Seitan and Dressing Casserole like Aunt Wren used to make...

OK - my aunt has never seen seitan, much less cooked it into a casserole. But this is a take on her famous chicken and dressing casserole. She has to make what amounts to a small horse trough of this stuff at every family occasion, and quite often it is scraped meticulously clean by the end of the soiree. I used to meticulously plan my trips to the buffet table so that I could beat out two cousins in particular, both men over six feet tall who could pack away astonishing amounts of gavy-drenched chicken and stuffing.

What is Aunt Wren's secret? Why, cream of chicken soup and a recipe on the Stove Top Stuffing box. When I first started tinkering with canless cream soups at the beginning of this month I knew that this casserole was in my future. This batch got it's start with canless cream soup made on the stovetop, just the way that Katie at Chaos in the Kitchen deemed right and good. I made a few tweaks to make it veg*n but otherwise I stuck to her original vision. This stuff wasn't as quick as my microwavable version, but I think that the texture was superior. And unlike my nuked canless soup, this stuff actually adapted to a casserole.

Mmmm... dressing.

The rest of the dish rounded itself out with some bread cubes from the freezer (leftovers from a rustic whole wheat loaf), some onion and celery, some veggie broth, and a dash of spice here and there. I threw in a handful of chopped chickeny seitan and declared it a meal fit for a king. Or at least for a hungry housewife and a toddler.

So many thanks to Aunt Wren, and to Campbell's soup. Now, on to the recipes:

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Seitan and Dressing Skillet-y Casserole
Serves 2-4, depending on appetite
Adapted loosely from this recipe at Campbells.com

[Note: Variations abound for this recipe. If you have a good instant stuffing mix that you like, eighty-six the dressing ingredients and line the skillet with four prepared servings of that. Double the soup recipe if you like really saucy gravy on your casserole - the stuffing will soak up a lot of the liquid. Bake it in a casserole dish instead of the skillet if you like. And feel free to add whatever sauteed veggies your heart desires to the dish before you put it in the oven. Mushrooms are particularly good]

8-12 ounces chicken style seitan, thinly sliced (I like Snugglebunny's seitan steaks)
2 TB butter or margarine
1 very small onion, chopped (a little bigger than a ping pong ball when whole)
1 thin stalk celery, also chopped
herbs and spices of your choice: dried sage, thyme, and tarragon are nice
salt and pepper
3 C of slightly stale, roughly cubed hearty bread (thawed if frozen)
1 - 1 1/2 C vegetable or "chicken" broth
2 C prepared canless cream of chicken soup [recipe below]

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place an oven safe skillet (cast iron rules) over medium-high heat and spray it lightly with oil. Sautee the sliced seitan until it is a nice crispy light golden on each side. Remove the seitan and set it aside. [This step is optional, but it makes the dish look a little nicer and keeps the seitan from getting too soggy].

2. Next, melt the butter/margarine and add the onion and celery. Reduce the heat to medium and saute until the veggies are softened and lightly browned. Stir in the herbs and spices of your choice and cook for another minute. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Add the cubed bread to the skillet and toss to combine with the veggies and melted fat. Let it toast for a minute or two, tossing once or twice to redistribute the bread. Add the broth a quarter cup at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition. Stop when the bread is moist but not soggy.

4. Pour the canless soup over the stuffing. Arrange the sliced seitan on top. Cover the skillet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes - everything should be heated through and the gravy bubbling a little. Serve hot with some nice green veggies on the side.

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Canless Cream of "Chicken" Soup
Makes about 2 Cups
Adapted from this recipe at Chaos in the Kitchen

[Note: If you have a faux chicken broth that you like, by all means use that. I haven't found one that does it for me, hence the veggie broth in this recipe. If you do use chicken-ish broth you probably won't need the poultry seasoning. Play it by ear, of course :) Also, next time I may add a dash of turmeric to wake up the color a little. It was yummy, but as you can see a little drab in color in the end.]

2 TB butter or margarine
1/4 C all-purpose flour (haven't tried any other kind, but I have plans!)
1 1/2 - 2 TS poultry seasoning
1 C vegetable broth
1 C milk of your choice (I used almond - delicious)
Salt and pepper

1. Make a roux: melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour by the tablespoon until it is all incorporated. Cook , whisking constantly, until the mixture is a nice light golden brown. Whisk in 1 1/2 TS of the poultry seasoning.

2. Whisk in the broth and the milk. Keep whisking at frequent intervals as it comes to a boil. It will thicken as it continues to cook. When it seems to be the right consistency remove it from the heat. Add salt, pepper, and possibly more poultry seasoning to taste (be a little careful with the salt and pepper if the soup is going into another dish - things can really salty in a heartbeat).

