Saturday, October 29, 2011

It's A Me, Mario!

Hello again! Well I got a rather good response from loved ones that read my blog, and I couldn't believe it. Now I have all this pressure on me. Now, I must follow up and be as good as the last one!
Picture, if you will, a female version of Rex from Toy Story. That's me.
"I'm going for fearsome here, but I just don't feel it! I'm think I'm just coming off as annoying."
Replace fearsome with entertaining/fun/random cooking word.
Ok, now I have a few things to clarify.
First off: I will be making a lot of casseroles. They will be for my husband's lunches that he takes to work. A sandwich doesn't cut it for him. He needs something substantial and sustaining.
Second off: I will be using ground beef, ALOT. Why? Its cheap, and in a bunch of casseroles. But mostly, it's cheap.
Now, onto the recipe of today, which I got from allrecipes.com! "Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole" Prep: 20 m Cook: 20 m

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1 cup tomato pasta sauce, 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbs melted butter

As you can see in the picture, there are 2 dinner roll cans. Well I panicked in the grocery store because I couldn't remember how many cans the recipe called for. So I bought two. My motto in cooking, as well as life, is "Better safe, than sorry."(is that the correct, "than"? Or is it "then?")


Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over med-high heat for 8 to 10 mins, or until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain.

Once again, I used my awesome Mix-n-Chop. I don't know how I cooked ground beef without it.

Usually, when I need to drain cooked beef, I use a can from the recipe. But this recipe didn't have anything with a can. So, I take a can from my pantry(seen here is Stewed Tomatoes, who will be co-starring in an upcoming recipe), and mold aluminium foil to it. And viola!

A homemade grease trap.


Stir in pasta sauce; cook until heated through.



Meanwhile(back at the ranch...)in medium bowl combine mozzarella and sour cream. Mix well.


I just used the entire 2 cup bag of cheese. Minus a pinch, because I ate that. I also added a glob(technical term) or 2 more of sour cream. I would recommend heating the sour cream up a little, so it's easier to mix. I also added some Italian seasoning(about a teaspoon or more, I didn't measure). The recipe didn't call for it but I thought, why not? Don't be shackled to a recipe! ;)


Pour hot beef mix into ungreased(not a word) 9 1/2 or 10 inch glass deep dish pie pan or 11x7(2 qt) glass baking dish. Spoon cheese mix over beef mix.

You may notice that my dish is not glass. The only deep dish pie pan I have is stoneware(from Pampered Chef). I don't think it made any difference. We may never know for sure.


Unroll dough over cheese mix(If using pie pan, separate dough into 8 triangles, arrange points toward center over top, crimping outsides edges if necessary). In small bowl mix Parmesan cheese and butter. Spread evenly over top.


My husband opened the dough for me. Wanted to avoid screaming when it popped.

Arranging the dough was, in a word frustrating. It would not do what I wanted. So I said, "Who cares?" and slapped it on.


Bake at 375 degrees F for 18 to 25 mins or until deep golden brown.


There you have it! The finished product! The husband said it tasted good, but maybe cut back on the onion. Well, I do believe I did put in more than the 1/4 cup called for. Oops! :)
Once again, I did not partake in the consumption of this casserole. I will gladly have my instant mac and cheese for supper.






Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Let's Get This Party Started.

No one here but us servantless....Just kidding.
This isn't another blog copying Julie & Julia, but it is about cooking. And baking.
I like to cook, and bake. And when I try a new recipe(or old)I like to share it. My husband likes to eat what I make, and that's great. I just thought I would let others now about it. And I thought it would be a good way to archive what I made. So I don't repeat bad recipes, improve some, or adjust. So might as well get started. My first entry: "Beef 'N' Biscuit Bake"
I got the recipe from allrecipes.com, I love that sight. I always follow the recipe the first time, and then adjust when I make again. Here is goes:


Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef, 1(16 oz) can kidney beans rinsed and drained, 1(15.25 oz) can whole kernel corn drained, 1(10.75 oz) can condensed tomato soup undiluted, 1/4 cup milk, 2 Tbsp minced onion, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup cubed process cheese, 1(12 oz) can refrigerated biscuit dough, 2 Tbsp melted butter, 1/3 cup cornmeal

As you can see alot of it is off brand stuff, which works fabulously. I have no idea when I purchased organic kidney beans, but trust me that never happens (the mushroom is my salt shaker).

Directions

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the beef until no longer pink; drain.

I used my handy-dandy Mix n chop from Pampered Chef

Add beans, corn, soup, milk, onion, chili powder and salt; bring to a boil.

Question: Do store sell minced onion like they do minced garlic? If so please tell me since I had to shop this myself, and I know its not exactly minced.


Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Spoon into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, brush all sides of biscuits with butter; roll in cornmeal.


These things always scare me when I open them.

Probably not the cleanest way to do it, but I didn't want to dirty a bowl just for dipping them in cornmeal.

Place on top of bubbling meat mixture. Return to the oven for 10-12 minutes or until biscuits are lightly browned and cooked through.



The end result, which my husband loved. He said its now one of his favorite dishes. Me? I didn't try it. I usually don't try anything I make. I am very picky. But just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I can't make it. The last picture I leave you with is my cat, Rufus. He keeps me company while I cook. He is usually rolling around on the floor, or meowing for attention. Since the casserole was in the oven, I decided to reward him with some scratches.