Gourmet Food on a Budget
This Skinny Tamale pie is my version of my Grandmother’s famous recipe from the 1950s. Everything you expect with half the calories. Enjoy it with a salad and a glass of ice-cold beer.
You may remember that when I visited my cousin in South Carolina, part of the reason I did that was to get some of my grandmother’s recipes. I made both her Lemon Jello Cake and her tamale pie when I was there.
For Pi Day, March 14, 2020, I made this Beef Bourguignon Pie. I make a different pie every year, and for 2020, I decided to do a beef pie. There is a little kick from red pepper paste that takes this over the top.
As good as holiday breakfast casseroles are, they are full of fat and carbs. I wanted to make a casserole that wasn’t so fat heavy but would have all the good flavors of the high-calorie one. Let me show you how to make a skinny breakfast casserole.
Tuna Casserole with Fresh Mushroom Soup has the comfort you remember as a child, but the mushroom soup is made with mushrooms sauteed with shallots and sherry, brings it forward for your adult tastebuds.
Corned Beef Chili Relleno casserole is quick and easy. You can throw it together and have it on the table in under an hour.
This was something that I kind of threw together at the last moment, and it turned out to be quite tasty and easy to make. It’s the month of Italian, and risotto is a traditional Italian dish made from arborio rice. Curry is Indian, but I’m sure Marco Polo probably brought the spice back to Italy from his year-long stay in India, so this is fusion cuisine. Please enjoy this easy to make Curried Chicken Risotto with your own garnishes.
There is nothing like fresh tortillas to make a great cheese casserole. When you are starting out making tortillas by hand, your tortillas might not turn out as nice and thin as those at the store, but that shouldn’t stop you. Use them for a casserole. You can use canned enchilada sauce as I did, or you can make your own salsa, which I will show in another post.
These cheesy Quick Chili Rellenos are great for a weeknight and a good way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.
I love Chicken Cordon Bleu, but the problem with it is if you are not very careful, the cheese comes out while it is cooking and you wind up with a dried up piece of chicken with a remnant of cheese and some ham. If you’re lucky, they included sauce.
This casserole is so simple, and all the good things about the dish stay right where you want them, inside! Every bite has a little ham and a little cheese.
There is a little bit of backstory with this recipe, but, what recipes do I give without a backstory? When I was making this month’s menu, I wanted chicken and I wanted something that we would have leftovers. I made a note to make some kind of chicken casserole. Then, I was in one of my Facebook groups, and someone mentioned Anthony Bourdain’s book, Appetites. My friend, Chef John Farion CWC, introduced me to his show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. John really loved Bourdain, and they kind of reminded me of each other. John passed the day after Thanksgiving, 2017. Bourdain passed in June of 2018. I’m sure they are together in the big kitchen in the sky.
When John and I were roommates many moons ago at the Villa Carlotta in Hollywood, California, there was a lovely French café called La Poubelle, and the owner, Jacqueline, made the best chicken crepes I have ever had. Jacqueline was good friends with my neighbor, Wally Coover, and we often had crepes at her restaurant. Jacqueline and John did not get along at all. Her daughter, Francois, has now taken over the restaurant, and the crepes are no longer on the menu. When I was thinking about John, and living at the Villa, I thought of those crepes and how delicious they were. I thought I could incorporate some of those memories into my casserole.
Shrimp And Crab Casserole Bake is a rich casserole that is simple to make, delicious to eat, and doesn’t cost a fortune.