Casserole Suggestions Needed

[browngirl]

At the school where I work we have all be taking turns cooking for a family who is having Difficulties. I signed up to do this in a couple weeks. (The restrictions: no liver, no goat cheese, nothing raw.)

From helping coordinate the food I noticed that they have gotten lots of lasagne, so if I can I'd rather make something else. I have chicken in the freezer, so a tasty idea that would let me use that would be good, too.

So, any ideas? Thank you in advance!

Comments

[quietann.livejournal.com]

do they do spicy? Red beans/rice with some sort of sausage???

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a thought. Maybe I'll make them Jamaican Stewed Beans...

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Chicken divon? (We use sour cream rather than mayonaise, and put bread crumbs over the top.) You can serve this over rice, or bake it with rice in it.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

That looks good! Very stick-to-your-ribs. Should the rice be cooked or uncooked? Uncooked, I'm expecting, but I thought I'd ask.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

We pre-cook it and leave it a bit firm. After baking it gets soft. If you like brown rice this is a great recipe for it, since it holds up better to the long baking time.

[eudociainboston.livejournal.com]

Would chicken enchiladas work?

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

They probably would... and we have enchilada sauce and all.
*contemplates*

[papervolcano]

That's such a nice thing to do :)

I'm presuming things like a mild chicken korma aren't suitable? Or some sort of mash-topped pie (Shepherds/Cottage/Fisherman's...)? I don't have any chicken recipes, being veggie, but this is nice and adaptable, and also one of my all-time favourite comfort foods. It's a bit calorific and Northern-European-Winter, but you may find it suitable.

Scalable by the size of dish/number of people you want to feed - quantities are per person, I usually do for four.

5 small waxy potatoes (floury potatoes would likely disintegrate)
little bit of oil
stock
sage (optional, but nice)

other stuff: I add about a handful of sweetcorn and 1 small onion per person. Other suggestions would be nicely meaty mushrooms, a couple of rashers of bacon per person, or a sausage.

Preheat the oven to 180*C

Wash the potatoes, and peel them if you feel like it. Slice them (and here my instructions read "no thicker than a pound coin" - call it about 5 mm or a couple of quarters stacked?)
Fry the potatoes until they're slightly coloured on each side. Tip out onto kitchen paper to blot.

Generously butter a shallow baking dish/roasting tin. I'd guesstimate that the bacon should be cut to about the size of a postage stamp, while I'd keep mushroom or sausage chunks chunky. Layer the potatoes in the dish, scattering your stuff, sage, salt and pepper as you go. Dot the surface with a couple of knobs of butter, and pour over enough stock to cover.
Bake for about an hour, until the potatoes are soft enough to squish.

To reheat, just microwave for 3-4 minutes, or shove in the oven for 15.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

OK, I think I'm snagging this recipe for myself! Thank you for it, and for these suggestions! (though I don't think the family is much into curry.)

[kyttn.livejournal.com]

Since I don't cook much, my recipes all involve using canned goods, but I am sure you can adjust the recipe to make it something healthier/nicer. One of my kids favorite dinners growing up was this:

Make Stove Top Stuffing, and pat it into the bottom of a lasagna dish. Next add a layer of french-cut green beans (canned tastes a little better than frozen), or cooked asparagus. Then add a layer of cooked chicken (can be baked, broiled, boiled, fried on stovetop, whatever). Top with 2 cans of cream-of mushroom or golden mushroom (or your favorite cream-of) soup. Sprinkle french-fried onion bits over the top. Bake, covered with foil, but vented, at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. Remove foil for last 15 minutes to allow top to brown a bit.

Not gourmet by any means, but very easy.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

And also warming and filling; I can definetely play with this recipe.

Thank you, my friend. :)

[awfief.livejournal.com]

Chicken Cacciatore? Though it's still a lot of tomato....but it's a great recipe that the more you cook it the better it gets.....so you can make batches, freeze them, and when they reheat the batches they will taste even better.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

That's definetely an idea; thank you!

[cellio]

Does it have to be a casserole? Plain old roasted chicken works well -- reheats fine or can be eaten cold, and is easy to do in quantity.

If you specifically want a casserole, I've had good luck with this: saute onions in fat until limp, then stir in raisins (which you have plumped in water), diced apples, and some curry powder (not all curry is hot). Cook a little (apples shouldn't get totally mushy), then set that aside and brown the chicken in the same pan. Now put chicken in a casserole dish, cover with the other stuff, and bake at 375 until safe (apply meat thermometer). Serve over rice.

Sometimes I add slivered almonds, or sometimes pine nuts, to the pan.

[altaego.livejournal.com]

That sounds nice. You could bake the rice in with it. Cook it first?

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Casseroles seem to be the order of the day. Meanwhile, this dish you've related to me looks really delicious. What do you call it?

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

I have a recipe for an easy tuna casserole if you'd like.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

IIRC, the student is not so fond of tuna, but thank you, a lot! I've really been delighted by all the help offered.

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

I don't know any chicken casserole dishes but I have these 2 chicken dishes suitable for serving up for a group:
Dijon Chicken Stew with Potatoes and Kale (http://fitfool.livejournal.com/64472.html) (but it's prep-intensive I think)
Chicken and White Bean Soup (http://fitfool.livejournal.com/120121.html) (also takes a while to finish)

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Those both look so delicious, and healthy too! Thank you!

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

*grin* Thanks. I seem to remember both of these taking some time to prepare but they made a ton of food and I had plenty of leftovers.