In which I introduce my secret lover...

I guess everyone saw it coming. A soon-to-be thirty year old housewife with a little time on her hands, a husband often on the road, a daughter who can be entertained by a bowl full of beans and a whisk. It was only a matter of time until some grand passion came along and swept me off my feet. And I reveal my clandestine inamorata here:


Now leave me with my shame...

Seriously, though - I've been bitten by the canning bug. I started dreaming of preserved food a few years ago when I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (me and every other locavore foodie hipster in the United States, I know). It got even worse when I read on Amazon that my Christmas present, a fabulous pressure cooker, could handle up to four quart jars for pressure canning.

But really, things came to head when I stumbled on a link for Tigress' Can Jam. This was just what I needed - a challenge to preserve a year's worth of fresh seasonal produce. Rules can be found on the linked post above, but I'll briefly say that the rules specify that each month will require participating canners to water-bath can a fruit or vegetable of Tigress' choice. Water bath canning can only be safely done on high-acid products, so this year will be heavy on jams, pickles, vinegar marinades, and lemon-spiked sauces.

January's ingredient is - of course! - citrus. I live in Florida, citrus capital of the east coast. And it's Honeybell orange season, king of all Florida citrus. So I went nuckin' futs with this project.

First of all, I hit my three-book canning library. I started with Linda Ziedrich's The Joy of Pickling and found a tempting recipe for Spiced Oranges.

I had to start with peel-on orange segments which were simmered to soften the outside. Boiling oranges just look wrong.

But the glazing step next made me happier. Look at those golden beauties.


The canning went like a dream. I was afraid of trapped bubbles and broken seals, but they pinged like a dream almost as soon as they came out of the bath (the ping means the vacuum seal took - it's a really fun sound, the kind that keeps you hovering around your oranges). I had to crack open a jar as soon as they were cool. The end product is lovely - chewy, sweet, just a little bitter, and very orange-y. If I wasn't trying to limit my sweets, I'd be finishing off the jar as I type.


But I had more oranges to preserve! So I went next to Eugenia Bone's Well Preserved.

Three Citrus Marmalade was the order of the day. It required fresh red grapefruit, Meyer lemons, and more Honeybells. Look at those lovely colors in the pulp and the peels.

The end result was great. Thick and jammy with a little bit of bite from all that lovely peel. One of the best things about Well Preserved is that Eugenia Bone includes some great recipes utilizing her canning products. I will be veg*nizing a few of them so that I can get a little more marmalade into our family diet (just a little, though - I do need to keep the sugar intake low).

Finally, I had a few more oranges to finish off - so I pulled out that trusty workhorse, the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Sunshine Citrus Dessert Sauce? Yes, that sounds like exactly what my vanilla agave cake needs instead of frosting.

I had a hard time keeping the spoon out of the pot on this one. The glaze of honey, orange juice, cinnamon and fresh ginger just smelled too good.


This was the only batch where I had a seal failure. The one in the back - with too much space at the top - had to be processed again. I'm not sure if I'll keep it, to tell you the truth. I'm so new to preserving that I'm kind of a nervous nellie. I have that jar in the fridge right now, and I may just pop the thing and eat it with some yogurt tomorrow. Or I may sacrifice it to the kitchen gods. Botulism is no joke, especially with a toddler dipping spoons into your bowl.

But seriously - ten jars and only one failure on my first trip out? Not a bad outcome in my opinion.

So now my canning liason is done for the month. Will I be able to keep my hands off that shiny pot until Tigress announces the next secret ingredient? Who knows... though I do have another batch of canless cream soup to play with. Tune in later this week to see what whacky casserole or soup I corrupt next.

Quickie Broccoli Cheddar Soup

OK, so I have to admit... my ingeniously lazy condensed cream soup stand in does have some drawbacks. For example, any casserole I've tried to make with my current formula (milk, broth, cornstarch) has turned out tasty but chunky. Chunky was not my goal in a vegetable divan. I have feeling that the cornstarch is the culprit; I'll have to make a batch of the original Chaos in the Kitchen formula and try again in a couple of days.

