Casserole, by definition, refers to the pan your food is cooked in and then used to serve said food, from oven to table with one dish. Most often though, especially here in America, casserole is what we refer to as the food itself. Casseroles are often made in colder winter months. They are considered a comfort food, warming you from the inside out. Plus, we often don’t want to use the oven much when it’s hot outside. So, in winter it is by default.

Any oven safe dish can be used for a casserole, including a cast iron skillet, but traditionally you reach for a 3-4 quart 9x13” baking dish. I took a look at some casserole dishes to break it down for you. Stainless steel is non-reactive and long lasting. It can go in the dishwasher with no issues. However, it does not heat evenly. You may end up with burnt spots while others are still gooey. Copper or aluminum is a reactive material and must be coated or you can’t cook with it. This leads to eventual replacement because that coating will wear off after so many uses. Cast iron heats evenly and lasts forever as long as you know how to take care of it. It is heavy though and when you fill it with food, it’s even worse. Glass is great at heating evenly and being easy for cleanup. You do have to avoid thermal shock though. You don’t want to go from freezer to hot oven or vice versa. It will weaken the glass and break it. Ceramic is resistant to thermal shock and if your casserole is a ceramic dish, it will easily go from freezer to hot oven to table for serving with no issues. Cleanup is easy and often the ceramic versions have a color or design that makes it pretty sitting on the table. Now you can make an informed decision on casseroles! (I think ceramic seems to be the best choice overall.)

I love casseroles for the ease in cooking and cleanup. Casseroles can be either side dish, main meal, or even dessert but are delicious in any form. This week, I am sharing casseroles as a meal. Make your grocery list and meet me in the kitchen this week for recipes so easy to make, cook and clean up.

Philly Cheesesteak Casserole

1lb pasta of choice, I wanted bowties, but was unable to find them this weekend so I went with rotini

32oz unsalted chicken stock

4 cups water

2 Tbsps. unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves

1lb sirloin steak

2 8oz pkgs. cream cheese

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

½ yellow onion, diced

1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

8-12 Provolone cheese slices, enough to cover your casserole as desired

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook steak as desired, but leave medium rare. It will cook more in the oven and you don’t want it too tough. Set aside to rest. In large pot, combine stock and water. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of pasta liquid before draining noodles. In large saucepan, melt butter. Cook garlic cloves for thirty seconds. Add bell pepper and onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Thinly slice steak while sautéing vegetables. Add in steak, season with salt and pepper. Stir in cream cheese and cook until melted. Stir in reserved pasta liquid, noodles and shredded cheese. Mix to combine. If skillet is oven-proof, top with sliced provolone and bake. Otherwise transfer to 9x13” baking dish, top with provolone and bake. Bake 20 minutes or until provolone is completely melted.

Recipe adapted from hotrodsrecipes.com

Pizza Casserole

2lbs. lean ground beef

2 15oz jars pizza sauce, divided

2 tsps. dried oregano

3 cups biscuit/baking mix

1¼ cups half and half

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 medium yellow pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, 8-10 minutes, breaking into crumbles as it cooks. Drain grease. Stir in 1 jar pizza sauce and oregano. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. In large bowl, combine biscuit mix, milk and egg. Stir just until moistened. Spread half batter onto bottom of greased 9x13” baking pan. Spread with remaining pizza sauce, to taste. Top with mozzarella cheese, pepper, onion and beef mixture. Spoon remaining batter over top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from tasteofhome.com

Biscuit & Gravy Casserole

2 1lb pkg. ground breakfast sausage

1 cup chopped yellow onion

¼ cup plus 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

6oz Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

¼ tsp. salt, to taste

½ tsp. black pepper, to taste

1 pkg. frozen Southern-style biscuits, at least 12 count

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place sausage and onion in large skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring often, until sausage crumbles and is no longer pink and onion is translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to plate lined with paper towels to drain. Wipe skillet clean. Reduce heat to low and add 1/4 cup butter to skillet. Melt butter. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and increase heat to medium. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened and bubbly, 5 to 6 minutes. Whisk in shredded cheese, and cook, whisking often, until cheese is melted and mixture is smooth, 30 to 40 seconds. Stir in sausage mixture, salt, and pepper. Transfer mixture to lightly greased 9x13” baking dish. Arrange biscuits on top of sausage mixture. Leave some space between the biscuits or they won’t bake evenly. Bake in preheated oven until biscuits are golden brown and gravy is bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Microwave remaining butter in a small microwavable bowl on HIGH until melted, about 20 seconds. Remove casserole from oven and brush biscuits with melted butter. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from southernliving.com

Overnight French Toast Casserole

1lb loaf of French bread, cut into chunks

3 large apples, chopped

8 large eggs

2 cups milk

½ cup heavy whipping cream

½ cup sugar

¼ cup light brown sugar, unpacked

2 tsps. pure vanilla extract

1½ tsps. ground cinnamon

Streusel

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1½ tsp apple pie spice

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Grease a 9×13” casserole dish. Combine bread chunks and chopped apples and lay in even layer in bottom of dish. In large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients, minus streusel, and pour evenly over bread. Make sure all bread is touching the liquid so it absorbs evenly. Otherwise, you will end up with croutons instead of French toast. Cover casserole and store in fridge overnight. When ready to bake casserole, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake casserole uncovered for about 35-40 minutes. While casserole bakes, in another bowl, combine dry ingredients for streusel. Add butter and mash into the dry mixture until it forms crumbly mixture. Remove casserole from oven when done and crumble streusel over top of casserole. Continue baking casserole for 10 minutes. Serve casserole warm with syrup, if desired.

Recipe adapted from lifeloveandsugar.com