"Funeral Casserole"

Growing up we regularly attended church and anytime someone in the congregation or a friend/family member died we would gather for a potluck meal. Inevitably someone (or multiple people) would bring this dish, which is why it is now known in our family as the "Funeral Casserole".

1 casserole serves 4-6 (I made two)!

2 whole chicken breasts (or 4 boneless breasts) Cooked and cubed

2 cans chicken noodle soup

1 can cream mushroom soup

2 beaten eggs

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup grated cheese (mild cheddar)

6 slices bread - cubed

1/2 cup margarine

Arrange cubed chicken on bottom of 9 x 13 dish. In saucepan, melt margarine. Turn down/off heat and stir in bread cubes, add soup (undiluted), celery, cheese, 2 eggs. Stir and pour on top of chicken.

Melt 1/2 stick margarine in the microwave. Mix in 2 cup of crushed corn flakes. Add to top of chicken mix. Bake 40 - 50 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Pierogi

I love starch, especially potatoes and pasta. Pierogi combine both of these things, which makes them one of my favorite foods on the planet. I used a recipe from Gourmet this time, and they turned out pretty tasty (well...the butter and onions didn't hurt the flavor either...) Here is the recipe. I used a pasta maker to roll out the dough uniformly (as opposed to rolling out the dough, which always seems to be too elastic and doesn't hold its shape). To make for ten people, double the following portions.

For dough

• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
• 1 cup water
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

For potato filling

• 1 1/2 pound russet (baking) potatoes
• 2 c. grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 c. milk

For onion topping

• 1 1/2 medium onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1/2 stick butter

• Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter
• Accompaniment: sour cream

preparation

Make dough:
Put flour into Kitchenaid mixer bowl. Add water, egg, oil, and salt to well and carefully combine with a fork without incorporating flour. Turn on mixer, using the dough hook, and let knead for about five minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Invert a bowl over dough and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Make filling while dough stands:
Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain potatoes, then transfer to a bowl along with cheese, salt, pepper, butter and milk and mash with a potato masher.

When mashed potatoes are cool enough to handle, spoon out a rounded teaspoon and lightly roll into a ball between palms of your hands. Transfer ball to a plate and keep covered with plastic wrap while making 47 more balls in same manner (there will be a little filling left over).

Make onion topping:
Cook onion in butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), until slightly brown around the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Form and cook pierogi:
Halve dough and roll out 1 half (keep remaining half under inverted bowl) on lightly floured surface (do not overflour surface or dough will slide instead of stretching) with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 15-inch round (1/8 inch thick), then cut out 24 rounds with lightly floured cutter (this is where I used the pasta maker, rolling out the dough with the #2 setting). Holding 1 round in palm of your hand, put 1 potato ball in center of round and close your hand to fold round in half, enclosing filling. Pinch edges together to seal completely. (Brush half of the edge with water, then seal; do not leave any gaps or pierogi may open during cooking.) Transfer pierogi to a lightly floured kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and cover with another towel. Form more pierogi in same manner.

Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of pierogies, stirring once or twice to keep them from sticking together, and cook 5 minutes from time pierogies float to surface. Transfer as cooked with a slotted spoon to onion topping and toss gently to coat. Cook remaining pierogies in same manner, transferring to onions. Reheat pierogies in onion topping over medium-low heat, gently tossing to coat.

Serve with sour cream, onions and maybe a little bit of cheese on top! Mmm!

Pad Thai

For our weekly dinner exchange I wanted to try to make something less time consuming than previous dinners as I am also making a King Cake for a Super Bowl party we are attending this evening and the more time this pregnant lady stands in the kitchen, the more my body aches later in the day. Sigh. This delicious pad thai ended up taking the same amount of time as any other recipe but once I sampled, I decided it was definitely worth the time!

Sidenote--this recipe only called for tofu but since some of the men would prefer chicken, I added sliced chicken and cut the tofu into tiny slices so it would go unnoticed. If you like your tofu extra firm as we do--put it in the freezer overnight, let it defrost and squeeze the liquid out. You will end up with super firm tofu.


Vegetarian Pad Thai (doubled to serve our group of ten)

Ingredients
12 ounces dried flat rice noodles (1/4 inch wide; sometimes called pad Thai or banh pho)
3 tablespoons tamarind (from a pliable block) or substitute 3 T Worcestshire sauce and 1 T line juice)
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons Sriracha (Southeast Asian chile sauce)
1 bunch scallions
4 large shallots or 1/2 large yellow onion
1 (14- to 16-ounce) package firm tofu
6 T peanut or vegetable oil
6 large eggs
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups bean sprouts (1/4 pound)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation

Cook noodles according to the instructions on the package.

Meanwhile, make sauce by soaking tamarind pulp in boiling-hot water in a small bowl, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Force mixture through a sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds and fibers OR mix the worcestshire and lime juice. Add soy sauce, brown sugar, and Sriracha, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Cut scallions into 2-inch pieces. Halve pale green and white parts lengthwise.

Cut shallots crosswise into very thin slices with slicer.

Rinse tofu, then cut into 1-inch cubes and pat very dry.

Heat 1 T oil in wok over medium heat until hot, then fry half of shallots or onion over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden-brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Carefully strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Reserve shallot oil and spread fried shallots on paper towels. (Shallots will crisp as they cool.) Wipe wok clean.

Add 1-2 T oil to wok over high heat until hot. Fry tofu in 1 layer, gently turning occasionally, until golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer tofu to paper towels using a slotted spoon.

Lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in wok over high heat until it shimmers. Add eggs and swirl to coat side of wok, then cook, stirring gently with a spatula, until cooked through. Break into chunks with spatula and transfer to a plate.

Heat wok over high heat until a drop of water evaporates instantly. Pour in 2 tablespoons oil, then swirl to coat side of wok. Stir-fry scallions, garlic, and remaining uncooked shallots until softened, about 1 minute.

Add noodles and stir-fry over medium heat (use 2 spatulas if necessary) 3 minutes. Add tofu, chicken bean sprouts, and 1 1/2 cups sauce and simmer, turning noodles over to absorb sauce evenly, until noodles are tender, about 2 minutes.

Stir in additional sauce if desired, then stir in eggs and transfer to a large shallow serving dish.

Sprinkle pad Thai with peanuts and fried shallots and serve with lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, and Sriracha.

www.epicurious.com
Altered by Molly

White Chicken Chili

This is a recipe from my tried and true favorite, Betty Crocker's Cookbook! It's low fat w/ 320 calories & 6g fat per serving. I've included tortilla chips & mozzarella cheese as toppers, but it's also good with sour cream, salsa, green onions, cilantro, diced tomatoes, or whatever you have lying around. Enjoy!

White Chicken Chili
Prep: 30 min. Cook: 25 min Serves: 6

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. red pepper sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1 can (11 oz.) white shoepeg or whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 to 16 oz) great northern beans, drained
1 can (15 to 16 oz) butter beans, drained (I substituted another can of great northern beans)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1. Heat oil in 4-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken. Heat to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes. Stir in chicken; simmer until hot.

Butternut Squash w/Coconut, Lime, & Cilantro

Psych! I know, there may be tears shed over the gametime substitution of butternut squash for pork stirfry, but there was a meat ordering error (umm, it wasn't delivered and I didn't follow up). But, what a treat this meal shall be! You should be able to taste a little bit of Oberlin goodness - the butternut squash is from the farm share (it stays good for 3+ months), the veggie broth in the sauce is made of farm share veggies, and the rice was cooked broth made from a H.A. chicken. The recipe is a modification of "Butternut Squash and Noodles w/ Coconut, Lime and Cilantro Sauce" from Bon Appetit, May 1998. Modifications include the use of Thai House Red Curry Sauce (couldn't find paste) and serving it over rice rather than with udon noodles. Recipe was doubled.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces (about 4 1/2 cups)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chili
1 tablespoon minced garlic
.5 cup canned light unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
7 oz Thai red curry sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add squash; sauté 4 minutes. Add broth, jalapeño and garlic; bring to boil. Cover; cook until squash is almost tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, lime juice and curry sauce. Simmer uncovered until squash is tender and liquid is slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Cook rice. according to package (I used brown basmati). Serve squash mixture over rice and top with cilantro.

* I think that this could also be good pureed as a thick soup.

Shepherd's Pie

Mmmm... I have never made Shepherd's pie before and this recipe had the largest number of positive reviews... Enjoy!

Ingredients

* 1 small onion
* 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
* 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
* 1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables or niblet corn, prepared
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 8 to 10 medium red new potatoes
* 1 1/2 cups skim milk
* 6 tablespoons butter
* 1/2 cup lite sour cream
* 2 cups instant biscuit mix

Directions

Beef Layer: Saute onions in 1 tablespoon butter. Add ground beef. After beef is browned, add tomato sauce; Mix in vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Potato Layer: Peel and slice potatoes 1/4-inch thick. Cook in boiling water for approximately 15 minutes or until fork-tender. Whip potatoes with electric mixer; mix until moderately smooth. Don't over beat them; a few lumps are nice. Add 1/2 cup heated milk, 1/4 cup butter, and sour cream. Salt and pepper, to taste. Whip until mixed. Adjust thickness by adding more milk, if desired.

Biscuit Layer: Combine biscuit mix and 1 cup milk. The mix should be thinner than normal biscuit mix but not runny.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 9 by 2-inch pan, or any similar casserole dish. Layer half way up with the mashed potatoes. Next, spread a layer of mixed vegetables or niblet corn on top of potatoes. Then add a layer of the meat. Pour biscuit mix over meat. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over top. Bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes until top is golden brown. I doubled the recipe in order to feed 10 adults!

Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen and altered by Molly Elton (aka healthier).

Three Bean Turkey Chili, by MVL Jr.

Three Bean Turkey Chili from Epicurious.com

2 large onions chopped
1 head / 8 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1/2 cup olive oil
four 28-ounce & two 15oz cans crushed tomatoes including the juice
two 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chili powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 teaspoon dried orégano
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2lbs ground cooked turkey
2 large green bell peppers, chopped coarse
two 19-ounce cans kidney beans rinsed and drained well
1 can pinto beans rinsed and drained well
1 can black beans rinsed and drained well

coarsely grated Cheddar as an accompaniment if desired

In a large kettle cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until they are golden, add the tomatoes with the juice, the tomato purée, 1 cup of water, the chili powder, the cumin, the red pepper flakes, the orégano, the cinnamon, the salt, and the black pepper, and combine the mixture well. Add the cooked turkey and simmer the chili, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. Stir the bell peppers and the beans into the chili, and simmer the chili, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes, or until the bell peppers are tender. The chili may be cooled completely and chilled for 2 days or covered and frozen for 2 months. Serve the chili topped with the Cheddar or sour cream.