Day 112 - Chicken Noodle Casserole

What a wonderful weekend!
I say that because I was finally able to be productive and get some housework done!
Ok, I was really only able to do laundry, but the mounds just kept growing during the week because I hadn't had any energy to do much of anything.
Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to get through the day without taking a nap.
I've done that every day this week!
Being sick stinks!
Everyone, stay HEALTHY!!

This is adapted from my New Doubleday Cookbook.

Chicken Noodle Casserole - serves 4

¼ cup butter
¼ cup sifted flour
½ teaspoon McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly grated pepper
2 cups bite-size pieces cooked chicken
8 oz. thin noodles, cooked according to package directions until al dente, and drained

Topping

3 potato hamburger buns sliced into small cubes and tossed with 3 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over moderate heat and blend in flour and poultry seasoning.

Slowly stir in broth and milk, add salt and pepper, and heat, stirring until mixture thickens.

Off heat, mix in all remaining ingredients except topping.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Oh. My. Goodness!
Yes, this is one of those recipes that IS a keeper!!
The whole family absolutely loved this dish tonight, and unanimously decided that it earned 4 rolling pins! 
I rate everything that I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best of the best.
The sauce was so delicious and I think it was largely in part due to the fact that I used the Montreal Chicken seasoning.  That seasoning is great when we grill chicken, so I knew it would give this dish that extra boost I was looking for.  Also, instead of using the 1 teaspoon of granules I used 2 for even additional flavor.
This was SO yummy!!!!!
The only thing I think I'd change, is to double the amount of sauce.  The noodles weren't dry, I just like things really saucy.
Saucy.  I like that.
I'm so glad this was better than those Nutella sour cream cookies I made yesterday.
What a relief!
Happy baking!

Day 43 - Tuna Noodle Casserole

          It was a very busy day today between errands, shuttling children here and there, enjoying a boys' high school volleyball game and having lunch with a wonderful friend, Karen, so taking the time to bake something complex wasn't in the cards.  I didn't even exercise.  So, I decided to bake dinner.  The great thing is I was able to prepare it, stick it in the fridge before we left for the volleyball game and then popped it into the oven when we came home.  I didn't want to bake it while we were gone because like the lasagna, it would have overcooked and I really didn't want to eat an overdone tuna casserole with crunchy noodles.  Besides, the cooking time is shorter than the lasagna.  I've made this dish so many times over the years that I now have it memorized and can't remember where the original came from.  Mom used to make this, too, but I don't think it's hers.
     Since giving birth to our son almost 14 years ago, the only seafood I have been able to eat or smell is tuna, and at times even that makes me nauseous.  Oh, and on rare occasion I can eat Tilapia.  Other than that, NO way!  When we moved west from Rhode Island, it wasn't that big a deal for me leaving most things New England because I really can't stand beach sand (YUCK!) and even the thought of eating seafood make me want to...well, I won't go there, you know what I mean.  Therefore, this may be the only fish-type recipe you will see during the course of 365 days.  Maybe there will be some sort of Tilapia dish, but don't hold your breath.

     Tuna Noodle Casserole  serves 4
    
     3 cups wide egg noodles
     1 tablespoon butter
     ½ cup onion, minced
     2 large stalks celery, diced
     1 5oz. can solid white tuna in water, drained
     1  10 3/4oz. can condensed cheddar cheese soup
     1½ cups milk
     1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
     1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Boil noodles according to directions, drain and set aside. 
Melt butter in large skillet.  Add onions and celery and sauté til tender, about 5-10 minutes. 
Empty condensed soup into a medium bowl.  Add milk and whisk together.  Set aside.
Add tuna to skillet, breaking apart with a fork.  Add soup/milk mixture and bring to boil. 
Stir until heated throughout, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add noodles.  Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Spoon into an 8x8-inch baking dish.
In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle evenly over top.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

     I have also substituted Cream of Mushroom soup for the Cheddar Cheese, but I like the cheesy goodness better.  It's like mac and cheese with tuna mixed in.  Ok, not really, but kinda.
     My rating system is on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best.  The Tuna Noodle Casserole earns 3½ rolling pins.  I like the cheese, it's not too tuna-ey (new word), and the bread crumbs with the parmesan cheese give it extra flavor and a nicely textured topping.
     Spring break for the kiddos next week and a daughter home from college.  I plan to have them helping me out a few days in the kitchen with some recipes I think they'll enjoy.  Time to put these youngins to work.
     Happy baking!

Day 27 - Lasagna

          Today was an exhausting day and I admit, the last thing I want to do right now is post this blog.  I did go out for a walk, but it's more of a mental and emotional exhaustion than physical.  It was one of those days where I felt like I failed as a parent and then second-guessed my decision.  Instead of being forceful and giving some tough love, seeing it from the child's point of view and having been in the same situation myself, I chose the more sympathetic approach.  It may not have been the right way to handle things at the time, but in the end, it all worked out (as things always do anyway).  They never said this was going to be easy. 
       I made my mother's Lasagna recipe for dinner  I have never had a problem with this turning out really well and love to serve it when we have company because it's so filling and there's plenty of it.  I still make it in the same pan my mom used and the sauce still simmers in the same orange pot- a wedding present from the late 60's.  Some kitchen utensils I just won't part with because they hold such tremendous sentimental value.   
     Lasagna
     1 box lasagna noodles
     Boil noodles according to package directions.  Drain and quickly rinse with cold water.  Lay noodles flat on top of waxed paper to cool.  ( I also spray the paper with some cooking spray - they'll pull off easier.)
 
