Casseroles Without a Recipe
Wow! All I can say at this point is, Wow! If you haven't learned the joy of a thrown-together casserole, then it's time to learn.
Weeknights are hard enough. You get off work and race into the kitchen, only to discover you forgot to take something out for dinner. Oops! Now what? Delivery? Not very nutritious and very bad for the diet. What if it's the day before payday and the bank account is looking a little slim?
But what if you had ingredients saved in the freezer, and all you had to do was assemble and warm up? Much better, right? That's all a casserole is!
By having these ingredients in the specified amounts already on hand (some can be leftovers!) you have "free" meals. Have 1 quart and 1 gallon bags handy, as well as a good Sharpie to label and date those bags. Now get ready to clean out the fridge.
The Basics:
1 cup aromatics: onions, carrots, celery, peppers. These can be mix and match, so don't be afraid to play. These are the "Holy Trinity" of Cajun and French cooking. Keep them handy!
3-4 cups cooked proteins or beans- Stop by Costco and get that pre-cooked rotisserie bird. Shred that leftover roast. Pre-fry some ground beef, and use the pressure cooker or slow cooker to pre-cook that meat and beans. Cut up that kielbasa and leftover ham! Save room for the canned/frozen prepared shrimps and fish. Store them by 3-4 cup increments in freezer bags.
2-3 cups cooked carbs-- rice, potatoes, and pasta alone are great to pre-cook and freeze in 2-3 cup freezer bags. Yukon gold and red potatoes are best, but don't neglect those leftover baked potatoes, or the leftovers. Freeze and save in 2-3 cup bags.
1-2 cups vegetables-- Oh the joy of this one! A can of veggies, the frozen veggies, and the fresh veggies are all prime targets. What do you have? I've got a giant bag of broccoli in my freezer that's been intimidating me for a week. Another bag in my freezer is my go-to vegetable mix. Divide all these into 1-2 cup freezer bags. Don't neglect the cans. I keep a good stock of tomato cans- stewed, petite, and sauce. (Take the tomato paste out of that ridiculous tiny can and freeze it in an ice cube tray for easy additions without waste. Same goes for adobo sauce.)
1-2 cups of sauce or binder- this is where Mom and Grandma can really show you how to play with your pantry. While a white sauce is easy enough, cans of condensed "cream of" and cheese soups are your very best friends. Jars of gravy are good to keep around, too. But, learn the White Sauce. Really. (It's healthier and cheap, besides being easier than you think. Yum!) You can pre-make the sauce the night before, if you're organized. I'm not. Cream of Soups are my best friends.
Seasonings to Taste. Garlic powder, oregano, parsley, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, Mexican blends, Cajun blends,...do I need to keep going, or do you get the idea? Don't neglect a few Oriental things beyond soy sauce.
1 cup toppings- bread crumbs, cheese (Keep lots of shredded cheeses!), snack chips (Fritos are a staple in my house), nuts, or combos.
Think in themes. What goes into Italian? Cajun? Tex-Mex? Oriental?
Mix, bake at 350F for 30 min, and dinner is served. How easy was that?
Now go play with your food.
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