Something New: California Strata

I've recently been stressing over what to do with the blog in a few weeks when the old recipes run out. Because of my job at the restaurant, I'm home less in the evenings which cuts into prime cooking time. Yesterday was the first time in a couple of weeks that I was able to cook something new. Chase and I have been living on some old favorites recently, and while I love our old favorites, it makes me miss the fun of trying new foods.

So to buy myself at least one more week of revisionary thinking, I skipped this week's Something Old post on Monday. Apologies if it gave anyone a sad.

Today's recipe is actually something my mom cooked for breakfast Christmas morning, and I took pictures of her cooking it while I was home. This turned out to be a very fortunate decision, considering I was otherwise without a new recipe for this week. (Surely it had nothing to do with the fact that I take far too many pictures of everything all the time.) The recipe came from my mom's Women of Great Taste cookbook which was produced in my hometown. Hooray local flavor!

Anyway, it was a very tasty meal, although I'd probably make it for dinner instead of breakfast. I'm not a protein-in-the-morning person (yes, that's a type of person), but this is an easy breakfast meal since you make it the night before and throw it in the oven the next morning. Plus the flavors are just fantastic.

Happy cooking!

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California Strata

NOTE: This recipe requires time to chill the casserole overnight.

Ingredients

1 lb mild Italian ground sausage

1 cup thick sliced mushrooms

1 cup diced yellow onion

¼ cup butter

12 slices white or wheat bread, crusts removed

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

5 eggs

2

½ cups milk

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp dry mustard powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

⅛ tsp pepper

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Sauté mushrooms and onions in the skillet until tender (5-8 minutes).

2. Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from the pan.

3. Increase skillet heat to medium-high and cook the sausage through. Drain excess grease.

4. Place 6 slices of the bread in the bottom of a buttered 13x9 casserole dish.

5. Layer half of the mushroom mixture, sausage and then cheese over the bread.

6. Repeat this layering.

7. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk, mustards, nutmeg, salt and pepper together. Pour carefully over the casserole.

8. Cover the casserole dish and chill in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 6-8 hours if you're preparing in the morning for an evening meal).

9. An hour before you're ready to eat, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

10. Sprinkle parsley over top of the casserole and bake uncovered for about 1 hour, until bubbly.

11. Serve and enjoy.

Beautifully browned mushrooms.

All eight delicious layers waiting for the egg bath.

Mom gives the layers the egg bath they've been waiting for.

Cooked until golden and bubbly (after a night in the fridge, of course).

Happy cooking!

Something New: Tuna Casserole

Welcome to the second half of the week!

After a long day, it's never a bad time for a simple casserole. This is one of those casseroles. It takes about 7 minutes to prep (including noodle boiling). Then when it's baking unattended, you can enjoy a little R&R. Just what the gods of comfy couches and getting-lost-in-the-internet ordered.

Happy casserole cooking! You deserve it.

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Tuna Casserole

Ingredients

2 cans tuna, drained

1 cup shell noodles, cooked

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 oz)

½ cup Cheez Whiz

½ tsp dry oregano

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup bread crumbs (plain or Italian)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large casserole dish, mix together tuna, noodles, mushroom soup, Cheez Whiz and oregano.

3. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the casserole. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the parmesan (this will keep the parm from browning too quickly).

4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

5. Serve and enjoy.

Something Old: Tater Tot Casserole

Good morning, food friends!

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend. Chase and I spent the weekend furniture shopping, and ended up with an awesome new kitchen table. It has drawers in it! And it looks classy.

This recipe is completely unrelated to that story, but it's a great dish. My friend Reneé will attest to that. Every time she makes this dish, she tells me (as far as I know!), and she's told me many times. I grew up with this recipe, although it showed up rarely, probably because my mom's not one for frozen fried foods like tater tots. Chase was a little shocked when we first made this recipe together and I told him it was a recipe from my mom, since he knew I came from a healthy food family. It's not totally unhealthy, though. There are vegetables in it!

Anyway, this recipe is a quick, simple, tasty dish for a dinner or dinner party. Serve with ketchup and you're ready to go.

Happy cooking!

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Tater Tot Casserole June 13, 2010

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

¼ cup chopped onion

1 can corn, drained

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 bag of frozen tater tots

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, brown the beef and onion.

3. Add corn and soup to the skillet and mix.

4. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish. Cover the casserole with frozen tater tots, small side down.

5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

6. Serve with ketchup and enjoy.

Browning beef and onions together.

Soup and corn in with the beef.

Taters layered on top of the beef mixture.

Baked and ready for eating. Happy cooking!

Something New: Husband's Delight

Welcome to December, food friends!

Here in Columbus, the weather greeted us appropriately with a dusting of snow on the first day of this cheerful month. When I opened the door yesterday morning and saw it, I let out an audible gasp (to Chase's amusement). What can I say? I like snow.

I wish I had a convenient link between snow and this recipe, but there really isn't one. Still, this is a great recipe that I got from my grandma. Chase is scared of cottage cheese, but he loved this dish. Considering that last week he declared that Jumbo Cookies are perhaps his new favorite cookie, I'd say that my grandma has a recipe fan.

ps- My grandma and I have no idea where the recipe got it's goofy name. But my grandpa loved it when my grandma made it, so I suppose it's still fitting.

Happy Thursday cooking!

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Husband's Delight

Ingredients

1 (8 oz) package medium egg noodles

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef

3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 cup cottage cheese

8 oz cream cheese

¼ cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped green bell pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp sugar

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, brown ground beef. Brown garlic and onion in the butter in a separate skillet.

4. Mix garlic, onion, tomato sauce, salt, pepper and sugar into the beef skillet.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and green peppers.

6. In a greased 9x13 pan, start with a layer of half the noodles. Top with the cheese mixture, then the rest of the noodles.

7. Finally, cover with the beef mixture and top the whole thing with the shredded cheddar.

8. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven.

9. Serve and enjoy.

Beautiful beef sauce.

A house divided. I don't like bell peppers, but Chase does. The solution was simple.

Ready for the oven.

Beefy cheesy noodley goodness.

Happy cooking!