Comments on: Some Thoughts on the Tightwad Gazette’s “Flexible Casserole Recipe”

By: Tracy W

Tracy W — Mon, 17 May 2010 07:58:37 +0000

For those who are concerned about mayo or cream-of-soup, I used chopped tomatoes as a binder regularly in casseroles. You can use fresh or canned. And it means that if you let the casserole get cold then reheat it tastes even better.

By: Ricky Buchanan

Ricky Buchanan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:38:13 +0000

This is brilliant!

Have saved a copy for my own cookbook and another (with lots of annotations) for a friend who’s great at his own country’s cooking but wants to learn “western cooking”. It’s hard to explain what can/can’t be varied in most recipes!

By: Sharon`

Sharon` — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:22:54 +0000

The “all casseroles are evil” comment is just silly. It’s entirely up to you just how healthy your casserole will be. This is just a framework for proportions, for heaven’s sake.

If you don’t want canned soup, don’t use it. Salsa is a quick, low fat, addition instead. It’s less of a binder than a moistener, but really great for many casseroles. You can always use yogurt, as well. Homemade, if you like. I have been known to use a good old white sauce, or just milk, as well. If you don’t do dairy, then just use thickened veggie broth. It’s up to you.

By: JellyCity

JellyCity — Fri, 22 May 2009 13:59:31 +0000

For those concerned about the fat content of the mayo, cream soups, etc. there are also reduced fat and fat free versions of mayo, cream soups, sour creams, etc. If you are concerned about the carbs, maybe increase the amount of fresh veggies and/or lean meats and use less of the starch. And using brown rice vs. white rice, or whole wheat noodles vs. those made with white flour would be healthier as well.

By: jc

jc — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:45:05 +0000

I encourage people to read up the WAP Foundation’s advice, and their critics, and decide for themselves. To call their work “nonsense” and contrast it with “evidence-based responses” indicates that one has only read their critics, and knuckled under to conventional nutritional “wisdom.”

By: friendviola

friendviola — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:57:24 +0000

As I’ve become more proficient at cooking, i’ve been using more “modular” recipes like this as well as making my own. Thanks for another! Don’t forget to throw in some fresh herbs from those window sill pots…its basically free and makes all the difference. For those who avoid using canned prepared foods,as I do, follow his handy link to making your own white sauce. This is easy, healthier, cheaper, and much tastier. We also buy rice in bulk in 10-20lb bags we find at our Indo-pak store. This source is very low in price per pound and has many different kinds…last time we even found organic brown basmati! Ethnic groceries are also great for spices.

By: kathryn

kathryn — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:10:58 +0000

I made a version with tofu, kale, mushrooms and curry powder that was just awesome. The binder was cream of mushroom soup, and I’d definitely like to find less preservative-laden alternatives, but the cream of mushroom worked well in a pinch.

As for the great fat debate, I vote for just making sure to add plenty of nutritional value with other ingredients if you make a higher fat version. Make those fat calories worthwhile!

By: Alita

Alita — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:59:19 +0000

You know, it’s not like folks that add 1 cup of mayo to XYZ recipe are going to be sitting there with a spoon literally eating 1 cup of mayo. Or one can of “Cream of ABC” soup, or whatever the case may be. I am glad that folks are concerned with health, with humanely raised meat, and so forth — heck, I am too! — but jeepers.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:23:44 +0000

Wow, it’s modular dinner… that’s awesome!

By: Vickey

Vickey — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:15:33 +0000

Re “Nourishing Traditions” and whether or not mayo & eggs in large quantities can be healthy:
Please check out the information available at http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/3476771.htm

See item#14 on that page for links to science and evidence-based responses to the Weston Price Foundation’s nonsense (A prominent WAPF officer co-wrote “Nourishing Traditions”)
To your health,

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:41:29 +0000

Great post! I think we will try the chicken broccoli recipe first!

By: Sheila, So It Goes

Sheila, So It Goes — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:30:54 +0000

Thanks for your post. We live on a small sailboat and appreciate meals such as this.

All the best!

