Time for Change - try something new in the kitchen.

I hope you had a terrific holiday season and are looking forward to a great new year.

Our January cooking classes start tonight with Main dishes and Casseroles.

I believe most people think of casseroles as something your mother or grandmother subscribed to, that they're "old fashioned" and "out of date". Think back ..... what are some of the best memories you have spending time in your Mom's or Grandmother's kitchen? Don't those memories involve food and family? Don't we all have fond memories of what we, lovingly, refer to as "comfort food"?

As I was thinking about what to prepare for this month's classes, I, naturally, started thinking about "comfort foods", those recipes that brought us so much pleasure as children and even adults. Food enjoyed while sitting around the table with family and friends. While most of these recipes are "old fashioned", we can always give them a more "up to date" twist.

We're having Mac & Cheese (I have to thank Andee Ott for bring this to my attention. She made it for her family and it was a huge success - way to go Andee!). Of course it starts with, our old friend, white sauce. You might want to break out the memories of "Tuna Noodle" casserole. Kick it up a notch with fresh herbs and perhaps a cheese sauce instead of the old, mushroom soup, standby.

Recipe Note:

Cook your pasta till its aldante'. Drain, but do not rinse. Place the pasta in a large bowl and mix with white sauce (I used frozen Parmesan Cheese Sauce that I had leftover from the September cooking class. If I'm using white sauce in a "savory" dish, I usually season it with broth and herbs or seasonings that will enhance my recipe. If I'm not sure what I'll do with the sauce, I leave it plain, which allows me more flexibility with its use). Make sure that you have enough sauce on the pasta so it doesn't dry out as it bakes. Remember that pasta absorbs the liquids it's in as it continues to cook or sit, so you'll need to allow for that.

I added chopped garlic chives from my garden (frozen, of course) and a combination of cheeses; Parmesan and a blend of Colby/Jack, Gouda and Dubliner. Make sure that your cheese is grated so that it melts evenly. Mix everything together, pour into a greased casserole, top with additional cheese and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes till golden on top and heated through.

You can certainly add vegetables to your mac and cheese as well as diced, cooked chicken if you like. This is a great way to get your children to eat their vegetables.

Someone suggested adding hot dogs. You could certainly add one of those amazing sausage combinations, such as, garlic artichoke. Grill them up, slice diagonally and add to the pasta. Very yummy.

Next comes, Chicken Pot Pie. I love making my own pot pies and I don't know why I don't do it more often. There's a difference between Pot Pie and Shepherds Pie. I think the main difference is that you use pie crust for one and mashed potatoes for the other. I'm sure that my friend Anne, who is English, would disagree with me, but we're going to keep it simple. We'll be making Shepherds Pie as I want to use those potatoes that I riced before Christmas.

Recipe Note:

Cook two, thawed, chicken breasts in the microwave on high for 2 minutes, turn once and cook an additional 2 minutes, allow to rest for 4-5 minutes before cutting. They'll come out perfect every time. If your chicken breasts are still frozen, cook 3 minutes on each side. If the chicken is still a little pink when slicing, pop back in the microwave, after slicing, for an additional 45-60 seconds. DON'T OVERCOOK!

Start your filling with enough chicken broth to cover your vegetables. Add chopped vegetables, I used celery, carrots, red potatoes and the chopped chicken. You can add onions and any vegetable that your family likes. Don't add the chicken till the vegetables are cooked and if you like peas, don’t add them till just before you pop it in the oven. Add a little rue or very thick white sauce to the broth and vegetables to thicken. I used a corn starch slurry (remember, cornstarch will never become thicker than it is when it comes to a boil), thickened it, and then added some white sauce. Essentially, you're making a cream of chicken and vegetable soup.

Whip up your riced potatoes (you can use sliced potatoes and line the casserole dish with them, overlapping, and top the filling with the sliced potatoes as well. Be sure to cover the top of the potatoes with some white sauce to keep them from drying out and add a little grated cheese. You can also use instant mashed potatoes if you like). Spread the mashed potatoes in the bottom and up the sides of the casserole dish. Fill with the chicken filling and cover with the rest of the mashed potatoes. Bake in a 350 oven for 35-45 minutes or till the top is golden brown and the filling bubbles.

