Konkee Doodle went to town
Friday, April 9th, 2004One of the things my fiance inherited when her parents moved away was the cookbook Recipes on Parade: Meats (including seafood and poultry), apparently the first of a series called 2000 World Wide Favorites of Military Officers’ Wives.
The recipes are plentiful and feature dishes such as “Mrs. John F. Kennedy’s Recipe for Beef Stroganoff”, but it’s the casserole section that does it for me. In particular, the Konkee Doodle Casserole:
Saute 1 clove of chopped garlic in butter or oil; add 2 pounds ground sirloin and 1 pound pork sausage. Cook for ten minutes. Skim off fat, add in 1 large chopped onion, 1 pound cooked shell-type macaroni, 1 can of mushrooms, 1 large can of tomatoes, 2 small cans of tomato soup, 1 pound cubed cheese, and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well, and turn into a greased casserole. Bake at 300 degrees for an hour and a half.
Now, there are several things I like about this dish, not least of which is its name. I like that ground beef and sausage are usually lurking in the deep dark recesses of our freezer and the other ingredients are always in our pantry. I like its “chuck everything together and bake it” method of preparation. But most of all, it tastes great. The melted cheese holds everything together perfectly, and the Worcestershire gives it just the right kick.
The Spice of Life
Fresh basil gives this an Italianesque feel. Also try some chopped zucchini or thinly sliced eggplant.