Let’s say I wanted to make a casserole out of stuff I already have around the house, like ham, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, cheeses and so forth. In general, how much milk and/or water should go into it?
I’ve made them from mixes and boxes and stuff before, and there’s not really a recipe per se that I have the right things or the right amounts for. So, I was just going to toss what I have into a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish and bake it at 350 until golden brown kind of thing. From the mixes and boxes, it seems like you use a LOT of milk.
But too much liquid will leave it watery, and too little will leave it dry. Help, please?
I don’t have a set answer, but my best guess would be influenced by whether you were including noodles or rice or some other absorbent ingredient.
The number that popped into my brain was 1.5 to 2.5 cups, depending on what else is in there.
I would think that if the result was too soupy after 35 minutes at 350º your dish would suffer less from 10 or 15 minutesmore in the oven than it would from attempts to add liquid if it was too dry after 35 minutes.
Okay. Thanks, gwendee! That sounds sensible. I will definitely have potatoes in it (grated into hash browns), and so maybe I better really fill 'er up. Nothing sucks up water like a potato.
I don’t think potatoes absorb much water, I think they’re full of water already. In a hashbrown casserole thing that my family makes, you put in cubed potatoes, diced ham, a can or two (depending on amount of potatoes) of cream of whatever soup (cream of chicken, cream of celery, cream of mushroom), and cheese. No added liquid at all. The soup is condensed and has cream or milk as a base, but not much. if you topped the casserole liberally with cheese, you probably didn’t get much steam released, so the liquid qould cook down.
Mind you, I’m not much of a cook, so take what I say with a large grain of kosher salt.
Thing is, casseroles are one of those things that should be easy–throw flavorful ingredients together, and they cook together nicely, and bam, you’re done.
Except they hardly ever work. The different ingredients cook at different times, and instead of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, everything gets turned to mush and grey and bland.
It’s sad. The only casserole I ever make is tuna and noodles, and that’s only good because it tastes exactly the way Mom used to make it.
What works better is to use the crockpot. You don’t get the browning you get from baking a casserole, but let’s face it, casseroles don’t brown right anyway.
Cut up and partially nuke some vegetables like carrots and broccoli, get some rice or noodles boiling, start cooking the meat in a pan with some garlic and onions or peppers or something. You could also use tuna and not have to cook the meat at all.
Throw the rest of the vegetables in the pan after the meat is done, along with maybe a small can of mushrooms and/or water chestnuts for texture.
When the broccoli and carrots start to cook, but before they get too soft, mix the cooked rice/noodles and the meat/veggie mixture together in a big bowl.
Pick a sauce, any compatible sauce (like alfredo, marinara, cream of mushroom/chicken/celery), and mix it in with the rest. Don’t use too much, there’s already plenty of liquid from the onions, meat and veggies. I’d use a single can of cream soup for an entire 8x12 inch casserole. If you’re so inclined, add a half a cup of some shredded cheese.
Spread the whole mixture in a 8x12 or 9x13 inch greased pan. Sprinkle some more cheese on top or maybe some breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven at 350-375 for half an hour or whenever it looks all bubbly and brown on top. Don’t forget to let it set and rest for 5 minutes after you take it out.
You could literally use any meat/veggie/starch/sauce combo here. Add some herbs and spices sparingly. I wouldn’t add any extra liquid at all, unless it tasted too dry before you put it in the pan. Unless you’re baking it for over an hour, or with dry ingredients, like a lasagna for example, it won’t dry out considerably while baking and you won’t have to worry about it burning. It will just hopefully set up a little bit and be nice and casseroley.
Thanks for all that information. I assume it’s okay to use cream of onion soup (instead of cream of celery — which is too strong, or mushroom — which I hate).
Liberal, all that matters is that it’s a cream soup that you like the flavor of, or, ideally in one perspective and horrible from another, a homemade white sauce.
