* i am reposting this recipe for my mother’s 1970’s casserole because when i asked my daughter what she’d like for dinner this week she said, “that thing you make that looks like a TRASH pile.” i do not claim to be anything more than an adequate cook, but this DID offend me a little. after questioning her a bit about what was in the “trash pile” i realized she meant my favorite childhood casserole. we had just had our first blizzard of the season (in SEPTEMBER!) and while this dinner is not pretty, it IS comforting and i have a feeling we are all going to need some extra soothing this corona blizzard season. x0x
we just had our first blizzard in boulder… in typical colorado fashion we went straight from summer to winter, with only an afternoon of fall. i never get used to the roller coaster weather here. i am never prepared with the right size snow boots for the kids or snow pants that fit properly or matching pairs of mittens. at best, i get a whiff of the cow poo smell (which is a pretty reliable snow predictor - i don’t know why) and i have a few hours to get ready. at worst, i wake up and the yard is all white and i have to scurry around and see how i can outfit the kids in some collection of warm clothes before school starts. we are usually late on this first snow day… i just always expect there will be that third season before the snow comes and even after seven years here, i haven’t learned to check the weather.
this year the first storm happened on a weekend, so we avoided the panic of finding snow gear in time for school and got to snuggle up inside and be lazy instead. it was a perfect day for my mother’s 1970’s casserole. some of you have expressed an interest in this recipe, albeit, none of my boulder friends, because it has gluten, cheese, AND meat… the perfect trifecta of what people here don’t eat. i love it because it makes me feel eleven years old and since it also has veggies, it counts as a one dish meal.
i miss the ignorance of the 70’s. i miss eating things just because they tasted good, not because they are good for you. i really don’t believe my boulder friends who “LOVE” kale salad… any food that you have to massage to make edible is not yummy. (there is ONE kale salad in boulder that is delicious - at oak - but that salad could be made of tires and it would still be tasty because it also has loads of parm and candied almonds and apples and some red japanese spice sprinkled all over it.)
i went for my annual exam at the doctor’s today and he said my glucose levels were a little high. turns out they’ve been a little high every year, but he just decided to tell me now. i guess the pattern is well established. i do have a pretty fierce sweet tooth… just the other night i ended up having gummy bears for dinner (the kids were not with me.) apparently, i shouldn’t do that and more, i should cut back on my desserts in general. hank and i will both be on a bit of a diet now… i just ordered him some “weight management” food. and as soon as we polish off the cookies we made in the snow storm and the other goodies in the cupboard, i will try not to have dessert after every meal. at least my cholesterol levels were fine… i would really be despondent if the doctor said i couldn’t have butter.
(hungry hank…)
1970’s CASSEROLE
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey (my mom always used beef, but i frequently use turkey now)
1 med onion diced
1 jar of tomato sauce (i like rao’s vodka sauce)
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 zuchinis sliced and quartered
1 can (1 1/2 cups) corn
1 box small macaroni noodles cooked and drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
(onions sautéing, pasta boiling, zucchini prepped for sautéing)
(small casserole already “cheesed”, what it looks like pre cheese)
cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. drain and set aside. saute onion in olive oil and salt and pepper until softened and browned. add ground meat and cook through. drain meat and add tomato sauce, corn, mushrooms and zuchini (sauteed separately with olive oil, salt and pepper) spread 1/2 pasta in long, glass baking dish, then 1/2 meat mixture and 1/2 cheese. repeat. * i usually have to use a 9x13 pan and an extra smaller one as it doesn’t all fit in the 9x13. this casserole freezes well - you will never be able to eat it all in one go unless you have a giant family! bake at 375 for about 35 minutes until cheese is melted.
* 2020 UPDATE - i just used “quinoa” macaroni because when everyone was hoarding that was the only kind available in the market and i figured if it was not good it would be covered up by all the other stuff. this was NOT a good choice - it got pretty soggy in the casserole. BTW boulders - I SEE YOU… when we were all stocking up for the corona you cleaned out the “regular pasta” and all the bouldery kinds (rice pasta, gluten free pasta, vegetable pasta, etc.) were just stacked up on the shelves ignored. i didn’t expect that since in normal times you don’t eat carbs… i guess we all have a change of heart when we are facing a pandemic.
