Southern Plate’s Handy Dandy Casserole Chart
I created this chart for you all to use as inspiration. It is meant as a handy helper, giving you ideas and a formula to create your own casseroles. My Country Casserole and Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole both follow this charts guidelines.
Simply choose an ingredient from each column in the amounts specified, prepare according to directions and POOF! Dinner!
There are many ways to personalize this. Note that the toppings column is optional and any of these would be great as a meatless dish as well. I often double the vegetables and leave out the meat for a great side dish at family reunions and potlucks.
This is just a starting point to help get you going with your own casserole creations. Add your own favorite ingredients to the list and get creative! The possibilities are endless!
Casseroles are a quick, easy, and economical way to feed your family. I very rarely make just one casserole. Oftentimes it costs only slightly more to make two meals out of one effort. Casseroles are easily stored in the freezer when spooned into gallon sized ziploc bags. Simply flatten the bag to take up less room and freeze! Thaw casserole in bag overnight in the fridge before pouring into your casserole dish and baking up a fresh, hot dinner!
Please keep your own family’s personal taste in mind when creating your casseroles and HAVE FUN! Let me know what you come up with!
Related posts:
- Crunchy Beef Casserole (and my casserole dish collection) Most folks have never had to think about taking...
- Southern Plate Recipes For Thanksgiving AND Your Leftover Turkey! Perfect Pecan Pie (Guaranteed not to be pecan soup!)...
- Southern Plate Voted Best Cooking Blog! I am thrilled, flabbergasted, and delighted to announce that...
- Southern Plate Gets Seedy- Fresh Yeast Rolls, Ready From Your Freezer Anytime! Yeast breads are intimidating to many people. Having tried...
- Embarrassingly Easy Ham and Potato Casserole And Practically Free! This morning, I was thinking about my...
Y’all be sure and click on that blurry, fuzzy, awful looking pic to see the nice neat chart!
The casserole chart is awesome. I absolutely adore your blog. I wrote a post about you on my blog. Here it is: http://iamnachomama.blogspot.com/2008/09/excellent-food-blog-southern-plate.html
Keep up the great work!
WOW!!!! I just went and read, WOW! Thank you so much!!! I am going to post the comment I left on your blog here!
~SQUEALS LOUDLY~
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Oh goodness, I don’t know what to say!! THANK YOU!!! This is so very sweet of you and I appreciate every single letter of every single kind and generous word!
I am also laughing – who would have thought I would be admired for using the cheapest ingredients I can find? LOL! I’ve always used Wal Mart brand ingredients and generics on just about everything. I’ve found very few to be that different from the name brand in quality and taste. My family has always teased me about this but hey, if its $2.50 for the name brand and 1.75 for the generic, guess which one hops into my buggy?
With groceries getting so much higher lately, my mother has finally started using generics. I was talking about how much more groceries are costing to her on the phone today and she says she is spending pretty much the same now that she has switched to generics. Then she added “But I guess that doesn’t help you any, you can’t go down any more than you already do!”. LOL
There are very few name brand things I use: Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce (Wal Mart’s brand tastes just awful for some reason), White Lily flour, and Nilla brand vanilla wafers.
Wow, was that too much information or what? Hey, once I get to talking….
Okay so my point in all of this was,
“WOW!!! THANK YOU!!!!”
Well ain’t that just the cats pajamas!! What a handy little chart to keep in the kitchen for inspiration. I’ll be printing and adding it to my recipe binder that I’ll be putting together soon.
I wonder though if I’ll ever get through all the recipes I bookmark and print out to try. I’m SO glad to have found that cooking blogs exist.
Man, this is just another star in my google reader. I just went through my marked items and I think you hold the distinction of having the most. Thanks for being my go-to site.
That is a great idea! I have several “formulas” similar to your chart, for everything from yeast bread to pilaf to quiche! I love recipe formulas like this, because you can just invent a dish using what you have available, and you know it will turn out great.
It’s like “Wheel of Casseroles”…
A literal “Casserole Cornucopia”…
I love it, already have some ideas.
ANOTHER great bit of kitchen help!
I’ve only been aware of your blog for a short time but it has become an every day thing. I always find such helpful (and DELICIOUS) posts here. Please count me among your fans.
You mentioned making more than one casserole at a time – when I do that I go ahead and freeze the one I’ll be saving in the baking dish where it will cook but before I put it into the dish I line the dish with plastic wrap or foil (depending on whether there are ingredients that might interact). Once the casserole is frozen I slip it out of the dish and finish wrapping it for the freezer. In the meantime my casserole baker is still available for use.
