Best Bare Cupboard Casserole Recipes

BARE CUPBOARDS DINNER PARTY CASSEROLES

Bare Cupboards Dinner Party Casseroles image

This makes two hearty Italian style pasta casseroles with beef and spinach for very little money and makes good use of ingredients you might have lying around your house. This comes from my Aunt's recipe collection, updated a bit for my tastes. She had originally clipped this from an article in Family Circle in 1973. I wanted to share the story behind this recipe as well as the recipe itself. Basically, a mom of six children had, on the spur of the moment, decided to invite guests over for supper on a Sunday. Apparently, no stores were open on Sundays, so she was unable to buy any ingredients and was faced with only using her meager household staples, and relied on her Italian family background for inspiration. This was what she created. This makes two big casseroles, one you can eat now, and one you may freeze and reheat later if you are not having a bunch of guests over. I think if you don't have any spinach, you could substitute another veggie like roasted red peppers, sauteed mushrooms...really whatever you have handy is the point here. Also, when you make this...you might say "this could use some more cheese"...go ahead and use extra cheese if you want, melting some on top during the last 5-10 minutes of baking.

Provided by HeatherFeather

Categories Vegetable

Time 2h30m

Yield 16-20 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil or 1 tablespoon canola oil, as needed to keep meat from sticking to pan
2 large chopped onions (about 2 cups)
2 stalks celery & leaves, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
3 large carrots, finely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 (35 ounce) cans Italian-style tomatoes
2 -3 teaspoons salt, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder, to taste
1 1/2 lbs pasta noodles, cooked and drained (she used macaroni and tiny seashell shaped pasta)
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry well (or use other veggies)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Steps:

Brown meat in enough oil to keep meat from sticking, about 5 minutes; drain fat.
Add onions, celery, carrots, and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes, salt, oregano, pepper, and garlic powder (all seasonings to taste).
Bring sauce to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta,timing it so that it is ready when the sauce has finished simmering.
Mix pasta, sauce and spinach all together, then pour into 2 greased 9x13" casseroles.
Sprinkle each casserole with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 F for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly (uncovered).

BEST EVER GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole image

Go fresh with Alton Brown's Best-Ever Green Bean Casserole recipe from Good Eats on Food Network. Onions tossed in panko breadcrumbs provide a crunchy topping.

Provided by Alton Brown

Categories side-dish

Time 1h10m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...

Check it out »

#60-minutes-or-less #time-to-make #course #main-ingredient #cuisine #preparation #north-american #main-dish #beef #easy #beginner-cook #inexpensive #ground-beef #meat #3-steps-or-less