"I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly. Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock." ~ Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

In preparing for Baby J's arrival, I decided to make some casseroles so we could have a few hearty meals in the freezer.  Being far more skilled at ordering out than cooking in, I found this helpful guide to freezing casseroles online.

The first casserole I made was a pastitsio.  I took this recipe from delish.com and substituted turkey for the lamb.  It definitely took a full two hours from start to plate, so make sure you leave yourself time.  We also found it a bit bland so make sure you add additional salt.  That said, it was relatively easy and pretty tasty.

The second was this layered Mexican bake from recipe.com.  I highly recommend this simple and tasty recipe, I think it was our favorite of the casseroles We made.

The third was a chicken tetrazzini.  

This dish was simple and delicious and one that we will most definitely be replicating with thanksgiving leftovers this year.  *Be careful because it makes a TON - we filled two 9x13 casserole dishes despite the fact that the recipe suggests it would fill just one 9x13 dish.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs thin spaghetti broken in half
4 tbs butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb white mushrooms, quartered
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup white wine
1/2 cups flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 block (8oz) cream cheese
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
1 cup finely chopped black olives
1.5 cup frozen peas
4 pieces bacon, fried and cut in bits
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Extra broth for thinning
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions
Cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions.  Drain, rinse, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat butter over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes.  Add mushrooms and salt, then sauté for a couple more minutes.  Pour in the wine and allow it to cook with the mushrooms for several minutes, or until the liquid reduces by half.

Sprinkle in flour, then stir the mushrooms around for another minute.  Pour in the broth and stir, cooking another few minutes until the roux thickens.

Reduce the heat to medium low.  Cut cream cheese into pieces and add it to the pot.  Stir it to melt (don't be concerned if the cream cheese remains in little bits for awhile, it'll melt eventually).  Add the chicken, olives, peas, bacon, and cheeses.  Stir to combine, adding salt and pepper as needed.

Add the cooked spaghetti and stir to combine.  Splash in more broth as needed, you want the mixture to have a little extra moisture since it will cook off in the oven (if it's a little soupy, that's fine).  Add up to 2 more cups of liquid if you think it needs it.

Pour the mixture into a large baking dish and sprinkle the top with Panko crumbs.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly and the crumbs are golden brown.