Your favorite one-dish meals

Cafe Society
1

Otherwise known as casseroles :smiley: .

I’m trying to expand my recipe files, and plan our menu every week. I’ve been looking for good, tasty recipes, preferably something I can put together on Sundays, and then just pop in the oven when we get home from work.

Anyone have any favorite recipes they’d like to share? We’re trying to eat healthy, but even if it’s a more unhealthy recipe, I can usually modify them for us.

(Yes, I know casseroles aren’t exactly fascinating culinary cuisine, but they’re easy, fast, and filling, and that’s what we need right now :cool: ).

Thanks!

2

Italian Corn (I’m typing this from memory, and haven’t fixed it lately, so it may not be quite accurate).

1 can creamstyle corn
1 can whole kernal corn
1 cup elbow macaroni–uncooked
1/2 cup green pepper
1/2 cup onion
1/2 butter or margarine, cubed (? I’m not certain that this is neccessary, although I think some butter or margarine is a good idea)
1 cup cheddar cheese, cubed.

Mix all ingredients, place in casserole dish, bake one hour. (I’m guessing 350 would be a good oven temperature).

3

Chicken Pot Pie or any variation on that. You can use noodles in the casserole. You can use bisquick for a topping, or use some bread crumbs or cheese. You can use up all your extra vegetables you have. You can use chicken or turkey or, heck, you can even use hamburger to make a hamburger helper type deal. Use up any fresh herbs that you have. The sauce is basically just flour and butter or oil cooked together for a roux, with stock and milk added. Sorry, I have no recipies - this type of thing doesn’t need one. It is the solid version of soup - use up whatever you have laying around the fridge.

Also, and I know this is not exactly what you asked for, but my favorite one dish meal is stir fry. But it is not exactly a make-ahead and bake type dish.

4

Eureka 2 questions. Do the cans of corn go in undrained? It seems like the macaroni would need the liquid. 1/2 what of butter or margarine?

5

Yes, the cans of corn go in undrained. 1/2 cup of butter or margarine.

6

I have a chicken and broccoli and wild rice one -

3 c diced cooked chicken
1 6 oz box wild rice, cooked as directed
1 onion, diced and sauteed for about 5 minutes in 1 tbs butter
1 10 oz box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 can cream of anything soup - celery is good
8 oz sliced mushrooms, or 1 sm can (fresh is better, IMHO)
1 c mayo
1 sm can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1 c shredded cheddar
1 sm jar of sliced pimentoes, OR 1 roasted red pepper, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, then pour into casserole dish and bake for 25-35 minutes until bubbly.

The mayo really adds a lot of flavor and creaminess to the dish, and I don’t even like mayo!

7

Everyone I’ve ever served this to loves it. I call it cassoulet, but technically it’s more of just a camp stew.

Use about four ounces per person of each of the following:

Chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage (or use combo of hot and mild), broken up
Canned white beans, undrained
Canned diced tomatoes, undrained

Additionally:
Olive oil
Minced garlic to taste (2-3 cloves)
Ground pepper to taste
Several sprigs of fresh rosemary

Heat some olive oil in a pan and saute the chicken until browned. Remove. Add the sausage, and saute until browned and done. Remove, drain, and empty out excess grease from pan. Put all meat back in the pan, add the beans and tomatoes, garlic and rosemary. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or so. Add ground pepper near the end. I like a lot of rosemary, but your tastes may vary. Remove it from the stalk and mince before adding, or just throw the entire stalks into the stew. The cooking process will remove the leaves for you.

8

It has a stupid name, but it was originally for getting rid of leftovers from Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Goodbye Turkey Casserole

5 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon onion salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/3 cups minute rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
At least 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated - we LOVE cheese so we use probably two cups
1 1/2 cups cooked asparagus or broccoli
2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken) sliced.

Instructions:
Stir flour, half of salt and onion salt into butter. Stir in milk. Cook over hot water, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Pour instant rice (uncooked) into 2-quart shallow baking dish. Pour broth over rice. Sprinkle half of cheese over rice.

Mix asparagus (or broccoli), more cheese and the turkey with the white sauce and put it on top of the rice. Sprinkle more cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes till cheese is bubbly/brown.

9

I’ve fixed this. I like it. In the cookbook where I found it (one of those church cookbooks), it’s called “Two Cans, One Cup, One Stick”. Makes it easy to remember the basic ingredients.

Dolores Reborn, thanks for posting the chicken casserole. It sounds like the same recipe I’ve been looking for but I couldn’t find it. I guessed the ingredients but it didn’t work at all! I think there’s also a version that uses mayo.

One of our favorites isn’t a casserole, but I guess it could be adapted to it. Calico beans, done in a crockpot.

