Coquilles St. Jacques Casserole

I made this on-the-fly tonight.  I had a bag of frozen scallops and thought maybe some sort of "Coquilles St. Jacques" spin on them would be nice.  I was inspired to do so after we ordered the classic dish as an appetizer in a restaurant ($20 each!).  It had a delicious sounding spin on it made with mushroom duxelles and Béarnaise sauce, however it was served cold and the scallops were raw.  Below is the picture of the Coquilles St. Jacques we were served...we returned both and ordered something else.  I wanted to show my son what the classic dish tasted like though I had to do my own take on it as well, fingers crossed...  🤞

Pork & Beans Casserole

I had leftover pork shoulder from our Sunday roast last night so looked around at what I had in my fridge/pantry.  I came up with this after pondering countless casserole ideas in my head made with rice, pasta or potatoes.  I finally decided on beans instead.

Thanksgiving: Funeral Potatoes

My son requested these for our turkey dinner tonight after I listed the potato options.  I have never made or eaten this before but it sounded delicious.  I have made similar casserole dishes for breakfast.  For me, the Thanksgiving meal should be comforting so this would fit right in with the stretchy pant nosh... I used real potatoes and parboiled them rather than frozen bagged hash browns which I'm not a fan of.  

Apple Jelly Pork Tenderloin Casserole

I was gifted some homemade apple jelly and I was thinking I could use it with some pork tenderloin I had in the freezer.  I decided to create a casserole, all-in-one dinner on this rainy day.  I had some Swiss chard that needed using and we haven't had rice in a while, so those ingredients were included.  

Taco Hotdish

I saw Molly Yeh make this on her show on food t.v.  A "hotdish" is basically a casserole but that's what they call it in the mid-west apparently.  It has a protein, a starch and a veggie held together with a sauce.  I had ordered my Fritos in the last grocery delivery, so I was all set!  I also had tons of leftovers from a Pork Loin Roast last night so it would be perfect as the protein in this.  I edited her recipe for my own take on it:

Chicken, Andouille Sausage Cassoulet

I was surprised I hadn't blogged this recipe before as I've made it multiple times.  I had to dig up my recipe for it.  I'm not sure where the original came from now as its been years, but I spun my own take on it.  Ugh, company cancelled backyard dinner tonight staying home with COVID-19 symptoms.  I hope they are well and it doesn't turn out to be the virus.  Anyway, I was stuck now making all this food!!!  I was hoping to send some of it home with them too. ☹  I had everything out and ready to go, so had to proceed...and my freezer is jammed full, can't even put it there...

Bajan Macaroni Pie

While visiting Barbados last year, this dish was one of my favorite memories.  Below are pictures I took of it while there.  I decided it was time to make it.  I was able to order in fresh made bucatini from the farmer's market, so gave this a whirl tonight.  It is my understanding that every family has their own take on it, so I did my own too after perusing a few recipes...

Four Cheese Lasagna

I was having company over for dinner and lasagna was one of their requests when I asked them what they liked.  So I went with homemade Caesar salad, cheesy (Mozza, Grana Padano, Provolone & Ricotta - 5 lbs at least!) lasagna and homemade garlic bread.  Oh, and Tuxedo cake for dessert but I bought that at Costco.  I decided to assemble and bake this the day before.  I would just heat it up when they arrived.  I made the sauce two days before.

Pastitcio (Greek Lasagna)

I've never made but have always wanted to.  I decided on this by Chef Michael Symon.  I've been holding this recipe since he was on "The Chew".  I used my deep dish lasagna pan to make it in.  I had to edit and improvise a little; no lamb, fresh oregano or whip cream as I didn't have any of these in my kitchen tonight.

Miss Daisy's Beef and Cabbage Casserole

I re-watched "A Chef's Life" recently and wanted to make this casserole I saw on it.  My son and I love casseroles.  He doesn't love cabbage though, but I thought I'd give it a go and see if it took away from the dish for him... This certainly wasn't pretty looking but Vivian Howard said it was her favorite on the church homecoming buffet table when she was a kid.  Said she memorized Miss Daisy's dish so she could head straight for it.  This part of the episode brought tears to my eyes, in a heartfelt way.

