Meat Lovers Casserole

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This is a man’s meal.

It's loaded with meat - so much so that I advise any vegetarians to quit reading now - Your head might explode by the end of the next sentence. This casserole contains three and a half pounds of cooked animal flesh and five, yup, FIVE cups of cheese. Not to mention the pound of pasta and quart of sauce.

All said and done I bet there is 90,000 calories in this pot. Enough man fuel to power the Vegas strip on Super Bowl Sunday.

Adding to the Manliness of this casserole - it’s super simple, idiot proof.

All that is needed is to mix this stuff together and hit the cook button. I guess there is one difficult part - making the pasta. Which, to be honest, if that is difficult – like the vegetarians – stop reading this blog now because the recipes on the site will make your head explode.

I served this at a meeting attended by about 20 guys - it went so fast that not everyone there got to try a full helping. If your hosting a party for the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings or catering a meal for the patrons of the local strip club, this should be on the menu.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Every so often I cook the hearty snack for a local church group that I attend. This recipe is what I made for them last Wednesday night. I really enjoy making things for the group because it’s really the only time I get to cook for a large group of guys, which is a different test group for recipes. Most women would look at this dish and see nothing but calories, some would dare to try it, and I’m sure would enjoy it, but many would turn away at the site. To be fair, there are guys out there too that would see this and wince.

I have found there is no better test for a Football party snack than this group of guys. If it’s good, there will be no leftovers - no matter what the amount. I made this with the intent of making to much. I thought there was no way they would eat it all - and I was totally wrong, in fact the opposite happened. There wasn’t enough!

This dish is a must if your hosting a Super Bowl Party.

Eat well, cook often ...

RECIPE
Serves 15; 2 hours, 30 minutes
2 lb package  Meatballs thawed
1 lb Ham diced
4 oz Pepperoni
4 oz Bacon crumbles
5 C Pasta sauce
5 C Mozzarella cheese
       (4 C mixed in, 1 C for topping)
1 lb Elbow macaroni

Make pasta
Bring 2 quarts of salted water to boil in a large pot, add pasta, return to boil. Cook 7 to 9 minutes for al dente. Then drain.

Assemble, cook, serve
In a large slow cooker, mix together meatball, ham, pepperoni, bacon, pasta sauce, pasta and most of cheese. Once mixed together top with remaining cheese, cover and cook on high setting for two hours or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Then serve.

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

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Green bean casserole is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. This year I went a little nutty and decided to make it from scratch. The fresh mushrooms are the biggest difference. Frozen or processed green beans are close in flavor to fresh picked and blanched, but the mushrooms in a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup have nothing on fresh baby bellas.

Going the fresh route provides big juicy and flavorful bits of mushroom which are complimented here by the addition of fresh thyme. Everything is bound together with a fresh cream sauce made from a roux. I could have went all out and made the french fried onions from scratch too, but this wasn’t the only dish I was making and the store bought onions had to suffice.

It really didn’t matter though, the fresh mushrooms were the star of the show and really helped kick this thanksgiving classic up a notch or two.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I made this casserole in two stages. When I started it, I got to the point of adding the french fried onions and I thought that I had messed up the cream. (More on that in a moment) I quit on the recipe, let it cool and then put it in the fridge to be eaten later.  I didn't think I would be publishing it here at that point.

The next afternoon when I fried a turkey, I added the french fried onions, heated it up, then topped it with more onions and browned them. It tasted great and provided a big surprise.

The cream that bound it all together was much thicker than I thought it was the night before and was why I quite on it. I didn’t pour off any of the liquid from the mushrooms and I added the beans before the flour which made the cream too runny, or so I thought. The next time I make this I will drain the extra liquid and create the cream before adding the beans. Although this recipe has flaws, it still made for a tasty thanksgiving side dish that will be good on any table, which is why I decided to share it.

I am very critical of my work and many times it is tasting the leftovers or returning to it later (like this recipe) that I surprise myself. I knew the flavors would be there, which is why I saved it to be eaten with the turkey. Good thing I continued with the documentation the next day.
 
Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Side for 6 to 8; 1 hour
1 lb Green beans, fresh
1 lb Baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1/4 C Unsalted butter
1/4 C Flour
2 C Milk
1 Tbs Fresh thyme
1 1/2 C French fried onions

Blanch green beans
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add green beans and salt to taste. Cook beans 7 to 8 minutes or until cooked through, remove and place in a large bowl of ice water for at least 5 minutes, then drain.

Cook mushrooms, add beans, butter, flour
Over medium heat in an oven-safe skillet, cook mushrooms until soft and liquid rendered, 7 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add green beans and butter, cook until beans are heated through and butter has melted, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in flour and cook another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add milk, simmer, stir in onions, bake
Stir in thyme and milk and bring mixture to a simmer, cook until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Once thickened, stir in 2/3rds of the onions and place the remaining on top of casserole. Bake in a preheated 400° oven until onion on top are browned and crispy, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Green Bean Pizza

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When I told my Mom about making this pizza she rolled her eyes and gave me a smirk. I couldn’t help but agree. Green bean casserole on a pizza. Sounds crazy, but it was an easy experiment and I had a bowl of cooked green beans left over.

After documenting my Cajun Green Beans recipe I realized I had not taken a photograph of the green beans after they were blanched. I cooked another pound a couple days later to get the shot, which left me with a batch of beans. I knew I was going to have them which got my brain working.

My favorite green bean dish is green bean casserole. I have made it several times (Once completely from scratch) and thought that I could do something inspired by the casserole. That’s when a pizza came to mind. I thought it was worth a try.

The end result was awesome – Pizza at it’s gourmet best! I left some for Mom and when I talked to her later she agreed. We were both totally surprised. The onions and beans compliment each other and the mushroom soup mixes with the cheese for an incredible creaminess not found on your average pizza.

