Invent Your Own Casserole

[Dove]

INVENT YOUR OWN CASSEROLE

I found this formula among the trivia I save for just such a "can't
think of a good tip" moment. I don't know where it came from and wish
I did. It is a great idea when you are in a hurry and have to come up
with something from your pantry. Considering it uses so much soap it
might have been Campbell's.

CHOOSE ONE SAUCE MAKER:
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can Cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano,
undrained

CHOOSE ONE VEGETABLE:
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can cut green Italian beans, drained
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can sweet peas, drained
1 (10 1/2-ounce) can asparagus cuts and tips, drained
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (13 1/2-ounce) can chopped spinach

CHOOSE ONE PASTA/RICE:
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 cup uncooked regular rice
4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
3 cups uncooked small pasta shells

CHOOSE ONE MEAT/FISH/POULTRY:
2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna in spring water, drained and flaked
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups chopped cooked ham
2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained

CHOOSE ONE OR MORE EXTRAS (OPTIONAL):
1 (3-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1/4 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 1/4-ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix

CHOOSE ONE OR TWO TOPPINGS:
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
1 cup round buttery crackers, crushed
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix

Combine 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream, 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1
teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper with Sauce Maker (omit sour
cream and milk when using tomatoes). Stir in Vegetable, Pasta/Rice,
Meat/Fish/Poultry, and, if desired, Extras. Spoon into a lightly
greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Uncover and
sprinkle with Toppings; bake 10 more minutes.

Makes 6 servings.


Chicken Casserole: cream of chicken soup, asparagus, rice, chicken,
Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs

Ham Casserole: cream of celery soup, green beans, wide egg noodles,
ham, garlic, 2 portions Swiss cheese

Turkey Casserole: 3 cans diced tomatoes, sweet peas, small pasta
shells, turkey, onion, garlic, 2 portions mozzarella cheese,
herb-seasoned stuffing mix or round buttery crackers

Ground Beef Casserole: Cheddar cheese soup, corn, elbow macaroni,
ground beef, sliced mushrooms, green chilies, taco seasoning mix, 2
portions mozzarella cheese

Meatless Casserole: diced tomatoes, corn, rice, ripe olives, 4
portions bell pepper, 4 portions celery, garlic, Parmesan cheese

Tuna Casserole: cream of mushroom soup, sweet peas, elbow macaroni,
tuna, sliced mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs

 

[kitchenelf]

Cool Marge - thanks for posting this!

 

[GB]

This is great Marge! Thanks

 

[Bangbang]

I think the following ingredients should be added as options.

tripe
liver
chicken livers
anchovies
rabbit
venison
bacon
raccoon
opossom
allgator
crawdad(cleaned and shelled)
conch
hog maws

 

[jkath]

have you guys used this search? It sure is good help when you need it!

http://www.campbellkitchen.com/search_results.asp?form_name=basic%5Fsearch&q=find+a+recipe&submit.x=25&submit.y=11

 

[Lugaru]

Personally I would like to round out every "category" to 6 options and use a common die to generate meals randomly when going shopping.

"I rolled a 3... ok.. chicken soup... and a two... sweet peas... Ok... I can still do this... 1... elbow macaroni..."

that would be "fun" In a way.

 

[jkath]

Lugaru, you are hysterical!!!

 

[Dove]

Bang...you forgot Rattlesnake..
Marge

 

[crewsk]

Kraft does something very similar to this, only with fewer variations. I found 2 recipes on their site that do this. I'm sure there are more but these are the only 2 I could think of. The first is for drumsticks & the second is for a cake.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&recipe_id=74516


http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&recipe_id=74528

 

[Erik]

A few years back, when I used to put out lunch buffets, I went through a huge casserole phase.

A little magic, and some different ingredients...you can mae some cool things happen. Always a real good feeling when you really hit on something!!!

 

[mudbug]

Great list of ingredients, Marge. Will have to play around with some of these!

 

[Aria]

Marge, I don't care where you got it...glad you shared it. I printed a copy for my files. Thanks Aria

 

[bandonjan]

Thanks Dove, I was looking for something to do
with leftover chicken and stuffing.

 

[lpb]

love it!

This is great! Nothing like a little mix and match when you're stumped for dinner! Thanks!

lpb

Printed Big

 

[Jeekinz]

Considering it uses so much soap it
might have been Campbell's.

Never had a soap casserole before.....my Mom jammed a bar of Ivory in my yap once though.

 

[LeeAnn]

Looks like a great base list for casseroles, and fun! I'll have to get to the library and print this out, no printer here at home. :-( Maybe I'll let the kids each pick something from the list, that would be fun and interesting.

 

[JoAnn L.]

Thanks for posting Marge, very helpful.

 

[Flourgirl]

This is great for me...I'm casserole impaired for some reason. I have found that you can combine the "sauce maker" and the "starch/pasta" parts by just using a box of macaroni & cheese- kills two birds with one stone so to speak.

 

[LEFSElover]

............we're only as limited as our own imagination and mine is on the slide..........if we step outside of the box, the end results, can be astonishingly yummy.......... maybe here's an example, I stepped outside the box in the nutmeg, it's a tiny hint of "something" but not enough to make it stand out, just a little special

love this thread, thanks for posting Dove