Well, my Casserole is boring. Any suggestions for saving it?

[Quadlex]

Last night I sweated some onions and carrots, added two tins of crushed italian tomatoes, then added a mediteranian sauce mix my mother had given me, some chunks of chicken, a tin of canneloni bean and some patty pan squash once it'd cooked down a little, then baked the entire lot for half an hour and ended up with...

A boring slurry. It tastes alright, it's kinda sweet, but generally boring. So, since I made enough for four meals (I like to cook in bulk) I'm looking for ways to turn it into something decent.

I'm thinking either making a baked pasta, pureeing it into sauce, or mixing it into some sort of frittata, but none of them sound that appealing to me.

What would the other DC'ers do with my mass'o'cupboard casserole?

 

[Andy M.]

How about some baby spinach or rocket?

 

[Katie H]

How about some baby spinach or rocket?

Hmmmm! Andy, you are evil.

 

[kitchenelf]

Andy - Dove is waiting for you at the woodshed!

How about adding some pasta and baking like you mentioned? Maybe topped with some mozzarella cheese?

What exactly is in that Mediterranean sauce?

What about adding some hot Italian sausage (or not hot). You can still add your pasta and bake.

 

[Quadlex]

It's just a thick tomato paste with some herbs... The sort of thing you "Just add meat and vegetables!" if you're a lazy cook.

I thought it'd be a good way to get rid of it and also season the meal.

Andy... You're mean -_-

 

[college_cook]

I like the italian sausage idea. Toss some italian sausage in there with some parm and a good melting cheese of your choice, I would use mozz, and maybe some red pepper flakes and toss with pasta.

 

[chasinmichigan]

i'm thinking add some more chicken or sausage and make stuffed pasta shells with a spoonful of parmesan on top of each one.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Sounds like you need some herbs like oregano,basil,a good amount of garlic,and Im sure more salt and pepper and cheese if you like.If you skip cheese in cassarole serve over some pasta cooked in well salted water and top with some parmesan cheese.

 

[Constance]

The squash is what made it mushy. I'd leave that out and use pasta instead.
That's just me talking.

 

[Scotch]

My first thought was to add some grilled sausage, some roasted garlic, and some roasted green pepper.

 

[TexanFrench]

Well Quadlex, don't know if you'll read this before you eat the next serving of your "boring slurry" but I would bet that the mediterranean sauce mix from your mother wasn't up to the job of flavoring everything you cooked, all by itself.

I agree with the folks who are suggesting sausage--especially Italian sausage--because that would up the flavor quotient considerably. A good dollop of a zingy Italian herb mix and some garlic would help, too. I'd also throw in a little red wine--and serve the stuff over pasta or rice, with a sprinkling of good cheese, as a sauce-type thing.

"Taste as you go" is a good rule when you're cooking, until you get some experience in creating the flavors you like. If you're using a flavoring packet, what quantity of food is it intended to flavor?

Good luck!

 

[Half Baked]

One thing I'd try is make it into a spaghetti or macaroni casserole. Add the It sausage and garlic to the sauce, then pour it over the noodle of choice.

Top with cheese 10 minutes before the heating up is finished.

***********
If it's sloppy, could you boil it down to thicken it up before you continue? Then you could make It meatballs and have subs with that as the sauce.

 

[urmaniac13]

Me thinks Andy was suggesting "Rocket the vegetable" (also known as "Arugula"), not the Rocket that sends something off to outer space...
Interesting suggestion though... I never cooked rocket, always use them for salads and such... Andy, have you tried them cooked? How are they?

 

[Robo410]

I'd use your base as a sauce for a baked pasta of some sort ... lasagna or stuffed shells or even penne or zitti...you can still layer those. If you are going meatless as it sounds, use spinach or kale and ricotta and an egg to make clumps or balls, keep your sauce chunky but spice it up some...chilli flakes, basil or oregano, or fennel seed (ground), and then layer the pasta with the sauce, the spinach mix, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses etc. bake till bubbly ...

 

[StirBlue]

I would not add anything to the casserole to make it any bigger than it already is. Just use it for filling in cabbage rolls, stuffed green bell peppers, served hot over crunchy toasted garlic bread, use it for topping on baked potatoes, put it on a pizza pie crust. Otherwise use it as a side dish if you cannot freeze some for next month.

 

[Half Baked]

Is there enough bulk that you could strain some of the liquid out. You could use that for another meal....soups?

 

[PytnPlace]

Oh, soup is a good idea! You could freeze it in 1 or 2 cup portions and use it to add a spike of flavor to soups!

 

[Aria]

All of the above suggestions are fine. Texan French is an excellent one.
I think: if you have created some dish YOU DO NOT LIKE...eat as much of it as you can. Give it away. Addit to your compost. Why spend more time and ingredients? Start fresh with a new recipe.