Frankfurter Supper Quickie

May 10, 2012 by

Something intrigues me about casseroles called “quickie” in old cookbooks. It’s right there with “Surprise” in the “words not used often enough in today’s recipes” list. Quickie Surprise Wiggle would be best I suppose.

Anyhow–here is a quickie recipe.

Frankfurter Supper Quickie
3 medium tomatoes, sliced 1 ” thick
flour
6 frankfurters, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 medium green pepper, sliced
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (processed is suggested but…even my retro soul cringes)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teasp salt
1 clove garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle tomato slices lightly with flour. In 1 1/2 qt casserole, arrange tomato slices in alternate layers with frankfurters, green pepper, cheese and onion. Sprinkle each layer with the salt and garlic. Bake, covered, 30-35 min until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Good Housekeeping’s Casserole Cook Book, 1958

Filed Under: Casseroles, retro food

Tuna-Lima Bake

May 9, 2012 by

Over the weekend I suggested to Denise that she make casseroles for our daughter who is going to have our first grandchild very, very soon. She claimed she wasn’t that kind of mother. She did suggest after reflection that she might make some ground beef/rice casserole of hers.

It didn’t sound too appealing to me but this one sounds even less appealing. The picture even makes that clear. This is the sort of casserole that gives people nightmares about casseroles.  I am sure someone out there would like this twist on a tuna casserole though. Just not me.

Tuna-Lima Bake

1 can solid-pack tuna, coarsely flaked (1 cup)
1 can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1/4 cup water
1 pkg frozen limas, thawed
3 slices packaged, process Cheddar cheese, cut into triangles
3 slices toast, cut into triangles

Start heating oven to 375. Combine tuna, soup, water, and limas. Turn into 10 x 6 x 2 baking dish. Place cheese triangles on top of toast triangles; arrange in center of dish. Bake 45 min. Makes 3-4 servings.

From Good Housekeeping’s Casserole Book, 1958

Filed Under: Casseroles, Fish

My First Tuna Casserole (Or Food Waste Free Tuna Casserole)

April 13, 2011 by

It seems unreal that I made my first Tuna Casserole tonight — but I think that is the case. I remember my ex making them. I know my older sister made them. My mother would NEVER make one. I don’t think I ever did before tonight.

Extreme Coupon Denise (man, every time I think that I want an action figure of Denise with her coupon-ing gear) has brought home tuna (and we had tuna in the house from some “Tarrant is in the mood for tuna salad (once) so let’s buy the cheaper option of 8 cans of solid white tuna.” Tarrant thoughts from before the launch of Extreme Coupon Denise (so that tuna is not Denise’s doing at all). The Denise tuna was free or better than free or whatever. I don’t get it. If you want to understand it–there is a whole series over here about extreme couponing. We also have a lot of pasta for the same reason.

So I have been threatening tuna casserole for a few weeks. Mama doesn’t eat tuna casserole. Denise doesn’t eat tuna casserole Tarrant doesn’t eat tuna casserole. My children don’t even like the WORD casserole.

I put it on the menu for the week thinking Friday, but realized today was better. Tomorrow is trash day and so I don’t get shamed for food waste–I decided I could hide all sorts of odds and ends in a casserole. Right? Right!

I then set about making it knowing really nothing of the making of tuna casserole other than remembered snippets of this and that. So here is what went into my tuna casserole.

First-I cooked 1/2 a bag of egg noodles in the microwave pasta boat thing I mocked at Christmas. Yeah, it is handy.

While that was cooking I grabbed odds and ends out of the fridge:

1/2 ear corn on the cob
leftover pico de gallo (about 3/4 cup)
7 mushrooms
3/4 red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1 container minus 1 spoon of Santa Fe Philadelphia Cooking Creme
4 boiled fingerling yukon potatoes
end of a package of shredded cheddar (probably 2/3 cup)

I chopped the mushrooms, bell pepper and potatoes. I cut the corn off the cob. I mixed all of that together except the shredded cheese. I drained the now cooked pasta and two of the cans of tuna. Mixed with vegetables/Philadelphia Cooking Creme blend. Then tossed the shredded cheddar on top. Baked at 350 until cheese melted/heated through.