When I get ready to fix the frozen casserole I remove the wrapping and it fits right back into the dish where it will cook even before it is completely thawed. Also, I can use my vacuum sealer to really protect the frozen casserole. That is difficult with “runny” foods but no problem once the casserole is frozen solid.
Now why didn’t I think of that?????? Great idea!
Oh, girl, you have been my blog roll for a long time. I consider you a daily recipe “fix”.
This is such a great chart! I can’t wait to give these tasty casserole dishes a try
Christy you have also become a daily blog for me. I love your site and your tips, recipes,ect…I also love how you always acknowledge your readers posts. Also you have awesome customer service! Can’t wait to recieve my cookbook. This chart is awesome and I will definitely use it alot.
Wow! I go out-of-pocket for a few days and I’ve had to spend hours catching up. I’m sorry I missed your contest. I grew up on that cake too and was always uncomfortable with its name.
Oh – and I love the chart! I just printed it out. It’s awesome! Great job.
I’m back now and don’t plan on disappearing again anytime soon. I’ll be back! You are on my daily hit list! heehee
April Hehe, any comment that starts with a sentence including the word “ain’t” is gonna be a good comment! LOL I am with you on the cooking blogs! Although I am still an avid cookbook reader, I just love the personal touch of finding recipes on blogs and having the folks actually tell you about it with a more personal touch.
Recipe binder? You sound organized!! Come to my house!!!
Brook I LOVE YOU!! LOL
Just the thought of being anyone’s “go to” site thrills me to death!!!!!! I have stars, too?
Good lord, this is so awesome. Y’all just have no idea how much I love doing Southern Plate!!!
Stephanie Oh now you got me thinking about yeast breads! I love playing with dough! I think I’ll do a bread recipe this weekend! Thanks for the inspiration!
JBaker Thank you!! Wheel of Casseroles! Hehe, sounds like a fun game show to visit!!!!
Anonymous WOOHOO!!! I have fans?????? I know one of these days y’all are going to get tired of me acting like I won the lottery every time I get a great comment but hey, I can’t help it!!
I’ve used that same method before as well and it is AWFUL handy!! You are so right!!!! My problem is, I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo unorganized, I often forget to get the casserole out of the dish and it ends up getting buried and I completely forget the next week when I am trying to find where I could have POSSIBLY put my 9×13 inch pan! I am telling y’all, you have no idea how unorganized I am! This is IDEAL for normal people though. It makes for such a quick and easy casserole, and no thawing is necessary in order to get it to fit in your dish (unlike the Ziploc bag method). Y’all, read this gal’s comment, she knows what she’s talking about!!
Thank you, Anonymous, for the great idea and for reading Southern Plate!!!
Deanna Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!
I will do my best to keep you coming back and happy!!
Nico Thanks, Nico! Let me know how they turn out!
Connie Thank you!! I sure do hope you get your cookbook soon! Be sure and let me know! I am honestly flattered and honored to have so many loyal readers. I really just don’t know how I got so lucky!
Donna LOL!! Glad I’m not alone with the name of that cake! I hope the chart comes in handy for all of y’all! I love coming up with my own recipes and also being able to come up with something on the fly with what I have on hand, I hope this helps us all a bit in doing that!!!!
I try to keep up with and respond to all of my comments. It means a lot that people take the time to talk back to me after I post something. I get behind sometimes but I’m always reading them! I actually have an iphone that I keep on my nightstand and first thing in the morning (around 5:00 AM) I grab that and check to see if I have comments! I don’t get to respond to them until later on in the day but it just starts my day off right getting to hear from everyone!!!
I am so grateful to each and every one of you, thank you so much!
ChRiStY
Very handy! Now there is no excuse not to have any idea what to cook!
Its funny how something so simple can help so much.
Keep up the great info.
I just love your blog.
Joan
Girl your chart rocks! I am going to print 2 copies! This is PERFECT for my 2 daughters with little ones! Nice and easy! Thank you so much!!!
Treva
Love the casserole chart! I made country casserole for the fam the other night. It was a big hit. I just love casseroles. They’re great to freeze and just warm up when your short on time.
Laura-Athens
Thank you for the casserole chart. I love it. Good to have for a fast easy meal.
[...] or so of Benjamin Button. Today, more sleeping late, but I did make a casserole! I used this “Handy Dandy Casserole Chart” and it came out fine. Here’s another chart. Earlier, all I could find was this: The [...]
Just wanted you to know that I Twittered your Casserole chart. I really love, love LOVE your easy recipes! Go ahead and go to Twitter @pojeda, and see my post! You will probably get a gazillion hits from this! Keep up the really wonderful, fantastic and great work!
Absolutely love your blog!
Patty