I have a different take on casseroles. I don't think that they need to spend time in the oven to qualify; casseroles can be made on the stove top. There are many recipes I'd consider a casserole, such as Spaghetti and Meatballs. We're having a "stove top" casserole - Chicken Stir Fry with Seasoned Rice. The great thing about stir fry is that it's fast and it's a great way to clean out your refrigerator, as is the case with many casseroles, soups and salads.

Recipe Note:

When stir-frying, you want to heat *oil in the bottom of your skillet or stir fry pan till it’s nearly smoking. Add your ingredients in order; meats first. Stir fry quickly, stirring till the meat is browned (It’s important to remember that in order for your meat to brown, you need to make sure that it’s dry. Rinse the meat and pat dry with paper towels. If the meat is wet or very moist, it will steam, not brown). Remove the browned meat from the pan and add the vegetables in order, starting with the firmest first. Continue adding from firm to soft, the soft needing the least amount of cooking time.

When all the vegetables are tender-crisp, add the meat back into the pan with whatever sauce you’re using. Stir till everything is heated through and serve with rice or noodles immediately.

It’s important to cut your vegetables in pieces that are approximately the same size. This allows the vegetables to cook in the same amount of time. Slicing your vegetables on the diagonal allows for more “surface” to cook and a quicker cooking time. If you want to hurry your veggies along, cover your pan, but only briefly or you’ll end up steaming them instead of stir-frying them.

*I used Sesame Oil for my stir fry. You can use vegetable oil or olive oil if you like.

Casseroles are certainly main dishes, but main dishes are not necessarily casseroles. For our Main Dishes we're having BBQ Chicken Pizza and Squash and Carrot Soup. This soup provided me with a means to use up some pretty beat up squash and carrots that accidentally froze in the back of my fridge. Cook, puree and add a little white sauce to make it a cream soup. Delicious!

Recipe Note - Pizza:

I got this great idea from the “CRAZY GOOD” biscuits we had in November. I thought that if I could add melted butter to the pan and bake the biscuits in it, why couldn’t I add oil to my pan to bake the pizza crust?

It was amazing! The best pizza crust I’ve ever made. Add enough oil to your pizza pan to have a little standing oil (I used Pampered Chef’s Large Stoneware Bar Pan to bake my pizza in). I patted the crust out right in the pan (you have the recipe for the pizza crust in your January “Baking” file on your CD). I spread a little cream sauce on the crust to keep it from drying out (you can use BBQ sauce instead if you like) and spread my *BBQ Chicken over the crust; topped it off with Mozzarella and baked it in a 450 preheated oven for about 30 minutes till golden brown. The crust was amazing! It was golden on the bottom, a little crunchy from the oil and cooked all the way through. I’ll never make pizza any differently.

*I cooked my chicken (see the note above, cooking in the microwave) and cut into thin strips, cut the strips in half lengthwise and across. I caramelized ½ of a large onion and place it all in a quart zip lock bag. I poured BBQ sauce over all and mushed it around till it was all covered with sauce. The great thing about doing it this way is that the chicken picks up the flavor of the BBQ sauce before you even start baking it. YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!

Recipe Note – Squash/Carrot Soup:

This is a great way to use up old or not very pretty vegetables. Dice everything up and place it in a stock pot with enough broth to cover the vegetables. I added a little chopped garlic to the pot and some Pampered Chef – Citrus Basil seasoning. Bring it to a boil, cover and let it cook till everything is tender and falling apart. Be sure to allow your vegetables and broth to come to room temperature before you start pureeing it in the blender or the mixture will EXPLODE. No kidding! This can be very dangerous, so please take the time to let it cool. When everything is pureed, place it in a stock pot (or it can be frozen or stored in the refrigerator at this point) and add some white sauce to thicken the puree and make the soup creamy. Bring just to a boil and serve hot. You can add cheese, chopped vegetables or meat, top with home made croutons or a dollop of sour cream. The possibilities are endless. Have a great time making soup, it’s ALWAYS a perfect main dish – add a side salad and you have a complete meal.

Miscellaneous notes:

I used the potatoes I'd riced and froze in November. Just let them thaw in the fridge, heat in the microwave (remember, you're not cooking them, just heating them), add a little melted butter, sour cream and milk or cream and whip with a fork. No need for a mixer or masher. They are still amazing even after they're frozen. We used them as a base and top for our Shepherds Pie. Simply YUMMY!

That about covers Mains and Casseroles. Bon Appetite.