Early California Casserole Recipes

THE BEST FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• For the casserole: Trim the ends from 1 loaf day-old brioche (about 1 pound) and cut into ten 1-inch thick slices. Cut each slice in half diagonally to make two triangles from each piece. (If the bread is fresh, dry it out a bit. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.)
• Whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl until well blended. Dip each triangle of bread in the custard, lightly coating each side. Shingle the pieces in the prepared pan, overlapping slightly.
• Pour any remaining custard over the bread slices. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator and let rest 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature before baking. Remove the plastic wrap and bake until the casserole is golden and puffed and the custard is set, 45 to 50 minutes.
• For the topping: bring the butter, sugar and syrup to a boil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is melted and the mixture is begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, a pinch of salt, and the walnuts, stirring to coat. Turn off the heat and add the sliced bananas, stirring to coat evenly. Spoon the desired amount of the banana-syrup mixture over the casserole and serve any additional on the side.

CALIFORNIA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, cook beef, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender; drain. Stir in the next 11 ingredients. Add noodles. , Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake 50 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

CALIFORNIA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Saute onion in butter, remove from heat.
• Stir in rice, sour cream, cottage cheese, Bay leaf, salt and pepper.
• Spray or lightly butter a 9x13 baking dish.
• Layer half the rice mixture, half the chillies and sprinkle with half the cheese.
• Repeat layer.
• Bake uncovered 35 minutes at 375 degrees.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley.

GRANDMA'S GROUND BEEF CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes; drain and discard grease. Mix sugar, salt, garlic salt and tomato sauce into ground beef; simmer until flavors blend, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, cover skillet, and cool to room temperature.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
• Mix sour cream, cream cheese, and onion in a bowl.
• Scoop half the noodles into the prepared casserole dish; top with half the sour cream mixture. Spoon half the ground beef mixture atop sour cream layer. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients. Top casserole with Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until Cheddar cheese has browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

EARLY CALIFORNIA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Boil Chicken Breasts until cooked Prepare Spanish Rice mix according to directions (using the Stewed Tomatoes, if called for) Shred and/or chop the Chicken Breast. Mix Chicken Breast and Spanish Rice together, salt and pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 F Lightly spary casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray (or your prefered method of non-sticking the dish) Lay 1/3 of the Chicken - Rice mixture in the casserole dish. Follow this with 1/3 of the Sour Cream, then 1/3 of the Green Chilies, and finally 1/4 of the Monterey Jack Cheese. Repeat this to make 3 series of the layers, covering the top with the remaining cheese. Place in 350 F oven until browned over the top (about 30 minutes)

CALIFORNIA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In a large skillet combine turkey, salt, sugar, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Bring to a boil stirring to break up the meat. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
• Combine cream cheese, sour cream, olives and green onions in a bowl, set aside.
• Coat a 13 x 9" baking dish with cooking spray. Place 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of the dish. Layer noodles, sauce, and cream cheese mixture. (I've only ever made this with egg noodles, which only makes one layer of each item. If you use lasagna noodles, repeat layering until noodles are gone.) Top entire casserole with shredded cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.
• Makes 12, 3x4 inch servings.

CALIFORNIA CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine soup and milk. Stir in the vegetables, chicken, 1-1/4 cups cheese, pimientos, salt and pepper. Transfer to a greased 9-in. square baking dish. , Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; top with remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with rice.

GRANDMA'S CALIFORNIA BLEND VEG CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cook Vegetables on stove drain when done. -
• Spray 9x13 pan.
• Dumb Vegetables in the 9x13. - I usually sprinkle with pepper and McCormick Season Salt
• Sprinkle both cheeses over vegetables.
• Crush crackers and sprinkle on top of the cheese.
• Drizzle the melted butter all over the casserole.
• Bake for 30 minutes in a 350° oven. or until the cheese has melted and the crackers started to brown.