Christmas 2014

Christmas this year was a very quiet affair. We contemplated having an open house but decided instead that we would just celebrate it quietly with the family over a nice lunch. The Lovely Wife wanted a nice sit down lunch and asked if she could invite over two of her dearest friends, Lynn and Tina. I decided to make a leg of lamb, a simple citrus salad and a chicken casserole. I would get some pita bread to eat with the lamb, make a little rice and of course potatoes to finish everything off. I contemplated making dessert but since I had made the obligatory chocolate cake, I reckoned that would be enough for dessert.

Usually at Christmas Eve, we host dinner for the extended family where we also open all our presents. However, this year, we celebrated Christmas Eve at my Mom-in-Laws house and my parents joined us there too. Both my brothers had plans of their own so again it was a quiet affair.

Chicken Mushroom Casserole

This is one of my favourite dishes to make. Its easy and yet so tasty. I make this fairly often, especially when I want something that is hearty, will fill everyone up but yet simple.

I was quite sure I had posted about this before, but a quick check shows that it has never seen the light of cyber space!!


I made this for dinner the same day that I made the Daring Cheesecake, so I wanted something quick and easy. We had invited Raymond and Priya for dinner as well so The Lovely Wife made a Tuna Pasta Casserole (that is another favourite that hasn't been posted) for our non meat-eating friend.

Ingredients
1 Chicken
1 tsp turmeric
4 garlic cloves - chopped
1 onion - chopped
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
200 g button mushrooms - sliced
2 carrots - pared and sliced
125 ml cream
Paprika
Black Pepper
Method
Wash and clean the chicken. Rub with some turmeric and then cut into pieces. Fry Black pepper, oregano and basil till fragrant. Add in the onion and garlic and cook till tender. Add in the chicken, mixing well till nicely browned then add in the mushrooms and carrots, cooking till slightly softened. Add in the cream and season with salt and more pepper. Pour into a baking dish and bake in a 180C oven for about 40 minutes or till chicken is very tender. If sauce is too watery, pour back into the pan and add some corn flour diluted with water. Put back into the baking dish before serving. Season with paprika.

This dish is especially tasty with rice but I see no reason that it wouldn't taste just as good with pasta of even with loads of bread to mop up the sauce. All that matters is that the kids enjoyed it and that, to me, is a success in my books!

Fish, Vegetable and Rice Casserole

I've often wondered what exactly constitutes a casserole. I was led to believe that a casserole was a meal that was fully cooked in an oven - that is with no precooking allowed. I've learnt over the years though, that a casserole is actually the name for the 'container' used to cook AND serve it in. It is also a most versatile dish - both as in dish the meal and dish the container (Ha Ha!)

You can make a casserole by pre-cooking some ingredients and then finish it off by baking or mix up all the raw ingredients and then cook it in the oven. So, really, anything and everything that is cooked and served in a casserole dish, qualifies as a casserole! I bet I've only served to confuse you more....

But hey, to paraphrase Shakespeare, "That which we call a casserole, by any other name would taste just as delicious!"


My first exposure to casserole was this fantastic Macaroni Tuna Pasta that my mother used to make. We all thought it was a pasta dish but Mom called it a Tuna Casserole. And that was when I first learnt of such a word.

I've learnt to make Mom's Tuna Casserole (I like to think I've improved on it!) and I'll probably post about it another time. This post though is about a Fish and Rice Casserole that I tried out for the very first time recently.

Often, I find that I need to come up with a new recipe simply because the kids are hungry and the fridge is not quite as well stocked as we thought it was. That was basically what happened recently!

I had some frozen Dory Fish and some carrots and broccoli. There was also some tomato and half a block of cheddar. So, I decided to throw them all together and make a Fish and Rice Casserole.

As usual, no real recipe but more of a guideline. That's how I like it as I think the best food is when you experiment and play around with the ingredients.

2 cups rice - washed
3 cups water - for cooking the rice
1 large onion - sliced
4 cloves garlic = chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sage
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
800g Dory Fish - cubed
1 small head of broccoli - cut into small florets
2 medium carrots - diced
2 large tomatoes - thinly sliced
200g Cheddar cheese - grated
Black Pepper
Salt

Method
Cook the rice in a rice cooker or in a pot over the stove.
Sautee the onions and garlic together with the Oregano, sage, rosemary leaves and Black Pepper. Add in the cubed Dory and season with some salt. Mix well and allow to simmer until Dory is cooked. Add in the carrots and simmer till carrots are soft then add in the broccoli. Mix well. Season with more salt and pepper as required.
Add the rice into the pan and mix well. Spoon into a rectangular casserole dish and press down, smoothening the top. Cover rice with half of the cheese and then cover with the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over tomatoes and bake in a preheated 190C oven for about 20 mins or till cheese is melted and tomatoes are slightly wrinkled.


The kids really enjoyed this dish (the food and not the container -Ha Ha!) and the Lovely Wife kept asking what I had done to make it so tasty. I think the secret is simply that the flavours from the vegetables and fish all meld together so nicely and it soaks into the rice as well.