Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I've taken a little time off.

For no reason.

Just lazy.

Or very busy.

But mostly a little of both.

I did make a really good casserole

last week. 

I forgot to take a picture, but I do have this:

Once you get past the cute, look at Mike's plate.

That's what is left of the casserole

that was supposed to feed 6-8. 

There were four of us.

So just, heads up.

I used one rotisserie chicken, 

I think two would have been a better choice

(and maybe have extend it by a couple of servings.)

Also, in her notes, the author mentions that the deli ham

 and cheese seem to release salt as

 they cook down so you

may want to reduce the salt in the sauce. 

No, you WANT to reduce the salt.

Mine was a bit salty.

I also felt there was a lot of sauce so I didn't 

use it all. I just got a good covering over the cheese

and called it done. 

I roasted some asparagus to go with it.

Good choice, but a green salad would be good too.

Sometimes what to "serve with" is a bigger

challenge than the meal itself.

:)

http://tsgcookin.com/2012/03/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/

Mac And (Butternut) Cheese Bake

This came from 

Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Butternut squash seems to have become the 

"it" food.

I've gotten to the point where I will 

substitute sweet potatoes

for it sometimes just because.

But not here.

I made the recipe as written with a couple of exceptions:

I used corn pasta,

I roasted my squash, 

because, really? Who would microwave it??

And most importantly, 

INCREASED THE BACON!!

Who puts two stingy pieces of bacon in

ANYTHING!!??

It was really good and

*almost*

vegetarian ;)

I can't seem to find it on their page so here you go:

3 cups of butternut squash (roasted)

8 ounces of pasta of your choice

1 T. butter

8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced

3 green onion, sliced

3 T. flour

1 C. milk

6 oz. Fontina cheese

Lots of bacon

Mash the roasted squash, cook the pasta.

Saute the mushrooms and onions in the 

butter till tender, 

sprinkle on the flour and cook one minute, 

add the milk and salt and pepper and cook till 

thick and bubbly.

Stir in the mashed squash, fold in the pasta.

Transfere half into a 2 quart baking dish

that has been coated with cooking spray. 

Sprinkle with half the cheese and a bunch of bacon

and repeat.

Bake 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Lentil Curry

From Martha Stewart.

I rarely try a Martha recipe anymore. 

A couple of reasons:

I get a lot of ideas from Google searches

and her website is sooo slow that I don't usually click on

something from it, 

and she's not in my family room everyday

anymore like the Food Network peeps.

I do enjoy catching her every once in a while on PBS

on Saturday afternoons, but how often does that happen?

I like watching her cook. 

I like to think about the minions running

around making it possible for

her to cook. 

I had a dream about Martha once, 

I don't remember any of the details other

than the most important one, 

she liked me!

But I digress, the curry, 

excellent!

I prepared it just as written except

for one glaring error, 

it calls for curry powder!!!

WHAT!!??

My friend Indra taught me that there is no one

curry powder. 

Every Indian cook worth their salt has their own blend

of spices used in curry dishes. 

I took that information to heart and have 

never purchased the offending

impostor since.

Here's the blend I used this time:

2 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. dry yellow mustard

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1/4 tsp. cardamom

It would be best if you had all those in seed form,

toasted them and ground them, 

but unfortunately I did not. 

And besides, 

ain't nobody got time for that.

http://www.marthastewart.com/337671/lentil-curry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIKI7ArSvlY

Asian Sloppy Joes

Without the Sloppy or Joe.

I don't know which one.

Read: No Bun!

But what are Sloppy Joes if not

a meat sauce of sorts?

I saw this in

Cuisine At Home

and had to try it. 

Who needs a bun?

I had corn pasta!

It's really good, 

I substituted ground turkey for the sirloin,

 cut back on the chili paste by about half

and added a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch

mixed with water at the end to thicken it up.

Here's the recipe with my adaptations:

 1 Lb. ground turkey

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced onion

2 T. sesame oil

2 T. each of grated ginger and garlic

2T. soy sauce

1 t. chili garlic sauce

1 T. brown sugar

1 can sliced chestnuts, chopped

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained

1/3 cup Hoisin sauce

2 T. cornstarch

Saute the celery and onions in the sesame oil

till soft, add ginger and garlic, cook for about 1

minute, add the turkey and cook through.

Add remaining ingredients and heat through. 

Add the cornstarch/water combo at the end.

Serve it on a bun if you want to conform. 

Or not.

Cassie's Stool

About two weeks before Christmas

Gaye and I decided Cassie needed a stool.

A fancy painted stool, 

ala MacKenzie Childs but not at the $295 price point.

 I have paint and I have power tools.

Better yet, I have a friend who is a craftsman extraordinaire!

A collaboration formed 

and Cassie had a stool in time for Christmas. 

Now we just need her to get born.

Details.

Hoisin Pork Salad

In theory it was supposed to be a roast, 

but it just shredded and the salad

I was going to use as a supporting player

got to become the star.

Or at least worked it's way into the credits.

The salad is a mix of;

romaine,

napa cabbage,

celery,

red peppers, 

and golden raisins

tossed with a store-bought Asian dressing.

The pork is another Rachel Ray.

Heads up, Rachel likes her food HOT!

I'll link the recipe, 

the things I "adapted"

were:

I used two pork tenderloins instead of the 

loin roast called for, 

and the 1 tablespoon chili paste

I cut to 1 teaspoon. 

Good call.

http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/dinner-recipes/hoisin-pork-roast

Breakfast Quinoa

My food photography stinks.

But this stuff is 

good, 

hot, 

and not oatmeal.

It's a 2 to 1 ratio of almond milk to quinoa

with a couple of splashes of vanilla, 

a packet of Stevia

and a handfull of Craisins.

It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to cook up

and then I tossed on some sliced almonds.

I bet it would be good with 

dried cherries and 

almond extract too.