Believe it or not, I have never made a casserole before. For some reason I always associate them with sadness. A casserole is what gets dropped off at your doorstep when something really terrible has happened. Not in every case, but to me they seem to have that reputation. So naturally they are not on my radar. However, last night, as I stood staring in the pantry I couldn’t help but notice all the ingredients we had on hand that would make a nice casserole. So I thought, what if I could make a different kind of casserole. A happy one. Taylor was up skiing and it seemed like a nice warm meal he could come home to. So that was that. A happy casserole was on the menu for the night.
First up, trying not to sever my arm off while chopping up this puppy.
I didn’t want to lose an arm and have a casserole dropped off at our doorstep, so I was extra careful.
Beautiful butternut squash. My favorite.
Enough tears were shed to think something terrible had happened. I still cry every time I cut up an onion. Any tricks to this one?
You can never have too much garlic. Bad breath and all, it’s my favorite.
I spent about 20 minutes throwing together ingredients for this casserole. I have to thank my friend Sean from Massachusetts for all the curry dishes he has made me. I used a lot of his techniques and they worked really well. A little of this and a little of that. (That’s how he cooks!) I am trying to get better at using things we already have on hand instead of always making another trip to the store. And this worked really well for the casserole. Because 20 minutes later everything was ready to be popped in the oven.
And about 45 minutes later we were enjoying this:
The perfect amount of sweetness and heat in every bite. Here is the recipe for the curried butternut squash casserole. Bear with me. The exact measurements should be taken with a grain of salt.
1 medium butternut squash peeled and cubed (small cubes)
1 onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 can coconut milk
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups rice
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 tbs curry powder
1 tbs cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 tbs butter
salt and pepper to taste
First in a large pot saute’ up your onion, garlic, and spices in 2 tbs of butter. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add your liquids. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and add squash, raisins, almonds, peas, and rice.
Pour your mixture into a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Take out your casserole, stir, and put back in the oven uncovered for about 10-15 more minutes.
Enjoy!
This would be the perfect casserole to make for a new neighbor. Pies are overrated!
I find that lighting a candle when I am cutting an onion helps. Also, have a super super sharp knife. That way you make cleaner cuts and the whatever whatever it is that makes you cry doesn’t have as much time to react with the air…or something like that!
Thanks for the tip!
use a refrigerated onion . . . I cry no more!
for real???? I will try this out. I wonder why that helps? I will give it a good test this weekend! Thanks Jean!
Wear sunglasses! You look silly, but who cares. I do it every time.
That looks like one happy casserole! Thanks for the recipe.
I sat on my last pair of sunglasses, but I bet ski goggles will do the trick!
I love casseroles! Yum, I might actually try this one, Andrea! You know, I have to go to a party and bring a “hearty” appetizer, I am going to try one of your recipes! Thank you for your resources, and wish me LUCK!
GOOD LUCK!!! yay, so happy you are trying this. It was really easy. And change the measurements of the spices to your liking. I like a lot of heat so I did tablespoons of everything. You can tone it down if you aren’t as into the spice!!! have fun. Let me know how it turns out!!!
I use mostly sweet onions and don’t have too much trouble. I refrigerate them anyway, so maybe that helps.
Casseroles make me think church suppers.
I think you mean 2 cups cooked rice. You probably had leftover rice to add. But if you did mean raw rice, please clarify.
Nope. The rice was uncooked. It cooks into the dish. Enjoy!
I’ll admit I don’t get the onion-tear thing (though I do get it from fresh cilantro, go figure), so I’m not an expert, but years ago I read a tip that said put a piece of bread in your mouth and hold it against the roof of your mouth. Haven’t tried it, since onions don’t affect me, but I’m interested to see if it works. If you try it, let us know! In fact, since you’re getting all these tips, I’d love it if you tried them out and let us know which works best. 🙂