Living Well 60+ September-October 2014

2 6 SEPT/OCT 2 0 1 4
For a Hearty Fall Supper, Try an
Old-Fashioned Casserole
Ever-popular comfort foods help make winter bearable
As autumn chills become the
rule, it’s time to batten down the
hatches and face the fact that
winter is just around the corner.
We hunker down to our favorite stews
and soups, but in the back of our minds are
those old favorites of our childhoods: the
ever-popular casseroles.
Oh, sure, they’re not what we’d ordinarily
consider “company food,” but that’s just the
beauty of these treasures. They’re just for us;
they’re comfort foods and they speak to us
of the winter days of our youth.
Make no mistake, though, many
casseroles are good enough to share with
company. In fact, we can create a special
kind of intimacy with friends by sharing our
own special favorites. In our house, we’ve
had some of the best times with best friends
sharing one of these “one-dish wonders” that
were so popular in the 1950s and early ’60s.
When you resurrect the recipes, it actually
makes you wonder why they ever fell out of
favor.
So don’t think of a casserole as an
“everyday” dish or something that’s brewed
up from leftovers. One-dish preparations are,
in fact, part of a respected culinary tradition.
What would France be without its cassoulet?
Here are a trio of recipes to try.
BAKED PASTA
CASSEROLE
No doubt you’ve gone to an Italian
restaurant and ordered baked ziti, baked
mostaccioli or some other rich, hearty Italian
specialty from the oven. Served piping hot,
with plenty of cheese, it’s a hearty, stick-to-
food
dude
Frank
Kourt
the
your-ribs dish and also surprisingly easy
to make.
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 lb. Italian sausage, hot or sweet
• 1 lb. mostaccioli or other pasta
cooked al dente (slightly chewy)
• 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced or
shredded
• Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1.5 quarts thick spaghetti sauce*
In a large frying pan, simmer the
sausage in the wine until done (after the
wine has boiled away and the sausage
browns). Cut the sausage into 2-inch
sections. Cook and drain pasta. Arrange
some of the pasta on the bottom of an
ovenproof casserole, add some sausage
pieces, cover with mozzarella, then sauce.
Layer on more pasta, meat, cheese and
sauce until casserole is full. Finish with
sauce covering the top and sprinkle with
grated cheese. Bake, covered, for one
hour in a 325-degree oven. Serve piping
hot with a good Italian bread and, if
desired, a salad.
*Use you own sauce or try the bottled
variety, which you may want to “jazz
up” by mixing in some sautéed onions,
green peppers and mushrooms and some
additional Italian spices.
CURRIED CHICKEN
CASSEROLE
This is a family favorite with a hint of
the mysterious East to it, thanks to a dash
of curry powder.
• 3 boned, skinless chicken breasts or 6
boned, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 sliced carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 bunch fresh broccoli, cut into spears
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup grated Cheddar
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1 T melted butter/margarine
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
Place the meat, carrots, onion and
salt in a pot. Cover with hot water and
simmer until chicken is tender, 35-45
minutes. Cool the chicken and cut
each breast into quarters or cut thighs
in half. Steam the broccoli until almost
tender and arrange it lengthwise in a
casserole, topping with the chicken. Mix
the soup, mayonnaise, evaporated milk,
cheese, lemon juice and curry together
well and use it to top the chicken and
broccoli. Blend the melted butter and
bread crumbs and sprinkle on top of
the casserole. Bake in a pre-heated
350-degree oven, uncovered, for 30-45
minutes until heated through.
TATER TOPPED BEEF
CASSEROLE
This one’s so easy to make (it uses
canned and “instant” ingredients) that
you’re not going to believe it’s fit for
company. It is, though. It makes a hearty,
yet attractively presented all-in-one meal.
• 2 T butter or margarine
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 stalks thinly sliced celery
• 2 cans roast beef and gravy
• 1 pkg. frozen peas, thawed
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire
• 2 cups hot mashed potatoes (instant
is okay)
• 1 T dried parsley
Sauté the onion and celery in the
margarine until onion is transparent.
Add roast beef with gravy and peas and
Worcestershire. Mix well and place in
casserole. Mix the parsley in with the
mashed potatoes and drop rounded
tablespoonsful around the edges of the
casserole to make a border. Bake at 325
degrees for about 30 minutes, until the
tops of the potatoes are turning a golden
brown.