News — Casserole RSS

I cook corned beef regularly -- three-four times a year.  It's always available at our local Sam's Club, and it has a long shelf-life too, meaning the expiration date is often a month or more out on the calendar.  I always buy two and I always cook two.  After discarding the seasoning packets, I cook them my way, slowly in the crockpot, in a tomato mixture laced with aromatic allspice, cinnamon and cloves.  When done, I cover the tops with brown sugar and bake them in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes until the sugar crust is bubbly and caramelizing.  It is amazing.   My brown-sugar-crusted corned beef sandwiches served on my homemade bread machine caraway-seeded rye bread have, literally, been described...

After our Easter feast, before we even washed the dishes, mom would put together a casserole from three of the leftovers.  It wasn't rocket science, but, it was made from high-quality scratch-made ingredients.  About three cups of cubed baked ham and two cups of buttery green (string) beans got stirred into the remaining cheesy scalloped potatoes.  The following night, upon reheat, no one had to be called twice to the dinner table -- we four loved this meal. This is not that recipe.  This is similar dish, made from pantry and freezer staples, for those times when you don't have leftovers from a traditional Easter feast, but are craving those familiar flavors.  I'd refer to it as a "desperate times...