Potato Sausage Casserole

By Paul Briand

This recipe came about from an Internet search. We had some leftover sausage from a football game throwdown, I needed to use up the meat, and I was expecting a crowd for dinner.

The most appealing recipe that came up in my search was this Potato Sausage Casserole from TasteofHome.com.

As per my normal suggestion, look for the low-sodium canned ingredients where you can, such as the cream of mushroom soup in this recipe. Low-fat cheese is also an option, though I find it doesn’t get as creamy when melted as the full-fat.

Ingredients
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups sliced peeled potatoes
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Minced fresh parsley, optional

Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink then drain and set aside;
2. Combine the soup, milk, onion, salt and pepper;
3. In a greased 2-quart baking dish, layer half of the potatoes, soup mixture and sausage. Repeat layers;
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until potatoes are tender;
5. Sprinkle with cheese; bake, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes more minutes or until cheese is melted;
6. Garnish with parsley if desired.

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Chicken, Wild Rice and Cherry Tomato Casserole

By Paul Briand

My wife, Jane, found this very simple - and very tasty recipe -- in Real Simple magazine ad.

It’s a chicken-based recipe but she jazzed it up a bit with some chicken sausage prepared with Mozzarella cheese and garlic. She diced up a link and added it to the mix.

Here is the recipe as originally presented.

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
4 ounces mushrooms, bottoms trimmed, sliced thin
2 (5-ounce packages) long grain rice and wild rice
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 chicken breasts, sliced into ½-inch slices
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 cups hot water
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees;
2. In a large casserole dish, combine first nine ingredients, top with tomatoes;
3. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes (or until liquid is absorbed).

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Beef & Noodle Casserole

By Paul Briand

The shout out for this recipe goes to my stepdaughter Eileen who gave me a cookbook to me for Christmas.

The cookbook is a collection of recipes from people associated with the Dominion School for Autism in Richmond, Va., where Eileen recently worked as an aide.

This recipe, according to the text, comes from Dorothy Lucy in memory of Aunt Ruby.

Layered a bit like a lasagna, this casserole intrigued me with its combination of cream of mushroom soup and tomato sauce. My adaptation includes baking instead of microwaving, and I used low-salt soup and tomato sauce. In addition, I sauteed my vegetables.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
2 cups tomato sauce
Green bell pepper chopped
Medium onion chopped
1 teaspoon ketchup
1 teaspoon steak sauce
18 ounce bag of egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom soup
One bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Directions
1. In an large oiled skillet over medium high heat, sautee the pepper and onion until they start to become translucent;
2. Add the ground beef, break up and cook through, drain off fat;
3. Add tomato sauce, ketchup and steak sauce, stir through and keep warm on simmer;
4. Cook egg noodles according to package instructions;
5. Drain noodles, return to pot and mix the soup into the cooked noodles;
6. In a greased large casserole dish, add a layer of the noodles, then add a layer of the beef mixture, then another layer of noodles and the rest of the beef mixture;
7. Spring with the cheese;
8. Place the casserole into a oven pre-heated to 350 degrees and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown and the mixture starts to bubble.

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