However much that stuff dislikes dissolving into a creamy casserole base, it does make a fine soup. Here's a successful - and very easy - version of broccoli cheddar soup:

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Serves 1 adult and 1 toddler for an entree (probably 2 adults for a starter)

2 baby carrots, sliced into thin rounds or long thin slivers (a palm full of precut matchstick carrots would work nicely)
2-3 TB finely diced onion
1 C broth or water
1/2 cup condensed soup (roughly measured - it probably won't want to conform to your measuring cup)
1/4 plus 2 TB shredded sharp cheddar
Salt, pepper, and cayenne or hot sauce
1 C frozen broccoli florets

1. Put a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots and onions with enough broth or water to cover, probably about a 1/4 cup. Bring to a boil, then cover the saucepan and boil until the vegetables are tender, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Uncover the saucepan and stir in the cream soup. It will be lumpy and disgusting at first, but just keep stirring. Add about a 1/2 cup more broth or water* and stir again. Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring often, until most of the lumps are dissolved and the soup is just a little bit looser than you ideally want. This took about five minutes for me. Add more liquid if necessary - remember, the soup will thicken a little more once you add the cheese.

3. Stir in 1/4 cup cheddar until it is melted. Taste and season as needed with salt, pepper, and cayenne or hot sauce (the last two are optional, but either will provide a nice kick). When it is seasoned and thickened to your liking, add the frozen broccoli. Cover the saucepan and simmer gently until the broccoli is heated through, about five more minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with the rest of the shredded cheddar.

*You can substitute this liquid with a milk of your choice if you want extra creaminess. I tried this the first time and thought it was a little much, but it might be perfect for your tastes. :)

Who can resist a squirrel with their soup? Not me, I'm afraid.

Starting off lazy in 2010: Canless Cream Soup

I don't know about anyone else in bloggerland... but I'm officially tired. I don't know if it's holiday hangover, hibernation urges, or just slug-like apathy, but effort is sorely lacking in my constitution right now. This partly explains why it's nine days into 2010 and this is my first post (Happy New Year, by the way :) ).

It's also incredibly cold right now. The thermometer in my living rooms currently says that it's 36F outside, which is just unheard of in Florida, even if you're as far north as I am. Cold means that I'm now dreaming of casseroles and soups. Lazy means that I'm wishing someone else was going to make them - which is not going to happen, since Bean is not quite two years old and Red is in the Middle East for the next six weeks. We're also post-Christmas broke, so I can't go out and pay someone else to feed me soup.

So what's a girl to do? Lazy, broke, and cold all point to condensed canned soup. But the very idea makes my skin crawl... so I hit the internet looking for a solution to my can-numdrum (insert rimshot here).

I found my salvation at the Chaos in the Kitchen blog (which is chock full of great ideas and is also lots of fun, if you haven't checked it out). Katie had a fast and easy stove top recipe for creamed soup stand-in. I took one look at this and decided that I was way too friggin' lazy to mind a saucepan for a whole ten minutes. Instead, I adapted it for the microwave, and I must say that thus far it's worked like a charm.

This month I'm going to play around with this cream soup and see exactly where it may take me. I see thick quickie soups and yummy casseroles in my future. I'll share the results, be they good or bad, here on the blog (with a one post highlighting a different new project thrown in for fun the week after next).

But before the casseroles comes the condensed soup...

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Canless Cream Soup - Cream of Celery Version (Microwave Style)

Makes a little less than a pint
(Adapted from the Chaos in the Kitchen stove top recipe here. If you're anti-microwave, try that one instead)

2 thin ribs of celery (about a half-inch diameter each)
1 C vegetable broth
1 C milk of your choice (I used low-fat cow's milk - I bet hemp, almond, or soy would work well,too)
4 TB corn starch
1 TB butter or margarine (I used the good old soy-free Earth Balance)
Celery salt, regular salt, and pepper to taste

1. Dice the celery very finely. Put it in a large microwavable bowl (I have a 4 quart Pyrex bowl that works well) and add the broth. Nuke it for two minutes on high.

2. Mix the milk and corn starch together until the starch is dissolved (putting everything in a tightly capped empty mayonnaise jar and then shaking the works is a good way to go). Whisk it into the hot broth mixture.

3. Return the bowl to the microwave. Microwave in high for two minute intervals, pausing to whisk after each one. Stop after the mixture has reached the same thick, almost gluey consistency of canned condensed soup - this took a little less than six minutes for me. Times will depend on your microwave strength, of course.

4. Drop the butter or margarine into the hot soup mixture, and stir until it melts. This may cause the mixture to thin a little, but don't worry - it will condense more as it cools. Taste, and add salt, pepper, and celery salt to taste. Cool. Store covered (that empty mayonnaise jar works nicely) in the refrigerator.

Variations: I bet you could eighty-six the celery and celery salt and do a lot of different stuff. Add sauteed shrooms for cream of mushroom soup, or use poultry seasoning to make cream of "chicken." I haven't tried those, but I will in the future I'm sure...

[Note: This stuff will congeal into a disgusting mass after a few hours in the fridge. Don't worry - just scoop it out as needed, and it will return to right consistency when it's heated.]