Section 2: Main Courses – Page 19 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

6-30: Scottish Chicken Casserole

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses February 2, 2016June 18, 2020bay leaves, black pepper, bone-in, breasts, butter, casserole, chicken, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, dinner, dried herbs, drumsticks, Dutch oven, egg-free, fairly easy, gluten-free, inexpensive, melted, paprika, parsley, pot-roasted, potatoes, salt, scalloped, Scottish, seared, thighs, thyme, untested, wings, yellow onions

As I mentioned in 9-12: Shepherd’s Pie, I had a LOT of potatoes to get rid of after buying too many at Costco. So here’s another potato recipe for you: 6-30: Scottish Chicken Casserole.

EDIT: This seems to be a popular one–not sure why, since it’s not very exciting. Easy, but not thrilling. If that’s what you’re here for, game on. If you want to know more about this site/me, read this. Thanks for visiting!

Offhand, I have no idea why it’s “Scottish”, other than it seems similar to a lot of food you get in the UK. A cursory Google search turned up this recipe, which seems kind of like this one. This other recipe (from the same search) gives a bit more history, linking it to a classic French (and Scottish) casserole-type dish.

12-8: Penne with Broccoli

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses January 26, 2016July 27, 2020all-purpose flour, basil, blanched, boiled, broccoli, butter, Cheddar, cheese sauce, dinner, easy, inexpensive, lunch, milk, mushrooms, oregano, pared, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, penne, roux, salt, sautéed, untested, vegetable oil, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

As you’ve probably figured out, I don’t always write these immediately after I’ve cooked the dish. I usually remember a lot about them though, and I make a lot of mental notes as I go, especially now that I’ve done 80+ of these at this point.

I don’t remember a damned thing about 12-8: Penne with Broccoli. I’m pretty sure the only thing I remember was that it was pretty unmemorable.

My guess is it’s one of those one-pan-skillet-easy-weeknight-dinner kind of things that gets you to eat vegetables by covering them in cheese and noodles. Not that that’s bad, but it’s nothing new.

9-4: Swedish Meatballs

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses January 18, 2016July 5, 2020Alton Brown, appetizers, beef, black pepper, bread crumbs, butter, deglazed, dinner, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, grated, gravy, ground beef, ground meat, lunch, meatballs, pan-fried, party food, reduced, salt, Swedish, untested, veal, white bread, white pepper, yellow onions

There seem to be a lot of differing interpretations of Swedish meatballs out there. Serious Eats runs into the same dilemma and ups the meatball’s game with umami and acidic flavors; Alton Brown stays simple and sticks to earthier allspice and nutmeg. Both soak the white bread in milk (panade) before adding it to the meat mix, whereas 9-4: Swedish Meatballs swaps the milk for water and keeps the spices restrained simply to salt and pepper. This doesn’t bode well.

Simply Delicious, you can’t call it an “original recipe” when the only original thing about it is how bland and unseasoned it is. I made these as a requested dish for someone else, and was provided only ground beef (their preference) as opposed to a mix of meats with which to make them. As a result, they were even LESS exciting–it’s a good thing the requestor digs bland food.

12-4: Pasta with Mushrooms

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses December 26, 2015July 27, 2020al dente, black pepper, boiled, butter, chives, creamy, crème fraîche, dinner, dried herbs, dried spices, easy, farfalle, half-and-half, herb salt, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, mushrooms, paprika, parsley, pasta/noodles, rotini, salt, sautéed, sour cream, spaghetti, thyme, untested, vegetarian, yellow onions

There’s been way too many cookies, both online and IRL. 12-4: Pasta with Mushrooms is a relatively healthier and easy dinner option to help ease you into post-holiday life (or just an idea for dinner tonight).

I don’t know about you, but these kind of meals with a bit of protein (chicken, fish, etc.) is pretty much our go-to for dinner these days. Maybe I’ve been cooking in schools too long already–my mind instantly goes to two veg-fruit/one protein/one grain for meal planning. I suppose there are worse habits.

12-22: Nasi Goreng

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses December 1, 2015July 28, 2020amchur powder, Asian, bean sprouts, canola oil, cashews, chili powder, chutney, coconut, condiments, crushed red pepper, curry powder, dairy-free, dinner, eggs, fairly easy, fish sauce, fried, galangal, garlic, garlic powder, ginger, granulated sugar, ham, Indian, Indonesian, inexpensive, julienned, lunch, omelette, pan-fried, paprika, pineapple, rice, salt, sautéed, scrambled, shredded, sliced, soy sauce, spice blends, spicy, Tabasco sauce, Thai, untested, yellow onions

Here’s something a bit different from the Pasta and Rice chapter. Simply Delicious has a lot of international recipes, some more authentic than others. 12-22: Nasi Goreng is a take on a popular Indonesian fried rice dish, a sweeter and spicier variation of the ubiquitous Chinese take-out version.

