Let's have a discussion about casseroles

[TrickyBob]

I said some words about casseroles. 

[TrickyBob]

In the mouse thread, some of said we don't understand/do/like them. Some said they do. I know why I don't, but I didn't realize many others didn't as well.

Obviously it's just food but they make whole cook books dedicated to casserole cooking and I haven't met very many people who do it.

[pedanticwench]

You don't see a point in casseroles? lol I think that's the funniest thing I've ever read on here.

[MWOS]

Put all the foods in a pan and bake it.

This seems like a good way to cook to me.

:shrugs:

[textbookcase]

I don't care what anyone says, they're delicious.

[pedanticwench]

Apr 2, 2013 11:21:20 GMT -5 cjoy said:

What's the deal with tacos though?

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Yeah, it's basically a sandwich, right?

[Deleted]

We will make two casseroles generally a week. H and I work weird hours, we rarely eat together. It's like a meal in a pan.


I didn't realize this was a weird concept.

[lintscreen]

I love casseroles. They taste good, they're easy to make, they are good for leftovers.

[chedominique]

We love casseroles in my house because it already has everything in it and it's food, lol. I can understand the casserole being a main dish, especially if it already has meat and veggies in it. If it's something like mac and cheese casserole, then I can understand it being a side dish for a large party. I guess it depends on the ingredients. But 90% of the time, ours is a main dish.

[TrickyBob]

It's not a weird concept, I just never knew lots of people who did it or that some areas did it more than others.

The area I grew up in, it was pretty much a sin to put all your food in one pan. Lol. I think a lot of it was the mindset of "meals should be big and elaborate and everything in one pan is cheating".

I admit, I don't know how to do casseroles. I can do a tator tot casserole, a chicken/rice/cheese one, but beyond that, I'm not entirely sure how some people can do them every single night. I don't know what to put in them.

There is nothing, at all, wrong with them. We just never did them. And by the mouse thread, I thought maybe there was something I was missing and that it was or wasn't a "thing" among different states/people/etc. Evidently it's 100% normal. Okay.

ETA: If anyone wants to direct me to some awesome casserole recipes, I will give them a shot and most likely come back and tell you how awesome you are. 

[Deleted]

My comment was not really meant to be taken so seriously.

But, if you really want to know, no, I don't like casseroles.

I also don't like mushrooms, smoking, country music, Sex and the City, and sundry other things.

[Deleted]

Why do you like them? Delicious. Cheap. Easy

Why don't you like them? There are some I find disgusting - anything mushroom, greenbean casserole, anything chunky tomato-heavy.

Are they big in your area? Yes and no.

I had breakfast casserole for breakfast and am having a different kind for lunch. Strange, but that's how the freezer meal rotation worked today.

[TrickyBob]

Apr 2, 2013 11:27:45 GMT -5 cjoy said:

Moonbeamlove, where did you grow up? Did people serve lasagna in little separate piles of noodles, cheese and sauce?

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Lasagna was lasagna. I never considered it a casserole, because how else are you going to make lasagna? 

The Amish/PA Dutch part of PA, I have found, is really old school and depending on how your parents were raised, you either did things the normal way or the old school way. I apparently do them the old school way. Which again, is not wrong. It's just how I was raised. 

And either way, I get your point Cjoy, it's unfathomable that anyone dare asks about casseroles from lack of experiencing them growing up. 

[sparkythelawyer]

This is clearly because you have never experienced the awesomeness of my Cream of Crap Chicken :-)

[VeryViolet]

I make a delicious pasta casserole and an amazing egg casserole. I HATE green bean caserole and LOVE tator tot casserole. That is all I have to add lol.

[TrickyBob]

Apr 2, 2013 11:28:45 GMT -5 @misoangry said:

My comment was not really meant to be taken so seriously.

But, if you really want to know, no, I don't like casseroles.

I also don't like mushrooms, smoking, country music, Sex and the City, and sundry other things.