Christmas Day Dinner: Savory Mushroom Bread Pudding and more...

Merry Christmas!!!  ❄🎄⛄❄ There was a lot of debate over what would become Christmas dinner this year - steakhouse surf & turf? Greek pastitsio?  Porchetta (next year!)?  In the end, it was Prime Rib, again (at my son's request), and I chose to make this as a side in place of my usual Yorkshire pudding.  I took my own liberties with it.  I love stuffing, so this seemed suitable to serve.  I also made these pomegranate roasted carrots as the veggie side.  Riced potatoes w/ butter and cream completed the entree course.  There was no appetizer, but I did do dessert!

Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Casserole

Ugh - this was the LAST of the turkey.  I was getting rid of it, and that was that!  This is my own creation.  I wanted mushrooms.  Mmmm, mushrooms sounded great to me!  More turkey, not so much, haha.

Cheesy Mushroom Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

Good Eats - The Return came back to food t.v.  I was happy to see this again, as I was sick to death of the old re-runs.  Cooking Channel Canada plays them for multiple hours on a daily basis.  So much that it made me cringe and flip the channel whenever I saw the old show repeats.  I was even happier to see a quinoa recipe from him so decided to give it a go.  I followed it exactly with no edits of my own.  I DVR'd the show too, and watched it again before I began making this tonight.

EPIC Deep Dish Lasagna

I've always wanted my lasagna to look like this .  It took a long time for me to find a deep dish lasagna pan.  I ended up just ordering one from Amazon (4 inches deep), but I looked locally everywhere.  I also spent a long time deciding what ingredients to use.  If you've ever been to an Italian nonna's home and had their lasagna, there are no others that will ever match it...ever, just sayin'...

Homemade Baked Beans with Weenies

On vacay now and I felt like making this - who doesn't love weenies and beans?  Plus it was surprisingly cold, grey and chilly when I woke up, so this dish seemed perfect for today.  I remember years ago making baked beans and after all the time it took, I decided it tasted just like opening a can of pork 'n beans and haven't made them since.  However, canned processed products are way down on my list of use nowadays... This recipe (my own concoction) is time consuming so not something I would make while working.

Creamy Garlic Chicken Spanakopita Casserole

I have never, ever used phyllo dough before (that I remember), so this would be a first.  I had some in my freezer but threw it out when it turned about 10 years old.  😉 It was half price on sale on this week so I got a new box for $1.99.  When I saw this on Serious Eats, I knew I must make it, though I edited it for my own tastes and technique.  I love using my cast iron pan but I just felt better about making it in my 13" x 9" Le Creuset casserole dish.  I didn't get a chance to get to Costco for the spinach so I paid double.  One pound cost me $8 at my grocery store beside the office.  Anyway, here's what I used:

Easy Eggplant Parmigiana

I have never made this and I think it's because I make Moussaka + newer version, which I love.  I have fried eggplant before and it sucks the oil - like a sponge.  I didn't want to try this dish with deep frying so I did it the same way I make my moussaka.  Eggplant was priced good where I bought it, and for $3, I picked up three.

Leftover Pork Roast Cheesy Egg Noodle Casserole

I had quite a lot of pork roast leftover from last night's dinner.  I decided to invent a casserole with whatever I had in the house.  I went rummaging through the cupboards and fridge.  What I ended up using:

Chicken, Mushroom, Stuffing Casserole

We had company coming over and I felt like making something easy but also comforting and crowd pleasing.  As it turned out, my son left work and was sick as a dog, so we cancelled our guests.  Anyway, this came to my mind for the casserole dish I would create.  I still made it as I had all the ingredients now.  It is so not diet friendly in any sense of the way of healthy eating but I like to make casseroles for them.  Besides that though, I think it'd be great with leftover turkey.  I used rotisserie chicken for this tonight, purely for the ease of it. I made a simple chicken gravy to serve with this.  I put cheese on because my son is not a huge fan of "stuffing" (I know, he's crazy!  😜) ...so both the sausage and cheese were added to make it more likeable/palatable for him:

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

I based mine on the recipe here though I really made it my own and only used it as an initial guideline.  I was having company tonight and wanted to put together something easy but worthy of serving.  What I used: