Grandma's Beef Casserole

It actually tasted AND looked better than it does in this picture.

Abstract

This is a casserole that my grandma used to make (hence the title).

Recipe

1 lb. noodles (bowtie, in this case)

2 cups cottage cheese

2 cups sour cream

2 lbs. ground beef

32 ounces tomato sauce

½ onion, chopped

Dash of pepper

Dash of garlic salt

Shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese (2-ish cups)

Procedure

Cook noodles and drain

Brown ground beef

Combine noodles, cottage cheese, and sour cream in one bowl

Combine beef, tomato sauce, onion, garlic salt, and pepper

In a greased 9x13 pan, alternate noodle mixture (start with this layer),with meat mixture (end on this layer)

Top with cheddar cheese

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 min (cheese will be bubbly).

Results and Discussion

Waay too much sour cream.

Ground beef chunks were too big -  break it up more.

I think that adding a little cheese (1/2 cup?) to the beef mixture wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Clam Chowder (that tasted a lot like bacon chowder)

Abstract:

My roommate Luke and I decided to make clam chowder tonight. The product was edible, but with no noticeable clam taste.

Recipe:

4 cups clam juice (recipe called for 5, but they were $2/bottle, and we were feeling cheap)

1 cup flour

1 cup onion finely diced

10 slices bacon (this is what the recipe called for. We were using ends and pieces, and had to estimate, and I think we estimated high)

2 6-ounce cans clams undrained

1 cup dehydrated hash browns, reconstituted according to package directions

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

1 tsp salt

Procedure

Fry bacon in wok. Remove; do not drain bacon grease

Fry onions in bacon grease.

Add flour

Chop bacon, return to wok. Stir for 5 minutes.

Add clam juice and stir out lumps

Add remainder of ingredients, simmer for 20 minutes

Results and Discussion

Product was edible, but tasted more like bacon chowder than anything else. It was also way to thick. In future, use 4 potatoes, chopped and cooked, instead of hash browns. Consider adding more milk. Original recipe called for 2 tbsp butter instead of bacon grease. This would cut back on the bacon taste, and allow the clams to come out.

Pineapple Chili for Ward Cookoff (3 Dec 2011)

(Note: Procedure and ingredients recreated from memory 2 days later)

Ingredients:

5 cans crushed tomatoes

3 cans petite diced tomatoes

2 cans dole pineapple (drained)

~5.75lb beef roast

1/2 cup chili powder

1/3 cup cumin

4 Tbsp. cayenne pepper

1 can evaporated milk

2 yellow onions, coarsely chopped

3 green bell peppers

Some Tabasco

4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Some Indian spice mix (not a lot)

Roast Prep

Cut up 1/2 onion (in addition to above), add to slow cooker w/ roast, Worcestershire (a lot, but not measured) and heaping spoon of garlic from jar. Cook ~8 hours, first 2 on high, rest on low. Pull apart with forks.

In Wok

Chop onion and pepper

Brown in wok

Add cooked meat

Combine dry ingredients with ~1/2 cup water, and add to wok

Coat, and cook off excess water

In stockpot

Add tomatoes, beans, start warming

Add wok ingredients

Heat to boiling

Add pineapple

Add milk

Stir

Add Tabasco

Serve

Comments/Results

• Milk was added mostly to combat excess chili powder flavor. In future, reduce chili powder, but milk can stay.
• Could have been spicier, but not cayenne. Consider adding a hot pepper or other flavorful heat
• Pineapple chunks were too big. Use same amt, but in smaller chunks. Another can wouldn't hurt.
• I personally didn't like the green peppers. Consider switching to something else. Suggestions?

Future Work

• Add BBQ sauce (Diana sauce? Prolly not Sweet Baby Rays)
• Add more/different veggies (Carrots? Red onions?)
• Asian flavors (Oyster-Flavored sauce?)
• Change source of heat (Spicy mustard? Jalapenos/ other peppers?)

Intro. . . or, what the heck is this blog?

Our ward had a chili cookoff last Sunday, and, if I may be permitted a moment of arrogance, our chili was pretty darn good (recipe to follow in next post). Basically, we took my roommate's standard chili recipe,added pineapple, and changed the meat from hamburger to a crock pot roast. This is not the first time we had done this, and I think last time we did this, it turned out better. Unfortunately, we had no record of what we did last time, so we had to start from scratch again.

We have a pretty (read: very, very) nerdy apartment (1 chemist, 2 engineers, and a computer scientist), and we frequently joke about applying scientific principles to mundane problems. So I half jokingly said that I was going to make a lab notebook for the things I cook. And then I realized that this was the perfect solution. I love to experiment, but I'm terrified of failure. Well, I've recently failed in my new graduate research lab, but these failures are just a part of doing science; the important thing is learning from your (repeated and frequent) failures. So I got to thinking, if I had a lab notebook for the things I cook, I could jot down ideas for next time to improve what I'm already doing, and record the colossal failures so I can remember what doesn't work.

So here goes. I actually did start a composition style notebook (about 10 minutes ago) to use as my notebook, but anybody who has ever lived with me will quickly come to the same conclusion I did: This notebook is going to last a whole 2 weeks before I misplace it. So, since it's pretty hard to misplace the internet, I decided to do a blog instead.

Plus, it allows others to learn from my mistakes as well. : p