By: jc

jc — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:44:39 +0000

ignoring the dietary fat haters in this thread, there’s a way to do all this low carb (or really, slow carb), but it means tossing the starch, at least for whoever is eating low carb.

meals in my household:

soak & cook one or two pounds of dried beans once a week.

dinner each night:

- start by boiling water for pasta/rice for any starch eaters
- then start any kind of meat that can be cooked in under 15 minutes in a skillet
- toss a little oil/fat in the bottom of a 3 qt pot, turn up to high, toss in a pound of frozen veggies, throw on the lid, stir once every few minutes (right after flipping the meat, say)
- reheat beans in the microwave
- everything is self-served from the stovetop

looks like a lot but it’s all done in under a half hour unless the meat is frozen. even quicker: throw pre-cooked meat (either from a previous night or something like pre-cooked sausage) on top of the rice or veggies and steam it.

either way, leftovers are for lunch the next day.

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:57:37 +0000

I thought the 1.5 cups of mayo must be a typo. That would equal 24 tablespoons. The jar of mayo I have says that a tablespoon has 100 calories, with 100% of them being fat calories. The rest of the recipes looked good, but 2,400 calories from fat, not considering the remainder of the ingredients? That can’t be right.

By: tentaculistic

tentaculistic — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:47:59 +0000

@PJ Wyatt – Wait, really? Do you remember when he did that interview? I’m still pretty new here so I missed it.

By: PJ Wyatt

PJ Wyatt — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:45:33 +0000

Just a note — in true cookbook form, “2 cups of rice, cooked” would mean taking 2 cups of raw rice, cooking it in appropriate amounts of water, and then using the result in your recipe. Lots of rice. I believe (hope) you mean to say “2 cups of cooked rice.”

Picky, but for those of us who desperately depend on the accuracy of a recipe in order to function in the kitchen, this is crucial.

…and it’s wonderful to have Amy’s books brought into play again. So many of the “new” money-saving ideas one finds in blogs these days come from her wonderful work. But YOU were the one who scored an interview with her! Kudos!

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 17 May 2009 09:58:26 +0000

I love the Tightwad Gazette! I had forgotten about the flexible casserold, and will have to get creative.

@Charlotte and Georgia: You should check out the book Nourishing Traditions. If you’re using the right kind of ingredients, mayo and eggs are extremely good for you!

By: tentaculistic

tentaculistic — Sun, 17 May 2009 01:11:06 +0000

Hey, this is great. I read Amy however-it’s-spelled-but-pronounced-”Decision”‘s book Tightwad Gazette (funny enough, the one book at the library with the longest waitlist… wonder why). Some of the ideas were ludicrous to me, but overall I got some good ideas on how to get out of a cycle of mindless spending (“reduce! recycle! reuse!” as my childhood nightie, for some bizarre reason, had emblazoned all over). I intended to do this recipe, but forgot. It did help me when I ran out of certain ingredients, I had a vague idea of what part of a recipe does what. Very helpful, thanks!

p.s. Charlotte and Georgia – the base recipe could not be more vague about the component ingredients. If you don’t like mayo, well, um, … ok, you know where I’m going with that one :) Besides, having gone back to look, only 1 of the 4 recipes has mayo (ok, the other has 1000 Island dressing, which is worse), but he provided a healthier alternative.

Anyway, I know you’re trying to encourage healthy choices, and I do respect that, since I struggle against that for my family as well – but picking just for the heck of it (esp when he implicitly acknowledges your concerns elsewhere in the same article) just really rubs me the wrong way.

By: Lenetta

Lenetta — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:56:32 +0000

I linked to this on my weekly link roundup. Love that book!

By: Georgia

Georgia — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:38:01 +0000

Trent – I agree with Charlotte. Why all that mayo? That is one reason I refuse to buy made up salads at deli’s anymore. They drown it in mayo and it is yucky. Start with 1/2 cup mayo and if it is not enough for you, add a bit at a time until you get the consistency you like. 1 1/2 cups is almost 30% of the entire salad. Whew!!!

C’MON GUYS – LET’S GET HEALTHY.

But anyway, thanks for the great idea. I can make 1/3 of these amounts and still come up with a good meal and a leftover from these ingredients.