This recipe doesn’t give you much in the way of creating Nasi Goreng spices if you don’t have access to or want to use a premixed blend. After the jump, I’ll include a Nasi Goreng spice blend I used and a link to the book from which I pulled it.

12-11: Italian Macaroni and Cheese

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses November 21, 2015July 27, 2020al dente, black pepper, boiled, carrots, Cheddar, cheese, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, cooked chicken, dinner, fairly easy, grated, half-and-half, ham, inexpensive, Italian, julienned, layers, lunch, macaroni, Parmesan, party food, pasta/noodles, quiche lorraine, salt, shredded, smoked ham, untested

Before you make up your mind on 12-11: Italian Macaroni & Cheese, I must let you know that it is not what you are expecting. If you are envisioning just another creamy cheesy béchamel-based sauce, this is NOT that.

This has ham in it and NO cheese in the sauce. All the cheese is on top. The noodles are suspended in a cream and egg base similar to a quiche filling. Jump behind the cut and see what this wacky mac & cheese is all about.

9-26: Crispy Beef Turnovers

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses November 17, 2015July 6, 2020appetizers, Asian, baked goods, bean sprouts, beef, black pepper, brushed, canola oil, celery, Chinese/dark soy sauce, cornstarch, crispy, dough, egg wash, eggs, fairly easy, fairly expensive, filling, ground beef, ground meat, hors d'oeuvres, julienned, leeks, mushrooms, party food, pastry, puff pastry, salt, sautéed, sherry, sliced, soy sauce, turnovers, untested

As I said in 13-13: Spinach Turnovers, the holiday season is upon us and therefore, you’ll need some recipes for dishes to take with you to a party, or at least to snack on while you binge-watch Netflix. 9-26: Crispy Beef Turnovers are the heartier, meatier companion to their spinach and crab brothers.

These are remarkably similar in execution to 13-13: Spinach Turnovers, so I suggest cooking the two at the same time if you want to add some variety to your dish. However, these are mighty tasty, and stand just fine on their own as well. If you have access to a deep-fryer, consider 1-7: Trader Vic’s Crab Turnovers for a crispy, Polynesian-inspired third option.

13-13: Spinach Turnovers

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses November 13, 2015July 30, 2020appetizers, brushed, canola oil, chopped, cornstarch, creamy, diced, easy, egg wash, eggs, filling, frozen, hors d'oeuvres, inexpensive, lunch, nutmeg, party food, pastry, peeled, puff pastry, reduced, saffron, sautéed, sesame seeds, snacks, sour cream, spinach, turnovers, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetarian, yellow onions

It’s the holiday season, so you’ll probably find yourself entertaining (or in the mood for party food, at least). 13-13: Spinach Turnovers are a nice vegetarian option that you can bring to a party or just make for yourself.

I made these along with 9-26: Crispy Beef Turnovers for a get-together I went to recently. The ingredients & method for both are somewhat similar, so I prepared both at the same time, which worked out pretty well. If you find yourself with extra puff pastry (and maybe a deep fryer), consider a third turnover option, 1-7: Trader Vic’s Crab Turnovers.

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses September 16, 2015June 19, 2020almonds, boiled, boneless, braised, butter, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, cubed, deglazed, dinner, easy, garlic, inexpensive, lunch, melted, minced, paprika, pearl onions, peeled, pork, pork shoulder, purée, stewed tomatoes, stews, Sunday, toasted, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetable bouillon, white wine, yellow onions

7-55: Sunday Pork Stew was part of a recent 3-recipes-at-1-time attempt, which also included 4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter and 4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes.

I had originally intended to make a different pork recipe, but when faced with an unexpected ingredient shortage (someone used my mushrooms), I rolled with it and dug out another pork recipe for which I had ingredients on hand. This would have been better with pasta or rice, as suggested on the card, but dinner is dinner when you’re hungry.

9-28: Stuffed Meat Loaf

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 25, 2015July 6, 2020apples, bacon, basil, black pepper, bread crumbs, chopped, diced, dinner, dried herbs, dry mustard, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, garlic, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, ground turkey, herbs and spices, lunch, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, panko, parsley, potatoes, salt, sliced, steam-baked, stuffed, stuffing, thyme, untested, white bread, yellow mustard, yellow onions

I grew up with turkey meatloaf. You probably grew up with some version of a loaf of meat. 9-28: Stuffed Meatloaf doesn’t stray too far from the traditional mold.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too thrilled if the planned dinner for a party was a meatloaf. Don’t get me wrong, I’d appreciate the gesture. However, it’s tough to get excited about…meatloaf.