# Bad, bad bad Casseroles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711 "2024-01-06T20:50:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/81 "2024-09-15T03:49:30Z")
Is the masa harina mixed with just water and lard, and then pressed into the bottom of the baking pan? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/82 "2024-09-15T07:37:21Z")
In this recipe, it is just soaked with milk, then mixed into the other ingredients before baking. Despite the name, it doesn’t seem like a typical tamale pie - other recipes seem to layer the meat and cornmeal separately. But I’m not looking for authentic anything, and the result is pretty tasty per the posted recipe plus my tweaks, so I’m happy to mix it in. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/83 "2024-09-15T07:50:06Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/84 "2024-09-15T11:52:16Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > I don’t want to steal this thread, but this got me thinking about basic meals that people sometimes want to add things to that do not belong. Interesting concept, but one I’d question. To me a part of the joy of cooking involves playing with “recipes” and coming up with new versions. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/85 "2024-09-15T19:48:59Z")
Oh, I agree with it needs a touch more garlic, or some oregano would really pick this up. I was referring more to things like putting broccoli in Mac & cheese for example. I like both, but I don’t need them together. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/86 "2024-09-15T23:16:20Z")
I would eat that, though I’d probably skip the cabbage ( not a fan of it) and maybe add some brown sugar. If you sat it in front of me, though, I’d eat it with no complaint. It sounds really good. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/87 "2024-09-16T00:13:30Z")
My choice, based on my years of NM living: > **[Easy Chile Relleno Casserole](https://bellyfull.net/chili-relleno-casserole/)** > > A cheater version of classic Chile Relleno, this Chile Relleno Casserole is so much easier without any frying. It has layers of gooey cheese and peppers, with puffy clouds of baked eggs on top! Although I use hatch chiles (natch) or ripe, thick fleshed anaheims, not poblanos which tend to be bitter, rather than fruity. A little dusting of smoked paprika and cayenne peppers added to the milk/egg mixture is also a nice touch. Top it with homemade fresh salsa and serve with warmed tortillas for the win. ---
**Author:** ![Beesnest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@Beesnest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beesnest)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/88 "2024-09-16T00:18:46Z")
deleted…don’t ask if it is just you rhetorically ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/89 "2024-09-16T00:29:40Z")
I don’t see how hard it is to screw up casseroles. I mean meat, veggies, stock (wine if you’re feeling fancy, or any number of things if you are getting carried away: cream, coconut milk, etc.) Put it in the oven for a few hours. What can go wrong? I mean you can use a cut of meat that tends to dry out (like skinless chicken breast or lean pork) or fail to put any seasoning in. But you don’t need to be Julia Child to end up with something pretty tasty. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/90 "2024-09-16T01:17:45Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > I don’t see how hard it is to screw up casseroles. Point though, most of us on the board are older, and have grown up learning to cook, or around people who cook. Covid lockdowns showed that a ton of people just _didn’t_ - having the time, space and money to learn to cook from scratch hasn’t been a given for quite some time. Some of my co-workers during the lockdown, who were used to buying nothing but pre-made/partially pre-made food or going out had large issues with the learning curve, thinks we might take for granted. For example, and back to casseroles, knowing to brown and drain your fattier cuts of meat, ground beef especially. One co-worker browned all the meat to make a hamburger-helper style casserole, but didn’t have any spices other than salt and pepper in the house, and didn’t (or did a poor job) of pouring off the grease and ended up with a bland, greasy casserole. Not because they were young, or entitled (well, maybe a bit on the last) but because they’d _never done it before_. I’m sure they got better as time went on, but most of them appeared to be very happy to go back to having instant / steam in bag options for most of their food. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/91 "2024-09-16T01:23:06Z")
You need to come here when DIL is cooking. Yes, yes it can be screwed up. Drastically. I have a memory of a certain spaghetti casserole started with uncooked pasta. Yeah, deep failure. My daughter OTOH can throw stuff together with some innate skill. It’s not 4 star dining, but pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/92 "2024-09-16T01:36:59Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > You need to come here when DIL is cooking. Yes, yes it can be screwed up. > Drastically. My family all avoid eating my sister’s cooking. If she hosts a meal everyone offers to bring a dish so there will be something edible. My sister substitutes ingredients she doesn’t have with very poor choices that for some reason she thinks will work. Like they’re the same color, or start with the same letter. She totally lost her sense of taste when she had COVID, but it returned. I’d argue she never really had one. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/93 "2024-09-16T01:47:33Z")
I make a cassarole that many here would be horrified by. Any canned pasta, preferably with the, “meatballs,” brown ground beef, with onions garlic, Italian style spices and a bit of parm. Add pasta and cook down a bit. Put in a cassarole dish cook at 350 for a few mi. take out, add lots of mozz, italian bread crumbs and more parm. You can add any sort of cheese. Or seasonings you think will work. Back in the oven ’ till top is brown bubbly, and melted. It’s not gourmet, but, it’s relatively cheap, easy, flexible, and you can make a lot or a little. @Beckdawrek, i dislike my daughter’s tatertot casserole. It’s not something I’d feed the dogs. It’s just bland, and has the odd combo of cream of chicken soup and ground beef, and 'cause it’s my daughter no onion. In fact no seasonings. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/94 "2024-09-16T02:25:02Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > spaghetti with cut-up hot dogs ‘Penny-circle soup’ aka a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle with hot dog slices was a rare and special treat for my toddler years birthdays and infrequent home-sick-from-school days. Sixty years later it still sounds pretty tempting on a dreary day. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/95 "2024-09-16T02:50:16Z")
Lemme get this straight: You mix Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs with your own ground beef? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/96 "2024-09-16T03:46:38Z")
And separately cooked pasta? Maybe she meant Pasta sauce?Like Ragu. Come to think of it the meatballs in the Chef Boyardee probably ain’t meat at all. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/97 "2024-09-16T04:40:04Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Lemme get this straight: You mix Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs with your own ground beef? Yep, or not depends on what I have on hand/whats on sale when I buy it. Sometimes I throw canned ravioli in. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/98 "2024-09-16T04:45:38Z")
Nope just any canned pasta. It really isn’t bad. The pasta loses the mushyness, the spices kick up the flavor, and the ground beef sucks up extra liquid. I haven’t made it in a while. It’ll have to be really small if/when I do 'cause Hubster doesn’t like _any_ pasta, and son and his girlfriend are vegatarian. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/99 "2024-09-16T04:57:03Z")
That actually sounds really good. Put enough mozzarella cheese on, and you can disguise anything! After Dad died last year, my sister stuck around and decided to go through the pantry at my parents’ house. She found an OPEN can of breadcrumbs, dated 2008, that looked like they had just come off the factory line. Yeesht, that stuff probably wasn’t good to eat back then, either. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711/100 "2024-09-16T05:05:48Z")
Seriously, cheese makes almost anything good … or at least edible. 😁 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-bad-bad-casseroles/995711.md?page=6)