Mama asked for seconds. I liked it. Denise said it was ok. Seems like a win. I forgot to serve the dilled green beans with it though darn it.

Filed Under: Casseroles, Fish

Funeral Potatoes with Ham

October 19, 2009 by

Now syndicated on BlogHer.
A couple of weeks ago, I was startled by a cookbook among the books we picked up at the library. I don’t generally read new cookbooks and why on earth were we getting one from the library. It was too polished, too many pictures, too new. Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers-Old-Fashioned, Home Cooked Recipes Too Good to Forget, 2009. I put it in the cold room to flip through while waiting for the dogs to come in.

I didn’t like it. First was the matter of the pictures (am not a fan). Then there was the matter of the “Notes from the Test Kitchen” at the end of each recipe. These were family favorite recipes from all over the country. How dare they change them? I read on though. And I thought. I considered. I craved.

Then I realized a couple of things, these are recipes that I would LIKE, do like, and uh, I tweak old recipes all the time. The people who submitted probably tweaked the originals as well. Ok, so maybe I love this cookbook, as new as it is and as much as it first rankled. I may even put it on my wish list. You see, there were a lot of recipes I want to try but it will be due back at the library soon. So, go see if your library has it. Give it a look. See what you think. The only thing I would have liked is the exact recipe pre-tweaking. For instance, one mentions that the original had used the crock pot but they preferred the oven to save time. I would nearly ALWAYS prefer a crock pot than the oven.

The one recipe I made already, Funeral Potatoes with Ham, got mixed reactions last night. Boy child and youngest objected to the mushrooms. (They both liked it well enough though-even if it had that horrible food included) Girl child-food snob-objected to the “casserole-ness” of the recipe. She also wasn’t impressed. But as she reflected on it, she said “You know, I didn’t think I liked this much, but now I want more.” Denise feared the ham and the “That looks like au gratin. I don’t like au gratin.” She had two servings. As for me-yum.

My notes-the peeling and shredding of the potatoes after cooking them was highly unpopular as a step. I think in the future, I will use pre-shredded potatoes-it won’t change the baking time and save a big step. We also didn’t butter the cornflake crumbs. I served with a dill cole slaw.

Funeral Potatoes With Ham

4 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 lb white mushrooms, sliced thin (We used pre-sliced)
salt (oops-left that out)
1 onion, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
11/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon pepper
11/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound ham steak, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups cornflakes crushed fine

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Set aside

2. (This is the step I would skip in the future) Bring the potatoes and 4 quarts of water to a simmer in a large pot and cook until just shy of tender (a paring knife should glide through the flesh with slight resistance), 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and then grate the flesh lengthwise on the large holes of a box grater. Return the grated potatoes to the pot.

3. While the potatoes cook, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. (a step we said “Huh?” to) Add the mushrooms and 3/4 teaspoon salt (yeah, that salt, forgot.) and cook until mushrooms have released their juices and are brown around the edges, 7-10 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.

4. Whisk in the milk, thyme, and pepper, bring to simmer, and cook, stirring frequently until thickened slightly, about 1 minutes. Stir in the cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter and cook until melted, about 1 minute.

5. Off the heat, stir in the ham and sour cream. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and toss to combine. (I think this could be done in the 9 x 13 pan in the future and save a second saucy pot to clean) Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a bowl in microwave. (skipped this) Stir in the cornflakes, then sprinkle evenly over the top of potato mixture.

6. Place the baking dish on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until potatoes are bubbling and the top is golden brown, 35-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Filed Under: Casseroles, Cookbooks, Meat, retro food, Vegetables
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