Place the spiced chicken and citrus juice in a pot. Fill it with water – just until the chicken is covered. On the stovetop (uncovered), cook on high until the chicken begins to boil, reduce heat, but still keep it bubbling.
This where the patience comes in. Keep an eye on the pot as the liquid boils. This can take anywhere between 2 and 3 hours. Once the liquid is almost gone, let the meat brown – turn it so it cooks evenly – but not so much that it burns.
Liquid almost all-the-way boiled down.
The chicken meat can be shredded, chunked or eaten off the bone. Use it in salads, soups, on tostadas or in tacos…and the list could go on and on!
Next time I make it, I will double this recipe so that leftovers will linger longer.
