It’s been a few years since we’ve seen this A&J from 1993. Have you ever noticed how many of those quickie casserole recipes on Facebook include potatoes, cheese, ham or bacon, corn, sour cream and a variable ingredient or two? Of course they’ll be good! Most of the Kickstarter rewards that were scheduled for delivery in October have been sent. The T shirts did not go out until Monday, the last day of the month, so if you’re expecting a T, it might not have arrived yet. It should soon. However! The original sketches have not gone out yet. They will be sent by this time next week. I apologize for the delay; I’m sure you won’t have much trouble speculating about its cause.
173 responses to “It’s French for ‘gooey!’”
OK, Jimmy, you are forgiven. At least, now I know my sketch has not been lost in the mail!
I had a different impression of today’s strip; something along the lines of seeking the “thousand sunsets” scene….
My tribe of resident fuzzy-tailed rodents seem to be communicating with sounds almost like a kitten. As best I can, it’s like “uuuunnnhhhhh” and seems to be a warning to get away from the food while one’s eating. Not anything like a chatter.
In defense of casseroles, back when I had time to prepare a meal for my all-female staff once a month or so, they seemed to enjoy them. Perhaps because I made them from scratch (as much as a casserole can be said to be prepared from scratch). This one seemed to be a particular favorite, along with some “culturally appropriated” side dishes.
A Recipe from Ghost’s Kitchen
King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients
1 (4 1/2- to 5-lb) whole chicken
2 celery ribs, cut into 3 pieces each
2 carrots, cut into 3 pieces each
2 1/2 to 3 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
2 (10-oz.) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican-style chili powder
3 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
12 (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips
Preparation
1. If applicable, remove giblets from chicken, and reserve for another use. Rinse chicken.
2. Place chicken, celery, carrots, and salt in a large Dutch oven with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 50 minutes to 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove from heat. Remove chicken from broth; cool 30 minutes. Remove and reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Strain any remaining cooking liquid, and reserve for another use.
3. Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 6 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add bell pepper and garlic, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in reserved 3/4 cup cooking liquid, cream of mushroom soup, and next 5 ingredients. Cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes.
4. Skin and bone chicken; shred meat into bite-size pieces. Layer half of chicken in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Top with half of soup mixture and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover with half of corn tortilla strips. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
5. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes to 1 hour or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Not necessarily heart-healthy and a bit labor-intensive, perhaps, but good eatin’ and well worth it.
In the South many casseroles begin with melt a stick of butter. They usually involve Campbell’s soup, pasta and cheese.
You should try putting together a cookbook for a church, school, ladies club, garden club or similar! You get a hundred identical or near identical recipes! And when you don’t put Mrs. Wilfred van Snickles tuna surprise recipe in and choose Mrs. Charlie Jones tuna shock you WILL set off a war of the casseroles.
My favorite instant casserole is not heart healthy, as far as taste is not super yummy, but tasty enough.
1 box of mac n cheese
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 can of tuna
3/4 cup shredded cheese
Cook the peas with the mac
Mix mac n cheese according to instructions
Drain tuna
add tuna and shredded cheese
It takes about 15 mins to make and raises boxed mac n cheese from ick to something tasty. Just pick a good quality Mac n Cheese, which may not necessarily be the most expensive. If you have some extra time and inclination put in a baking dish add another 3/4 cup shredded cheese on top then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
My late MIL could not cook. Her recipes came from backs of cans. Her tuna casserole involved tuna, green peas, cheese, mushroom soup and crushed potato chips.
My late husband loved it. I did not. Tuna Surprise.
Q: What’s your favorite food?
Paula Deen: Butter.
Q: What’s your favorite dessert?
Paula Deen: Deep-fried butter.
So, will the Cleveland Indians get a “Participation Trophy”?
Good one!
