The Good Plate

Archive for the ‘One Dish Casseroles’ Category

Recipes in this Post

• Heavenly Ham Hash
• Veggie Potato Bake
• Yogurt Fruit Trifle
• Prohibition Punch
• Virgin Mimosa

Well, the good folks at Ascencia have asked me to make Mother’s Day breakfast – for 40. Of those 40, there are several mothers, and I’m going to make this breakfast special for them. Of course, I have to have the breakfast ready at 6:00am, and that is going to be eye-opening, to say the least.

Update – Thanks to my friend, Shem of Kobelin by Shem for taking great photos of the food. She even made me look good!

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Well, it’s not the prettiest casserole in the world, but it tastes very good. My mother would make this if we had left over potato chips. My mother wasn’t much into snack food, so this was not something we had a lot, but it is one of those comfort foods that I remember fondly.

When I was four years old, my father got stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany. My mother bought most of the food at the local farmer’s market and the local grocery store. We didn’t get a lot of American goods, I remember going to the PX only twice. The first time I had French fries, it was in France, and they were more like potato chips. I remember really liking them.

When we returned to the United States when I was six, I was surprised to find out that French fries were long rectangular potatoes fried in oil. I didn’t like them very much. The elusive, thin chip we had in France was actually a potato chip, and the brand my mother bought, that I really loved was Granny Goose.

When we moved to Los Angeles when I was eight, there were no Granny Goose potato chips. I really didn’t like the regular brands, except for the barbecue flavor chips. This leads me to my recipe. Granny Goose is out of business, and the only chips Spane and I really like are barbecue flavor. Of course, my mother used the Granny Goose salted chip for her casserole. That’s probably why the only time she made it was when we were living in Northern California.

But, I found out last night that barbecue chips make a really good casserole, and I’m going to share it with you here. When you make this, make sure you get a good barbecued chip, the Lays Tangy Carolina chips are particularly well suited for this.

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Manicotti is a child friendly food. Most kids love spaghetti and pasta. What could be more fun than stuffing tubes and then eating them? Kids can get a little messy, but that’s their job, right?

My friend, Chef John Farion, came over and brought me a large container of cottage cheese. I did not think that Spane and I could eat if fast enough for it not to go bad, so I decided to stuff something with it. Quite frequently, cottage cheese is used for lasagna, but I don’t like meatless lasagna, and I wanted it for Friday. Oddly enough, I had everything I needed already at home, so I bought some manicotti and brought it home.

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Ham, spinach and cheese Quiche with a goose fat crust

Recipes in this Post

• Goose Fat Pie Crust
• Ham and Spinach Quiche

When I made the Roast Goose for Christmas dinner, I had a lot of goose fat. I didn’t want to waste it, so I rendered it, and have used it here and there. It’s wonderful stuff. I thought I could make a pie crust out of for the Quiche I was making for the picnic today.

Most of the time, I buy a ready-made crust in the refrigerated cookie dough section. The reason I do this is because my crusts don’t usually turn out that well. Today, whist visiting The Smitten Kitchen’s Pie Crust 102, I found out why – I have been using the wrong tool for the job – I’ve been using a food processor. So, if you’re using a food processor and your crust isn’t turning out flaky, that’s why.

Making a crust by hand is not that difficult. You just need a pastry dough blender, and a little elbow grease. My pastry dough blender died a couple of years ago, so I used a heavy fork. It worked just fine.

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There is a wonderful restaurant in Glendale, California, called Elena’s Greek Armenian Cuisine that we go to quite frequently. The rice pilaf is just the best, I could eat it every day. Dinners are usually served with a tomato and green Anaheim chili that have been grilled on the barbecue. Often, we don’t finish everything, so I wind up packing up the rice, tomato and chili pepper in a to go box.

In 2010, I threw together a dish for Teacher Appreciation Day at my son, Spane’s elementary school. I was in a rush, and when I was asked later how I made it, I didn’t even remember. In 2012, the PTA is now putting out a cookbook, and I was again asked about that recipe, so I started wracking my brain to figure out what it was.

Tonight, being a Friday, and wanting to use up left overs, but not eat meat, I remembered there was a box from Elena’s in the refrigerator. I also had some corn tortillas, some cheddar cheese, and a half full jar of green enchilada sauce. Serendipitously, while making this, I rediscovered that old recipe!

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A Can of Swanson's Chikcen a la King

Don’t Cook Tonight!

Boy, it was a bad day here. I didn’t get to sleep until late last night. Spane made me crazy this morning while I was trying to video something that I haven’t put up yet, and he had got grounded for the day – no TV, no bike, etc.

To make matters worse, I had to fix my printer/fax machine. With Spane’s Dandy Walker Syndrome it’s really important that I can send and receive faxes, and today was the day that I decided to fix the silly thing. I am a computer whiz, or at least my friends say that, and it still took me TWO HOURS to get the darned thing fixed.

Finally, I got it fixed, and Spane and I were hungry. There wasn’t anything in the freezer that was quick or looked appetizing. I was about to give up when I looked up in the cupboard and saw a can of Swanson’s Chicken a la King.

Heaven Forbid!

Yes, I know I’m all about having things organic and freshly made. I reconstruct packaged foods all the time. But, Swanson’s Chicken ala King is something that I grew up with, as long as I can remember, my mother bought it at the PX when we lived in Germany, 50 years ago. I loved it then, and I love it now. So there!

If you don’t want to use the canned variety, and you have some time, then may I suggest making it from scratch? It’s a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken, and especially good if you have leftover grilled chicken. Here’s my recipe for Chicken a la King – Weber Style. Either way, enjoy this classic chicken dish.

Make it More Appetizing

Okay, so yes, you can make it more appetizing. That’s what I did tonight, and Spane and I loved it.

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