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Archive for the ‘Comfort Food’ Category

Ham and Hash Browns Breakfast Casserole

Posted in Comfort Food, Easy Recipes, tagged , , on May 14, 2010| 2 Comments »

When Most Wonderful Hubby and I travel (which isn’t nearly often enough to suit either of us), I love to collect recipe ideas. Years ago, we had breakfast at a great little European-style cafe in Spokane, WA. They had the best Dutch Babies I’ve ever eaten. They also served an extremely tasty breakfast casserole.

After much experimenting and many taste tests, I think I finally came close to reproducing the dish. It is easy to make and while it bakes you can either put your feet up and eat bonbons or finish getting the rest of your breakfast ready.

Ingredients for the casserole

Slice up the ham into cubes or bite-sized pieces.

Pour on the egg and cream mixture.

Sprinkle on cheese once the eggs are set.

Serve and enjoy!

Ham and Hash Browns Breakfast Casserole

1 bag of southern hash browns

6 eggs

2/3 cup of cream

2 cups of ham, cut into cubes or bite-sized pieces

dash of salt

1 tsp. all-purpose no-salt seasoning

1 1/2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan and place hash browns into pan. Pop into the oven. While the hash browns are heating up, beat the eggs, add cream, seasoning and salt.  Cut the ham into bite-sized pieces or cubes. If you don’t have left-over ham to use, a ham-steak provides just the right amount of ham for the casserole. Take the hash browns out of the oven, sprinkled the ham over the top then pour in egg and cream mixture. Turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees, put the pan into oven and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. When the eggs are set, sprinkle the top of the casserole with cheese and continue baking a few minutes until cheese is melted. Serve hot and enjoy!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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The Best-Ever Roast Chicken

Posted in Comfort Food, Easy Recipes, Fast Recipes, tagged , , , , , on April 16, 2010| 1 Comment »

The basic ingredients for The-Best Ever Roast Chicken

About 13 years ago I happened across one of the greatest wonders invented for baking. I have to tell you, it rocked my world.

When Most Wonderful Hubby and I first started out in this adventure of marriage, about the only type of meat I could cook that was fit for human consumption was ham. Not real ham. The kind of ham that comes pressed into an oblong form filled with water and preservatives. I could bake pies, cookies, cakes and anything that was sweet and horribly bad for you. Bread and rolls were simple enough to make. I was even fairly handy with salads and side dishes. But when it came to meat, I was pretty hopeless. My culinary expertise with meat was that you either boiled it until it resembled shoe leather or put it under the broiler and achieved much the same shoe leather result.

It was with great joy and celebrating that we ate the first chicken I made in a clay baker. It roasts chicken to perfection – juicy, tender, awesome!

The baker comes in two pieces. The bottom is basically glazed terra cotta and the top is unglazed. You soak the lid for 10-15 minutes in water. You put your food in the bottom, plop on the lid and place the baker into a cold oven. That is when the magic starts. As the pan warms and the food begins to cook, that lid steams the food to a form of excellence rarely known to normal taste buds. This pan works so well, a pork roast even survived an unfortunate incident with one of those pads they stick in with meat to absorb all the juice, but that is a tale for another day.

The only problem is, the company that manufactured this wonderful baker has gone out of business. So I’ve scoured the internet and found this suitable substitute.

If you haven’t tried baking in clay, give it a whirl. You’ll be very glad you did! Here is my recipe for the roast chicken.

The Best-Ever Roast Chicken

1 4-5 pound baking chicken

2-3 pounds of potatoes

1 bag baby carrots

salt

pepper

salt-free seasoning

1-2 tbsp. melted butter

Soak lid for 10-15 minutes. While it is soaking, dig the innards out of your chicken (if it has any) and rinse under cool water. Place it in the bottom of the baker. Peel and chunk potatoes. I like to cut them into bite-sized pieces. I also like to use baby reds when they are available and I skip the whole peeling process because there are a lot of other things I’d rather do than peel potatoes. Place potatoes around the chicken then dump in the carrots. You could also put in some onion pieces. Onions are on the “not consumable” list at our house, so I skip this step. Once you’ve got everything in the baker, sprinkle with salt, pepper and seasoning. If you like to use fresh herbs, you could put in rosemary, sage or basil.

Once the lid has soaked, place on top of the bottom and put into a cold oven. This is very important. Do not preheat the oven or you could crack your baker. Set the temp to 375 and bake for about two hours. I always like to use a meat thermometer to make sure the meat is up to the appropriate temp. When it is, I take off the lid, and baste the bird with the butter then let brown up for a  few minutes (who can pass up crispy, brown chicken skin?).

Crispy, Golden Best-Ever Roast Chicken

Remove from oven, slice meat and enjoy!

Happy Entertaining!

I am not a representative or selling agent for Reston Lloyd. Just giving you a link to a product that appears similar to the one I have.

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Cashew Chicken Casserole

Posted in Comfort Food, Easy Recipes, tagged , , on January 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I came across this recipe a few years ago and it has quickly become a favorite comfort food dish that is tasty enough to serve to family and friends alike.

The thing I like best about this particular recipe is that you can make it the night before! Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken Casserole

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

1/2 shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese

1 tsp. onion flakes

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 10 3/4 oz. can cream of mushroom soup

1 10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup

1 3/4 cups milk

1 can chicken broth

1/4 cup butter, melted

2/3 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 20)

3/4 cup cashew halves

In a greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan, layer the first six ingredients, in the order listed. In a bowl, combine the soups, milk and broth. Pour over layers in pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Toss butter and cracker crumbs together and sprinkle over casserole. Top with cashews and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until macaroni is tender.

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Comforting Salisbury Steak

Posted in Comfort Food, Easy Recipes, Fast Recipes, tagged , , on January 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

January is a great month to dig into my stash of comfort food recipes. When the weather is gloomy, there is nothing like a comfort-food meal to just make the day seem brighter.

One of Hubby’s favorites is salisbury steak. I know there are many, many variations of this recipe, but this is an easy one that we both enjoy.

Salisbury Steak

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 small can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup bread crumbs (or Saltine crackers crumbled)

1 egg

1 tsp. onion flakes

1 tsp. all-purpose seasoning (like Mrs. Dash)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup water

In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, onion flakes, seasoning, salt and pepper. Form into six patties. Combine water and soup in a separate bowl and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of the patties. Pour off excess fat.  Pour soup mix over patties, cover and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This is great served with rice or creamy mashed potatoes.

Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!

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