If you see dusty fingerprints on this post it is because I have been strolling through the vault looking at some of the old posts. If you are looking for some quick and easy casseroles for this weekend look no further!

Green Chili Enchiladas are a favorite around here. You can use them for OAMC (Once a month cooking) by making ahead and freezing. It is a versatile casserole, you can make it with beef, chicken or turkey..or make it vegetarian with tofu if you are so inclined.

These Oriental Pork Loin Chops can be put in a ziploc with the marinade and tossed in the freezer. Just thaw them and grill when you are ready to eat them.

MMM…more Mexican food. Vegetarian enchiladas stuffed with veggies! They do not freeze well but you can make them up to a day ahead and bake when you are ready.

This Chicken, Onion, and Potato Gratin is one of my favorite comfort foods. Don’t freeze it.

Diner food at it’s best..the hot open faced Turkey Sandwich!

Chicken and Mushroom Fiori Alfredo is incredible, I think. Use any pasta you have if you can’t find fiori.

And finally…everyone needs a great recipe for Tuna Tetrazzini and I think this is it!

Don’t forget, most casseroles can be assembled up to a day ahead and baked when needed even if they can’t be frozen.

Image: (c) Marye Audet Apron Strings and Simmering Things

Content (c) Marye Audet Baking Delights

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Image:(c) Marye Audet

Homemade Brown and Serve Rolls

In all the rush of my life I have overlooked something MAJORLY exciting. b5 has a new food blog, done by the very cool (and multi-talented) Cyndi of Layers Upon Layers, and Jewelry and Beading. Her new blog is called Busy Family Meals and has post after post of quick meal ideas, Once a Month cooking, and under 30 minute meals.

The best thing about it is, like me, she believes in real food for real people. She does not make those lightening fast meals with expensive and unhealthy processed foods.

Be sure to check out her blog. I think you will enjoy it.

Content (c) Marye Audet for Baking Delights 

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One of our neighbors blessed us with an entire box of peppers last week, in red, orange, yellow, and green. I love the colors in peppers but they are usually so expensive at the store that I don’t get them. This was a special blessing to me!

Stuffed peppers are a great Once A Month Cooking dish because they do freeze well, and don’t seem to lose flavor in the freezer. You just need to remember that if you are making them ahead of time you will want to under cook them so they don’t totally disintegrate when you heat them up! I don’t blanch them at all before I stuff them. Just place the filling in the raw peppers, stand them up in a pan of water or tomato juice and bake until they are almost done. If you want to flash freeze them for individual meals then you can stand them up in muffin pans and place in the freezer. Once frozen, take them out, wrap individually with plastic wrap, pulling it tightly around them. Place the individual stuffed peppers in a ziploc bag and toss in the freezer. Just microwave them to heat and eat.

These peppers are a nod to the Tex Mex food that I am surrounded with. There is a spicy-exotic mole sauce rather than the traditional tomato sauce, and using the fire roasted tomatoes makes a huge flavor difference.

Stuffed Peppers

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 cup uncooked organic brown rice
• 3 cups v-8 juice or water
• 12 green bell peppers
• 4 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 can Muir Glen Organic fire roasted tomatoes diced (try not to substitute)
• 2 4 oz cans of chiles, diced
• 1 tbs chopped garlic
• 1 onion chopped
• 1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbs cocoa
• 1 tsp cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the rice and V-8 in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and cook 20 minutes. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef, garlic, onion, and chiles until done.

Remove and discard the tops, seeds, and membranes of the peppers. Arrange peppers in a baking dish with the hollowed sides facing upward. You may need to slice a little from the bottoms so they will stand upright.
In a bowl, mix the cooked beef mixture, cooked rice, 1 can tomato sauce, tomatoes,cilantro, salt, and pepper. Spoon the mixture into each pepper. Mix the remaining tomato sauce, cocoa, cumin, and chili powder in a bowl. Pour over the stuffed peppers.
Bake 30 minutes, basting with sauce every 15 minutes or so.

Cool to room temperature and flash freeze.

Makes 12

To serve:

Thaw peppers overnight in the fridge. Microwave until heated through, or bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Serve with french bread, salad, and cookie dough brownies.

All content on this page (c)2008 marye audet for Baking Delights, http:// baking delights.com. Using with out permission is stealing.

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I found out that I make Calzone wrong. Apparently, by adding the sauce to the inside of my calzone I am making a stromboli…except I don’t roll it right. So, this dish might better be called a calzon-boli.

I like the whole aspect of doing OAMC but a big, frozen pizza is, by my standards, hard to store. What to do?

Seal it in a calzone. They are easy to make, easy to freeze, easy to store, and because you can take them out and make them individually, they are perfect for those of us that live in the car sometimes.

You can fill them anyway you like. I used sweet italian sausage, onion, mozzarella, mushrooms, peppers, and provelone.

If you are making them to freeze, bake only until done and not browned. Let them cool to room temperature on the baking sheet and then stick the whole baking sheet in the freezer to flash freeze. Once the calzones are frozen solid, remove them and put them in a freezer container. When you want to bake them, thaw and bake at 425F until golden, about 5-10 minutes. You can do them in the microwave as well but the results are just not as good.

This is my standard pizza crust, I use it for stromboli, calzones, pizza, breadsticks…whatever.

Pizza Crust

1. In mixer dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Mix in 3 cups of the flour, 1 1/2 c of each.
3. Let sit for 30 minutes to 4 hours
4. Stir down and mix in salt, oil, and the rest of the flour. Knead until smooth and very elastic..about 15 minutes. Separate into 3 or more balls. 3 will make 3 very large pizzas.(May be frozen at this point)
5. Let rest 10 minutes so that it can relax and lose some of the elasticity
6. Roll out on coarse cornmeal covered surface, to desired thickness.

O.k..now, if you are going to do calzones, the amount you get will depend a lot on the size you make. This recipe should make about 36 large calzones. Sorry I can’t be more definite about it.

Filling:

• 1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 lb mushrooms chopped or sliced
• 3 cups mozzerella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup provelone, shredded
• 2 cups marinara sauce

Brown the sausage with the onions and peppers in a pan with a little olive oil. I like to maintain a little crunch to the onion and pepper, but cook how you like it, just make sure to get the sausage cooked all the way through. Add mushrooms and saute for a few minutes more. Add enough sauce to hold the filling together, but not be too drippy. Allow to cool to room temperature while dough is rising.

Cut rolled dough into small rounds. You can use a tea cup, a saucer, or a dessert plate depending on the size you want.

Place filling in center. The amount will depend on the size of the calzone. About 1/4 c for a saucer size is about right. Sprinkle with a mixture of the cheese, and fold over, pinching edges to seal. Place on a silpat covered baking sheet, a baking stone, or a sprayed cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining calzones.

You can freeze them at this point, if you wish and allow them to thaw and rise and continue with the baking process within 2-3 weeks.

Allow to rise until puffy and almost double, about 30 minutes. Place in a 425 degree oven and bake until done but not brown, about 15-20 minutes.

You can pull them out, let cool and freeze for up to 4 months at this point. I have had them 6 months and they are still good.

Brush with an egg was of 1 beaten egg and 1 tbs water to give the calzones a golden hue. replace int he oven and finish baking until golden, about 50-10 minutes.

Check this out- 

I made peppermint brownies the other day with the York peppermint baking pieces..I did the recipe at Apron Strings & Simmering Things.

Oh, remember..yeah, the disclaimer…Http://bakingdelights.com is an original. If youa re not reading there you are reading a poor copy.

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