BEHIND THIS BITE
Green bean casserole is something I look forward to every year around Thanksgiving. Four or five years ago I decided to make it completely from scratch - Fried onions and all - after watching Alton Brown do it on an episode of good eats.

The entire recipe ended up being disaster.

I started by burning the onions, because the recipe called for them to be crisped up in the oven rather than fried and I left them in to long. After that, the cream of mushroom soup never thickened properly which left me with a thin milky sauce coating the beans and burnt onions on top. It was a gallant effort that just never came together.

I think that this year I might try to make it again from scratch, but I’ll do it with my own recipes. I’ve made cream of mushroom soup as well as french fried onion here at Behind the Bites. I may break them out and combined them into a classic turkey day treat.

Eat well, cook often ...

Omelet Casserole

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Recently, I was asked to make a few brunch items for a party where 200 were expected. The first thing I thought of was an omelet casserole my Mom makes at Christmas.

She told me it was a recipe used by the ladies at St. John Bosco Church for their annual breakfast for high school graduates. She has helped put on the event for years and has access to the recipes. She granted me permission to use it, but I had to say 48 Hail Marys and 36 Our Fathers in exchange.

For this recipe, I make the St. John Bosco omelet casserole. I simplify it by using a bag of sausage skillet to replace a few fresh ingredients. The modification was made to save time because I had to make three pans of this for the party. The change doesn’t effect the overall taste and more importantly, it keeps the original recipe safe. I wouldn’t want to be excommunicated from the church for taking a secret dish from the ladies of St. John Bosco and publishing it in the local newspaper. 

BEHIND THIS BITE
This was one of three dishes I made for a family member’s graduation party. It was a late morning/early afternoon celebration that featured a brunch menu. Most people had multiple graduation parties that day and starting it off with a tasty brunch was a home run for those who attended. The other two dishes we’re biscuits and gravy and – the big hit of the party – french toast casserole. (French toast casserole is another gem that the ladies at St. John Bosco make. I’ll make it for the blog in the future – after I’ve said another 319 Hail Marys and 426 Our Fathers.) My mom insisted on making it for the party - which she did.

I went with the omelet casserole for the print column because of it’s ease. It has a wonderful flavor and it can feed a lot of people. It’s perfect for a breakfast or brunch party and the toughest part is cracking the eggs.

Although this was a brunch party, I think that the breakfast dishes would be a fun idea for a party in the evening, just for a different twist. I love breakfast food and could eat this dish for any meal of the day. Throw in a side of biscuits and gravy and I’ll be in culinary breakfast heaven.

Eat well, cook often ...

Cheesy Pizza Casserole

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Last week we had our first glimpse of spring. I took my dog on a walk in cargo shorts and a T-shirt – my official warm weather uniform. I inspected the gas grill to make sure it would be ready for the copious amounts of meat that will be cooked on it in the coming months. I was thinking about the garden, getting a new bicycle and possibly creating a nice spot in the yard for a fire pit.

Then came the weekend with 60 mph winds, snow and a brutal reminder that it’s March in Northern Indiana. The up and down climate is like standing between two rooms and I’m not sure which one I should be in.

This feeling is the inspiration for the following recipe. It’s a pizza in all aspects except the bread is replaced with pasta, which makes it a casserole – I think. Can a dish be called pizza with no bread in the recipe? If so, this is a pasta pizza, if not, it’s a pizza casserole. It’s just as good warm or cold – just like pizza, but needs to be eaten with a fork - just like a casserole. I think I’ll call it “Dinner in March.”

BEHIND THIS BITE

I created this recipe with the intention of calling it a casserole, and believe that is really what it is - I brought up the pasta pizza thing just to stitch in the winter/spring weather thing for the newspaper version of the column. As I mentioned above, the weather is just crazy this time of year in Northern Indiana. Today it was in the 60s and yesterday and the day before the high was in the 30s. On warm days you think about what you’re going to grill and what improvements you can make to the landscaping in the yard. Then in a matter of hours the snow is flying and you’re stuck inside making comfort food and breathing the carbon exhaust emitted from the gas fireplace.

I think this weather is more conducive to making people sick than the freezing cold of January and February. Warm days followed by below freezing is hard on the body.

I will say this – I CANT WAIT FOR SUMMER! These nice days are teasing me. I can’t wait to open my camper at our family campground and throw a chunk of meat in my brick smoker. Warm days are on the way!

With the warm weather I can move much of my cooking outside and start using the grill extensively. I’m hoping that this is one of the last few comfort dishes I will be cooking as we transition into spring.

Eat well, Cook often ...

Cheesy Burrito Casserole

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I used to eat frozen burritos like they were going out of style when I was in college. They can be eaten on the run or smothered in salsa and cheese and gobbled up while watching the news.

I was browsing through the freezer isle at Meijer and came across the frozen burrito section – I was instantly transported back to my college days. I knew I had to buy a package and come up with something simple.

I put the entire package of eight frozen burritos in a baking pan, mixed together a can of cheddar cheese soup and a jar of salsa for a sauce and topped it off with pepper jack cheese. I shredded the cheese myself from an 8 ounce block because it seems to melt better than packaged shredded cheese.

The end result was a surprisingly tasty dinner that takes about thirty minutes to make. 

BEHIND THIS BITE
This is the sixth recipe in my series of weeknight bites. Each time I go to the store, I see something new that inspires another recipe. I’m going to have to stop looking for a few days because I have enough stuff in the freezer now to make 3 or 4 recipes. I must discipline myself to empty my reserves before I go back to the new-found culinary gold mine known as the freezer isle.

Eat well, cook often ...