Comfort Casseroles

Brrrr! We are in the deep freeze here. Fortunate not to have any snow, but still bone chillin' cold. I noticed so many people complaining today. Not me. I would rather be cold than hot. I had planned some comfort food on the menu for tonight. Because chicken was not on sale, but ground beef and broccoli were, I adapted a Multiply Meals recipe from poultry to beef. The result is really delicious. I may have to make this more often. If you have the e-book, make a note now that the Hen in a Tree casserole is great made with ground beef in place of the chicken. Guess I will have to call it Cow in a Tree casserole. Sounds odd--strangely reminiscent of the "We've got Cows!" line from the movie Twister. Somehow that is not as appetizing. Still, I am glad to have more casseroles to go into the freezer for a more hectic day. Lots of those will be coming up!

Funny story about tonight's dinner. My dog Tinker was my constant companion in the kitchen tonight, following every move I made. Well, understand that he is almost 90 pounds, and my kitchen is tiny! Somehow, the oven got bumped up to 475 degrees! I blame him, of course. After I put the last casserole in, I came back to the computer. Then I heard this sizzling sound. Hmm. I asked myself if these casseroles should be making that particular noise. Good thing I checked. The first casserole in the oven did get a bit brown around the edges. You can see brown bits in the photo. Actually, those were the best parts to me. The other casseroles are a bit prettier-- the broccoli is brighter and no brown rim. Maybe when I reheat these in the future, I will leave them in a bit longer than necessary to get those yummy browned bits again. I know, gourmet foodies would hate me for that.

Before we settle in under our blankets, I plan on making some hot cider for us tonight. That recipe is in the December newsletter. With the Great Value brand of apple drink mix, it really tastes very close to the real thing. Stay warm!