     1 lb. ground beef
     1 cup minced onions
     3 cloves minced garlic
    
     1 29oz. (1lb. 13oz.) can tomato purée
     1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
     1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
     1 6oz. can tomato paste
     2 teaspoons sugar
     2 teaspoons basil
     1½ teaspoons salt
     1 teaspoon oregano
     ¼ teaspoon pepper

     1 egg
     1 30oz. container part skim ricotta cheese
     1 tablespoon parsley
     1 cup grated parmesan cheese

     4-5 cups shredded mozzarella
    

     Spray 5-quart dutch oven with cooking spray.  Place on medium heat and add beef, onions, and garlic.  Stirring frequently until beef is browned (about 10 minutes).  Add tomato purée, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste.  Stir to combine.  Add sugar, basil, salt, oregano, and pepper, and stir well.  Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
     In a large bowl, beat egg.  Add ricotta cheese, parsley, and 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.  Mix well and set aside.

     Preheat oven to 350ºF.
     Use cooking spray to generously coat a 13x9x2-inch roasting pan.  Place 3-4 lasagna noodles in bottom of pan.  Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top of noodles.  Completely cover with 2 cups sauce.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella over sauce.  Place 3-4 lasagna noodles over mozzarella.  Repeat with ricotta, sauce, and mozzarella. 

There should be a total of 3-4 layers before top layer.  Cover final ricotta layer with lasagna noodles and cover with remaining sauce. 

Sprinkle remaining mozzarella  and parmesan cheeses over sauce.

(I find that it's easiest to place pan on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  That way it will catch any spill-overs both when it's baking and when it is cut at the table.  I'm all for an easier clean up.)  Bake in oven for 50 minutes or until bubbly.

     Tonight's lasagna was a little darker than I would have liked it to be.  I place it in the oven on "cook time" for 50 minutes so that it would automatically turn off when baking was finished.  We went to my son's baseball game right after I'd placed it in the oven and there it sat until we returned.  It still tasted delicious, was just a little darker around the edges and on the top for sitting in the oven for so long.
     For that reason, instead of a rating of four rolling pins as it usually gets, I need to give tonight's a 3½.
     Happy baking!
 

Day 17 - Breakfast Kugel

     I've started reading Julie & Julia  365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen by Julie Powell.  It's the book that the movie, Julie & Julia was based on.  I saw the movie, but wanted to read the book because a lot of times, as we all know, the book is better.  Given the fact that I've been baking for the past 16 days, I have absolutely no idea how this woman stayed sane doing 524 recipes in 365 days and worked a full-time job!  I would have lost it.  Ok, to be honest, it's something I never would have done.  I was going nuts enough when I was working full-time and managing a home, never mind the cooking part of it.  I give her a lot of credit.

Voilà!  A recipe from a new book!  The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook:  Your guide to the Best Foods on Earth, pg. 97; author, Diana Shaw;  Clarkson/Potter Publishers, a division of Random House; ISBN 0-517-59989-9.  Today it is a Breakfast Kugel or rather an early afternoon Kugel.  A kugel is typically a Jewish side dish or dessert made of baked noodles.  When we would have family potlucks, Dan would always make this, and I absolutely loved it.  I don't have his recipe and always meant to ask him for it, so I was excited when I found one in my recipe book.  Not the same as Dan's (sigh).  Maybe it was because today I had already pigged out on those Tostito Roasted Garlic & Black Bean Chips (I LOVE those!) and salsa.  I just wasn't hungry, but of course, had to try it anyway.  I'm feeling like I'm going to need an overdosing of vegetables soon.

     Breakfast Kugel
     8 ounces dried whole wheat penne or elbow noodles
     1 large egg
     2 large egg whites
     2 cups low-fat cottage cheese or low-fat farmer cheese
     2/3 cup nonfat or reduced -fat sour cream
     ½ cup sugar
     1 tablespoon grated lemon or orange zest
     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     ½ cup soft bread crumbs, from whole wheat or French bread
     1/3 cup raisins or dried cherries

     Heat the oven to 350ºF.  Lightly grease an 8-inch baking pan or squirt with nonstick spray.
     Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Stir in the pasta, and cook until not quite done (test it with your teeth, it should still be a bit hard in the center when you bite into one), about 6 minutes.
     In a food processor or blender, combine the egg and egg whites.  Add the cottage or farmer cheese, sour cream, sugar, lemon or orange zest, and vanilla extract.  Process until smooth.

     Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs and raisins or cherries. I added the noodles here because I didn't see where she wanted them added, but I'm assuming this was the logical place to do it.  And you know what assume means, but it worked out.

Spoon into the baking pan and bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes.

     Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.  Serve warm right away or refrigerate, covered, and serve cold.

     I used regular noodles because I'm partial to them and I thought about using plain Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream.  I've used it before as a substitution, and while the yogurt is a bit more tart than sour cream, I never heard any complaints from family members, but I didn't have any.  I didn't use the raisins or cherries because I know the dish won't be eaten in this house if I include them.  Also, when you are grating the lemon or orange rind, please make sure you keep your thumb knuckle far enough away from the grater.  I took a nice little chunk out of mine.  This is good though, only my second injury since beginning this.  The first was a slight burn on the second day when I went to take the Cream Cheese cookies out of the oven.  I'm fine, it's nothing a band-aid can't handle; just bake with care.
     I liked the taste because it was very similar to the blintze filling that I make but without the bread crumbs.  I didn't like the texture of the bread crumbs, but I'm sure they were used to thicken it as the mixture was very runny before they were added and also to ensure that the noodles wouldn't sink.   I don't remember the one Dan made for the family ever having any bread crumbs either.  However, it was tasty and I really liked the sour cream/cream cheese/lemon combination.  To be honest though , I don't know if I'd ever make it again.  But if I did, I'd try it without the bread crumbs and see how it turns out.  This one earns: 2½ rolling pins.
     Happy baking!