Casserole Making Tips and Recipes

Many of us grew up eating mom's casserole. Generally, it was made from a bunch of leftovers from previous meals had throughout the week. In this day and time many of us refer to a casserole as "comfort food" because it reminds us of those days as well as gives us a warm, satisfying feeling when we sit down to a casserole dinner. The only difference now is that we make casseroles from a variety of recipes and they don't always mean eating leftovers.

Making a casserole is not hard, however for those that don't tend to have the knack for creation and cooking here are some tips as well as a couple of recipes to help you along the way.

Meat Casseroles

When making a casserole keep in mind that you can use most any vegetable, whether they are fresh, canned, or frozen. Other ingredients commonly found in casseroles are rice, pasta or potatoes, as well as cheese. Often times, to get the creaminess that is found in most casseroles, many people will use a creamed soup like cream of mushroom. Most any meat can be used, some of the more popular meat items are ground beef, chicken, and tuna.

 When cooking a casserole you should set your oven temperature to between 350 and 425 Fahrenheit so that you casserole cooks slowly. Most casseroles take about 45 minutes, however depending on the recipe that you use and the ingredients it can take up to 2 hours for a casserole to cook through.

 When preparing a casserole, it is best that at the beginning of the baking that the dish be covered. This will help to avoid over crisping the top. Once the casserole is cooked through, you can remove the cover and allow it to finish cooking for the last 15 to 20 minutes to get a little bit of color and crispness.

 Additionally, once you remove the cover you can add breadcrumbs or French's Onions and cheese, or even some melted butter and herbs to the top of your casserole for a finishing tasty touch.

Chicken and Rice Recipe

Serves 6

2 cups milk

1 can chicken soup

3/4 cup rice

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 cups boneless chicken breast meat cooked and chopped

Half a cup grated cheese

1 can tomatoes

½ cup chopped red onions

2 eggs beaten

Season to taste

Heat the oven to 350°c. Grease a 2-quart pan or casserole dish.

Boil the milk and chicken soup together. Then add the rice, herbs and butter to this combination. Cook rice until done (about 20 minutes)

In a casserole dish, combine the rice, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and seasoning.

Bake for 45 minutes until the edges turn golden and bubbly.

 

Baked Egg Recipe (This is one that is best if let set overnight before cooking)

Serves 4 

6 slices bread (cubed)

½ lb ham (pre cooked)

5 eggs beaten

2 cups milk

½ lb Velveeta cheese (cubed)

½ tsp dry mustard

½ tsp salt

1 stick melted margarine

Place cubed ham and bread into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Place cheese cubes evenly on top of this and then mix eggs, milk, mustard, margarine, and salt together and pour over ham, bread, and cheese. Refrigerate and let set for 1 hour (preferably overnight). Bake uncovered at 325 Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Casseroles are an easy way to have a family meal and they make excellent leftover dishes that are easy to reheat and serve. 

Casserole Making Tips and Recipes

John has been writing articles online for nearly 6 years, not only does this author specialize in cooking, you can also check out his latest website on Bisquick Recipes. On his site you will find over 200 delicious recipes using the very popular baking mix, Bisquick.

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