10

My absolute favorite way to eat barley. More of a side dish, but I would eat it all by itself! :smiley:

Oven-Baked Barley with Mushrooms

From The Joy of Cooking p 256 (adaptation of Brown
rice dish, as described on p 246)

Heat oven to 350F
Melt 3 tbl butter (or olive oil)in dutch oven
Add:
1.5 c coarsely chopped mushrooms
0.5 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Cook 8 minutes, until 'shrooms are lightly browned

Add:
1 cup pearl barley
1/8 tsp black pepper
Stir until well coated

Add:
3 cup chicken or veggie stock
1/4 tsp salt
Bring to a boil

Cover and bake until barley is tender, about 45
minutes.

Let stand about 10 minutes for liquid to absorb.

11

I have something similar called Thanksgiving Casserole

Layer from the bottom of a casserole dish up turkey, green beans, and stuffing. Cover all with turkey gravy. Heat until hot.

12

How about a lasagna? I think of them as a kind of Italian casserole, since you can put all kinds of things in them, prepare them ahead of time and pop them in the oven, and they freeze well so you can just heat up a few slices whenever you want some. You can serve with bread and a green salad or not. You can use red sauce, white sauce or meat sauce, ricotta or cottage cheese, any vegetables you want. Make it as heavy or light as you like. It’s all good!

**Hearty Vegetable Lasagna **

9 lasagna noodles, cooked
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 10-oz. package chopped spinach, drained and water squeezed out
1 cup shredded carrots
1 medium to large chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 (26 ounce) jars pasta sauce
1 tablespoon dried basil
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
2 15-oz. or one 32-oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Rinse with cold water, and drain.

In a large saucepan, cook and stir onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini and mushrooms in oil. Stir in pasta sauce and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add spinach and red pepper flakes, and simmer 15 minutes.

Mix together ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and eggs.

Spread 1 cup tomato sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch baking dish (I personally use a slightly larger foil pan that’s especially for lasagna, since the sides are deeper). Lay three of the lasagna noodles side by side over the sauce, then add half the ricotta mix, half of the remaining sauce, and half the Parmesan cheese.

Repeat with three more noodles and the rest of the ricotta, sauce and Parmesan. Top with the last three noodles and sprinkle the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese over them.

Bake, uncovered, for 40-50 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

13

And here’s a tuna casserole, with no cream of anything in it!

Hearty Tuna Casserole

3 cups egg noodles or papardelle (dry measure)
18 oz. canned tuna in water, drained (either 3 6-oz. cans or one 12-oz. and one 6-oz. can)
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
½ cup mayo
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ tsp. salt, plus more to sprinkle on zucchini
1 small zucchini, sliced thin
Pepper
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Monterey Jack/Colby mix cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart casserole dish.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook noodles or papardelle as per package directions. Drain.

In a large mixing bowl, combine noodles, tuna, and green onion. Stir in sour cream, mustard and mayo. Season with salt and thyme. Spoon half of the noodle mixture into prepared dish. Arrange a layer of zucchini slices over the noodle mixture; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the rest of the noodle mixture and top with the rest of the zucchini slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add chopped tomatoes and top with cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until casserole is hot and bubbly.

14

All of these sound yummy! (I had to post again to subscribe to this thread. :D)

15

You got that Hearty Tuna Casserole from Allrecipes, and I KNOW it. :wink: I make it all the time, just without the veggies - it’s something I can do from pantry stuff I always have around in an emergency. I add water chestnuts, though.

16

My favorite:

Chicken/Rice/Broccoli Casserole

Layer in a 13x9 baking dish:

2 cups cooked rice (ie, 2 cups of dry rice, cooked)
diced chicken to taste (two large breasts to a pan, more if you like)
the sauce*

Bake for 1 hour at 375 F

*the Sauce: stir until well-combined (chunky but pourable):
1 Family size can Cream of Chicken condensed Soup
16 oz Sour Cream (I use low-fat, but regular is fine. Plain yogurt should work, too.)
1 pound bag frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups Milk.

Its even better the next day as leftovers for lunch at work - all stirred up, like a thick stew. Mmmm.

17

Ah, these are awesome - exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!

StinkyBurrito, that’s actually a good idea for Sundays or for using up cooked chicken breast - I’ll keep the stir-fry in mind.

18

This is a quick and easy seafood recipe that I love to make all for me! You can use practically any meat and or veggies that you like and it turns out tasty.

Shrimp and Veggies with Couscous

1lb deveined and shelled shrimp/ or other cooked meat
1 red pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
2 tsp olive or canola oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups water
2 cups whole wheat couscous
2 cups frozen veggies
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
salt and pepper for seasoning

Heat the oil in the pot. Add the garlic and saute lightly. Add the shrimp and cook until lightly pink. Add the spices, and the fresh diced veggies.
Saute until the veggies are soft. Add the water and the frozen veggies.Bring to a boil.
Add the couscous, cover the pan, and remove it from the heat. Let it set for five minutes, then fluff and serve!

This is a very quick and versatile recipe, and I usually serve it with a salad.