The Casserole With No Name

I don't think I have posted this one yet... I hope not. Sometimes memory fails and, since I didn't see it when going back through posts, I guess I will put it up now.

A reader would have figured out by this time that I really enjoy cooking. Sometimes, though, I just haven't time nor the spare mental energy to spend lots of time putting something tasty together. In those instances, casseroles and one dish meals are truly great. In addition, having to be at work (so to speak, since I work right here but it is a real job) at 3:30 in the afternoon makes preparing a fancy meal pretty much impossible. Never having been a fan of slow cookers nor casseroles, which I ate waaay too many of as a child, this is all new territory for me but I am learning. Maybe unwillingly, but needs must as the devil (or paycheck) drives. So, with that all as a frame of reference, here is the Casserole With No Name....

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 15 ounces canned tomato sauce or equivalent fresh
• garlic powder, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces dry egg noodles
• 8 ounces room temp sour cream
• 6 ounces room temp cream cheese
• 1/2 cup diced green chilis (jalapenos work very nicely, thankyouverymuch)
• 6 green onions, white and green diced fine (or just mince up half a white onion)
  
• 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the noodles. Cook until al dente but not nearly to serving tooth. Remove from heat, drain and rinse well. Set aside.
Heat oven to 350F.
Brown the beef, making sure it is nice and crumbly. Pour tomato sauce over. Add the garlic and pepper, stir in well. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes or so until thickened.
Mix sour cream, cream cheese, onions and chilis together. It does help if you use your hand mixer to do this, makes the mixture nice and fluffy.

Find a lasagna pan or a casserole dish, 8 x 13 with 2" sides, either grease it with butter or use cooking spray.
Place all the noodles in the pan. Spread them out evenly.
Pour the beef sauce over the top.
Plop spoonfuls of the sour cream mixture on the sauce and spread it around almost to the edges of the pan.
Next, spread all that grated cheddar on top of the sour cream mixture.
Cover with foil and bake for an hour. Uncover, turn off oven and let dish sit for 15 minutes or so.

This is really good stuff as far as leftovers are concerned, too. Once the casserole has cooled, cut it up into squares and put them on a cookie sheet. Freeze until solid and wrap in foil or vacuum pack. It reheats really well and being in the freezer doesn't seem to do anything but improve the flavor. I think...)

"Marzetti's" Spaghetti Pie

The Joy of Cooking is one of my favorite cookbooks for everyday, simple food or what Himself calls "real food." From spiced tea to a form of cassoulet, pretty much anything you might want is there. That explains why the book is approximately the size of Gray's Anatomy. Sometimes the dishes are so simple that they are pretty bland. We found that to be the case with the spaghetti pie recipe. As written, the only herb included was a teaspoon of dried oregano and the amount of garlic was only 2 teaspoons. This to balance and enhance a pound and a half of beef, a large onion and43 ounces of tomatoes? I think not.
I started the recipe just as written but as it simmered it became more bland, developing no flavor. Taking a page from Lydia Bastianich, I added a number of flavorings and aromatics. Tasting, adding, adjusting, tasting again produced a very nicely balanced dish. The original recipe also called for a full pound of cooked pasta, but we only used 1/2 pound. Note that the herbs are dried in this version, change the amounts to your particular taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

Here's my version of the spaghetti pie, which will serve 4 really hungry people or 8 not-so-hungry folks.

Main ingredient preparation:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 large onion, coarse chop
• 3 cloves garlic, mashed or minced.

Sweat the onion in a heavy pan, using either olive oil or butter. When onion has softened but before it browns, add the meats. Break beef and pork apart with a spatula and cook just until pink. Stir in the garlic and steep until aroma is released.

• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 15 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, quartered, juice reserved
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon crushed anise seed
• 1 bay leaf

Add all the above, including half of the juice from the peeled tomatoes, to the meat combination. Stir well, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cover loosely, stirring and tasting occasionally. This can be simmered anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending on how much time the cook has. Adjust flavorings as it cooks, adding herbs or aromatics, such as onion or garlic powder, as it cooks. Add remaining juice if the mixture begins to stick or becomes too thick.

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter a 13 x 9 inch casserole.

Assemble the dish:

• 1/2 pound small dry pasta, mini penne, rigatoni, anything you like, cooked al dente and drained
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 cup shredded or sliced mozzarella

Remove meat mixture from heat, take out the bay leaf and stir in the cooked pasta and cheese. Turn the mixture into the casserole and top with:

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

Melt 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the topping. Bake until dish is bubbling around the edges and has browned nicely. I found that 350 didn't brown the topping to my satisfaction so I turned the oven up to 375 for about 20 minutes, which did the trick.

Remove the casserole from the oven and allow to sit a minimum of 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread and a salad for a hearty and tasty winter meal.