I confess:  in some ways, my palate has the sophistication of a five year old.  And macaroni and cheese is one of those ways.  I didn’t grow up with the Kraft “blue box,” but on the rare occasions that my folks would go out, my brother and I would get to eat Stouffer’s frozen mac and cheese TV dinners.  Woo-hoo!  Good times.

But the one thing that commercial mac and cheeses do not have is a crunchy, buttery topping.  That’s where this recipe comes in, my adaptation of Cook’s Country Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese, which allowed me to use up little bits and pieces of challah and ciabatta lurking about my freezer.  Oh, and one Trader Joe’s whole wheat hamburger bun, age unknown.  But once you pulse these chunks of bread in a food processor, along with some butter and parmesan cheese, then bake it atop a mac and cheese casserole, you end up with quintessential comfort food.  And seeing as I now have to get a new dishwasher (along with the washer, refrigerator, microwave oven, and oven that have broken down this year), I need some comforting.

My favorite mac and cheese is still the frozen kind, but my husband, who is not a connoisseur of this dish, found it pretty tasty.  And we both loved the crumb topping.  Recipe after the jump.  And this recipe has been YeastSpotted!

Post from: Madam Chow's Kitchen

The beauty of this dish is, in part, that you can make it with whatever you have on hand.  No barley?  OK, use brown rice.  Master Chow has even made it for me with wild rice and red quinoa (that one is the dish pictured on the left).  I have to say, there’s something magical about this casserole – not only is it tasty and low-fat, but when I eat it, it satisfies me to my very core, and I don’t feel a hunger pang for hours.  Not to mention that it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, and heart-healthy fiber.  It makes a fantastic breakfast, heated up with two poached eggs on top (runny yolks, please!)  So, if you are looking to add more grains and vegetables to your diet, why don’t you give this a try, and tweak it to please your own palate.  Recipe after the jump.

Mixed Grain Casserole

2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/4 cup bulgur
1/3 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup shredded cheese or tofu cheese (cubed)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish, combine all ingredients.  Bake, covered, for one hour, until barley and bulgur are tender.  Stir once, halfway through the baking time.  Sprinkle with cheese or tofu, then cover and let stand for about five minutes until the cheese/tofu melts.

Post from: Madam Chow's Kitchen

I used to blog about recipes that I had tried out from other food blogs, and I’m going to do that again this year and call it “Cooking from Blogs.”  All you food bloggers out there are fonts of culinary inspiration.

In addition to the Iceberg Lettuce Wedges with blue cheese dressing (via Smitten Kitchen), I recently tried King Ranch Casserole from Ezra Poundcake.  Sorry about the poor picture, but if you head over to Rebecca’s, her fabulous photos may inspire you to give this casserole a try. I had heard of this strange beast a couple of years ago, and last year bought a can of Ro-Tel to have on hand should I ever feel inspired to venture into the land of retro American gourmet cooking.  I had never heard of Ro-Tel until a couple years ago, but apparently it is quite the pantry staple in some parts of the country.  In the end, when I threw this together I didn’t have to buy a thing, just used up things  in the pantry and refrigerator.  I love it when I can do that!  You can find Ro-Tel’s original recipe, here.

I’m batting .1000 at this point.  The wedges were a hit, the King Ranch chicken casserole (to which I added some peas for color and extra veggies) is on the repeat list.  I used up different cheeses that I had laying about, and I substituted high fiber, whole wheat tortillas in the casserole, instead of the traditional corn.  Master Chow enjoyed the change from the usual chicken dishes.  Thanks, Rebecca, for passing along an easy recipe that my family enjoyed!  Recipe after the jump . . . .

King Ranch Chicken
Adapted from a recipe I found at Ezra Poundcake

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup (low fat is fine)
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup (low fat is fine)
• 1 can (10 oz.) Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 8 -12 corn or wheat tortillas (6-inch), torn into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand, except a blue cheese)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add onion and pepper, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add soups, RO*TEL and chicken, stirring until well blended. Alternately layer tortillas, soup mixture and cheese, repeating for three layers. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.  Serves 8.

Post from: Madam Chow's Kitchen

I love having things in my pantry that I can throw together to make a tasty meal or side dish.  Or pastry, or cookie – you get my drift.  This is such a dish: something that can be made almost completely with items you have in your cupboards and freezer.

A few years ago, I made an effort to “upgrade” that much-maligned classic American staple, Ye Olde Campbell’s Green Bean casserole.  I mean, really, if famous chefs were telling me, via print and television, that it was awful, I had to listen, didn’t I?  I had to make a bechamel, and fry my own onion topping.  Because they said so.  So why did these high-falutin’ casseroles taste like . . . like . . . doo-doo? (This IS a family site).

So last year, I said to heck with it all.  I went to Campbell’s site, and tweaked the recipe a bit.  One big change I made was to use frozen haricot vert, i.e., French style green beans.  I served the casserole at Christmas and it was a blowout hit.  I was mightily surprised, what with the empty cans of Cream of Mushroom soup in my trash can.  When you make almost everything from scratch, as I do, and one of your most popular dishes uses an ingredient that foodies love to ridicule, it can be kind of embarrassing.  And those canned fried onions?  I use Trader Joe’s, which are so tasty that my husband will eat them out of the can if I don’t stash it.

In the end, I don’t feel embarrassed at all, just resourceful, wonderfully middle class, and American, a fitting reminder on this day.

Recipe after the jump . . . .

Campbells’s Green Bean Casserole
Adapted from a recipe by Campbell’s Kitchen

2 cans (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
1 cup milk
2 tsp. soy sauce
Dash ground black pepper
24 oz. frozen French style green beans (haricot vert – I used Trader Joe’s), blanched for 3 to 4 minutes
16 oz. sliced button or cremini mushrooms
1 cup Trader Joe’s French Fried Onions

Directions:

Butter or spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.  Preheat oven to 350°F.

SAUTE the mushrooms in a bit of olive oil, until a light golden brown.

MIX soup, milk, soy, black pepper, beans, and mushrooms and pour into baking dish.

BAKE at 350°F. for 25 minutes, or until hot.

STIR Sprinkle with the onions. Bake 5 min.  Be careful not to let the onions burn!

TIP: Use 1 bag (16 to 20 oz.) frozen green beans, 2 pkg. (9 oz. each) frozen green beans, 2 cans (about 16 oz. each) green beans or about 1 1/2 lb. fresh green beans for this recipe.

Post from: Madam Chow's Kitchen