Well if this helps, this post wasn't supposed to be so serious. I thought people would maybe toss around some casserole ideas, tell their favorite ones, etc. 

[Deleted]

Do you like crockpot meals?

It's basically that, cooked quicker in a dish instead of a pot.

Or one-pan meals.

Easy, filling, you can make them healthy (a la Farmer), I don't see what's not to like.

Are you someone who likes to compartementalize their food (like literally, cafeteria tray style)? If so I can see how all these would be less appealing. I get that way with pasta and salad -- no touch!!

[daisyheadmaizie]

I'd go for some breakfast casserole right now.

[EmilieMadison]

You know what I dont get? Salad. And also, soups and stews. I mean, WTF.

[Deleted]

Apr 2, 2013 11:32:09 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

I thought people would maybe toss around some casserole ideas, tell their favorite ones, etc. 

If that's what you wanted, you should've asked instead of challenging people to defend their casserole opinions.  LOL.

[fuckyourcouch]

@misoangry gets me.

i do like casseroles though.

also the less dishes required for my dinner the better.

[jigsy]

Growing up, we had cassarole all the time because it was an easy, cheap way to make ingredients strectch. (I was poor).
What do you make when you have 1 lb of hamburger and 6 people to feed? M

[TrickyBob]

Apr 2, 2013 11:33:20 GMT -5 ninjabridemom said:

Do you like crockpot meals?

It's basically that, cooked quicker in a dish instead of a pot.

Or one-pan meals.

Easy, filling, you can make them healthy (a la Farmer), I don't see what's not to like.

Are you someone who likes to compartementalize their food (like literally, cafeteria tray style)? If so I can see how all these would be less appealing. I get that way with pasta and salad -- no touch!!

No, I don't compartmentalize my food. 

Seriously, I thought this thread would go a totally different way. When I think of casserole, I think of side dish and not main meal. I figured people would offer up their casserole dishes they use as main meals. Or say if they use them more so as main meal or side dish. I make a lot of side dishes that I guess fall into that category, but never main dishes because I don't have much experience with them. Or I try to make them with chicken and end up with under cooked chicken and over cooked veggies. 

ETA: Yah, I agree I should have asked differently. 

[jane6672]

Apr 2, 2013 11:32:04 GMT -5 cjoy said:

You take casseroles way too seriously. And I say that as a Minnesotan.

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Hot dish!

[EmilieMadison]

Apr 2, 2013 11:34:55 GMT -5 cjoy said:

Apr 2, 2013 11:34:02 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

You know what I dont get? Salad. And also, soups and stews. I mean, WTF.

Ingredients!

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But what is the point? Why not just do it the regular way and have a veggie tray with some dip? Dont even get me started on stew because I just.dont.get.it.

[fuckyourcouch]

are you following recipes when you attempt these casseroles? i have never encountered a casserole recipe that was like, "mix raw chicken with veggies, bake inefficiently"...it's usually more like, brown the chicken in a pan first, or mix cooked meat with veggies and cheese and bake. or something like that.

other than chicken and rice, of course.

[Deleted]

I love making casseroles because I fucking hate trying to prepare veggies and get them done but still hot at the precise correct time.

[mrsgoontz]

I don't mind casseroles. I don't make them very often because it is hard to make healthy casseroles and I've been trying to watch what I eat.

That being said, here are some of my favorite recipes. I usually separate the casserole into two dishes: bake one and freeze one.

King Ranch Chicken

Chicken Florentine Casserole

Hashbrown Casserole

Breakfast Sausage Casserole  I love this one because I can make it the night before if I'm having company over and I just have to pop it in the oven in the morning.

[snipsnsnails]

Is this the place to put that I could never get behind macaroni and cheese as a main dish?

Or is that shun-worthy?

[verypunny]

Shepards pie is good, I also consider chicken pot pie a casserole type thing and enchilada bake. All these are regulars in my house. I will be trying the pierogi one next week, yum! If you dont think of a mac and cheese one as a meal how about adding some ham? Serve with carrot sticks and voila! Dinner!