Survived getting myelogram to find out what my car crash has done to my back. Now to see how cooperative family can be with my lying flat in bed the rest of today while my thecal sac reseals the punctures made by the doctor. I learned two things to remember for next time: 1. Have someone trim the hairs on my lower back so bandaid(s) don’t pull hairs and 2. Tell the doctor to inject the dye one vertebrae higher next time! Having someone fruitlessly poke into your spine in the “optimal” spot is no fun.
Were Tomás de Torquemada alive today, I feel sure that he would be an Interventional Radiologist.
Luckily neither myself nor my wife have ever cared for casseroles, aka “leftovers pot pie”
Another good one! Are you this clever in person or more so Ghost?
Trucker, I hope you follow instructions. That is a serious test fraught with danger that does not end when needles are pulled out. Be good and if you can’t be good be careful.
I use leftovers in soups usually.
The chili was good for semi homemade. Which means I followed neither a recipe nor a mix. Had no masa to thicken with but it worked. Threw in what I found and combined it all. The cornbread morphed to bollilos which I had.
I need to stop cooking for workmen. We laugh too much and have fun and I gain weight.
Told them I was opening a bottle of wine and cleaning off my bedroom desk, going through mail. They said that was worse excuse than saying I couldn’t go because I was cleaning glove box.
If I could would have had an MRI, but having 3 wires threaded into the heart made that impossible. 🙁
I have no desire to risk the headaches or need for medical intervention. I’m rescheduling my one appointment this evening even though the doc said it should be no problem.
I once saw a recipe for green bean casserole without the Campbell’s mushroom soup and so I decided to make it for Thanksgiving. Basically you make a rue with flour, butter and cream, then add the saute mushrooms and mix with blanched green beans. The recipe calls for making your own topping, but I used the canned fried onions. Anyway I made it 4-5 yrs ago and now I have to make it every year.
A few times we have gotten hungry for a casserole and usually we have cream of celery in the pantry. A couple times I would start it without double checking to make sure that I had the canned soup and I ended up having to make it from scratch. It is not that more time consuming and it usually tastes much better. Less sodium as well.
”Mrs. Wilfred van Snickles”. That’s the way it was when we came here in ’58, and through most of our first decade. There were no women’s first names under a group photo in the paper except for spinsters. And in next decade or two, when short skirts were de riguer [sp.?], you wished they weren’t. Now, they mostly wear slacks, preferably not low hung.
Peace,
Am I “this clever in person or more so,” Jackie?
You’ll have to be the judge of that. 🙂
I believe Alton Brown did a couple of “Good Eats” episodes on making casseroles and potluck dishes using fresh/homemade ingredients. Looked pretty good, as I recall. I need to see if I can find those recipes on-line.
Jeez, AND he cooks and likes Alton Brown, my favorite food personality. Where have you been hiding? Why you weren’t the ghost haunting my bedroom is a good question for the almighty.
Just scored a van load of hosts and ajuga for the shade beds in yard. They will be beautiful next year hopefully. I have a good crew now.
My daughter informed my SIL #3 that her mother had never made nor served a green bean casserole which is tradition in his family she hates. So she made Alton Browns from scratch green bean casserole including her own fried onions. No one would eat it.
My late husband swore he saw my in laws with their backs pressed against the wall to avoid a fresh dish I had made that had too much green in it, afraid it would escape the container.
Lime Jello Salad?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E8AXOwYcoU
That was hilarious! Loved 3rd Rock and actually watched most episodes. John Lithgow was fantastic but rest of cast was equally good, especially Sally.
Hey, it was cool here this morning and I was wearing one of those new European bras I found online, under a knit tunic and tights. Discovered you need to check for location of pokies and align. Hadn’t thought of that!
Now it’s hot again since I made chili and corn corn cheese muffins.
I must confess to a liking for all sorts of casseroles. Must be the Midwest in me.
Just noticed classic guitar album I am listening to is called Air on A G -String. Grab your attention?
Yes, I think casseroles were more of a Midwest thing. My relatives from Indiana do a lot still. Could be thrift or not liking to dirty dishes? My granny put so many vegetables on table you had trouble finding room for plates and silverware. Heavy tables, like Amish but they do casseroles and combo dishes.