From 1-4-2000.  Kumy loves this and so do I. When I made this when the kids were little, I would make it in two stages: the kid version and the grownup version. Now we just make it all together – and serve it over pasta.

1st Stage – Kids

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast and thighs, cut into slices
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
water (1/4 to 1/2 cup?)

Heat oil in a large pot and saute chicken. Remove chicken and add onions, cooking until translucent. Add garlic and saute a couple more minutes. Add everything else and cook together for 30 minutes or more.

Stop here for the kid’s version and serve over pasta.

2nd Stage – Grownups

1 package button mushroom, halved
1 tsp butter
dash salt and pepper
1/2 cup merlot or dry red wine

Saute mushrooms in melted butter for several minutes until they release their water. Keep cooking until most of the water evaporates. Add salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with red wine, and add to chicken mixture. Heat through and serve over pasta.

This is a really simple casserole that works great when you’re cooking in a place with limited supplies, like a cabin.

I like to make this when we stay at Niobrara State Park, and it’s easy to bring most of the pantry ingredients along. I usually just pick up the meat at Farnik’s Market in Niobrara. It’s a hearty dish that makes a good dinner with a nice salad and hot rolls.

1 pkg spaghetti or fettucine, broken up
1 lb. hamburger
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp brown sugar
salt to taste
Parmesan

Cook spaghetti and set aside. Brown meat and add spices, brown sugar and spaghetti sauce. Blend sauce and pasta, cover and let sit a few minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 lb. stew meat
2 carrots, diced
1 parsnip, diced
1/2 tsp brown sugar
12 small potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
red wine or beef stock
salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tsp basil

Heat oil in a dutch oven and saute onions until translucent. Remove and add in stew meat, letting it brown and turning occasionally. Remove the meat and add a little more oil, adding carrots and parsnips. Saute for a few minutes and then add the brown sugar. Stir in salt and pepper to taste (1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper?) a bay leaf and basil.

Deglaze the pan with a little wine or beef stock and put everything including the potatoes into a casserole dish with the potatoes. Pour red wine or beef stock to cover. Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Check seasonings and serve.

Note:  sometimes I buy a roast and cut it into chunks for stew.  Seems to work just fine.  Stew meat tends to be expensive – not sure why – and roast is often cheaper per pound.

My son Ali went to school in New Orleans, where he developed a deep and abiding love of spicy Cajun food, but we’d already fallen in love with Cajun food long before that.  I found this recipe in Emeril Lagasse’s cookbook:  Louisiana Real & Rustic.  It’s one of my favorite cookbooks – with family recipes and wonderful storytelling.  This recipe is a blend of two recipes from the cookbook, but super easy to make and so delicious!

Note: I’m going to write this recipe out the way I cook – in sequence. Hope it’s not too confusing!

1 lb. raw ez peel shrimp

Rinse the shrimp well, peel and set the shrimp aside for later. Add the shells to four cups water and simmer for 20-30 minutes. You only need 3 1/2 cups of the shrimp broth. Just take it off the heat and let the shells sit until you need to add the broth. Then add them after pouring them through a fine mesh strainer.

2 Tbsp Oil
2 1/2 cups onion
1 bell pepper
3/4 cup celery
2 slices turkey or real bacon, diced

Chop the onions, pepper and celery and saute in a large dutch oven. Add in the turkey bacon and cook another 5-7 minutes.

4 bay leaves
1 lb. andouille sausage, halved and cut into 1/2″ slices
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp crushed garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cayenne (can reduce if you don’t like spicy)
1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme (can use a bit more – I love thyme!)

Add to dutch oven and saute 5-7 minutes.

2 cups rice (I use basmati)
3 1/2 cups shrimp broth
4 chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
shrimp

Add all to dutch oven, stir well and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook 25 minutes. Totally delicious and even better the second day.

This is a family recipe that my Mom and Grandmother used to make.  Grandma always said it was an easy dish to make on wash day, which was a very labor intensive day on the farm. Of course she’d use vegetables she’d canned herself.  I still remember the rows of shining mason jars on a wooden shelf in the basement of the farmhouse.

In fact the very first blue Mason jar that I ever collected was from the “cave” of the farmhouse where my grandmother grew up.  The house was long gone, and I was a crazy 10-year-old going down into a potential cave-in situation, but I found a blue mason jar with veggies still in it.  Who knows, they may have just missed being used in Wash Day Casserole!  Anyway, this recipe is my son Samir’s favorite, and his first recipe request.

2 potatoes, scrubbed well and cut in 1/2″ pieces
1 can green beans, liquid reserved
1 can corn, drained
1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 cups cooked rice (1 cup uncooked – we use Basmati)
1 can tomato sauce or 1/2 cup ketchup
salt, pepper
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt (optional)

Cook potatoes with green bean liquid, and add a little salt and pepper.
Brown hamburger and add diced onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.

In a large bowl layer and smooth out the following, (starting with the cooked potatoes) sprinkling just a little salt and pepper on each layer. (I add a little Lawry’s Seasoned Salt in place of the regular salt, but it’s not part of the original recipe.)

Potatoes with liquid
green beans
corn
hamburger mix
rice
tomato sauce or ketchup

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or so, until everything is warmed through.