Let's talk more about casseroles.

Growing up, I'd hear about recipes for casseroles. I had a favorite cheesy potato casserole that I'd make, always following the recipe word for word. The tuna casserole my mom made was a mystery to me because I never saw the recipe card. Casseroles were things with rules and precise measurements and very particular ingredients.

Until, one day, I was hungry.

I almost always have several things on-hand-- cream of something soup, rice or pasta, some type of frozen or canned vegetable, and either cornflakes or saltines. The soup was usually meant to go with a sandwich of some kind. The pasta was waiting for me to buy tomato sauce. Rice... honestly I can't even remember what the hell I'd eat with rice. Fish or something? Vegetables were from the days when I'd tell myself I'd eat healthier, but not so immediately that fresh produce would be worth the money. Saltines are an awesome late-night snack with butter when you're broke, and cornflakes are cornflakes and constantly worthy of being in my cupboard.

Ok, so I had partial components of many meals. The day in question, there was rice, cream of celery soup, cottage cheese, cornflakes, and turnip greens in my kitchen. And not much else.

And then it hit me-- I HAD A CASSEROLE. And from then on, I had a formula:

Something starchy (pasta, rice, potatoes)
Something creamy OR soupy (cream of mushroom/chicken/celery/onion soup, sour cream, cottage cheese, gravy)
Optional filler (canned tuna or chicken, ground beef, peas, turnip greens, spinach, mushrooms, onions, chunks of cheese, or pretty much anything else you want)
Optional topper (saltines, cornflakes, or whatever else you think might make a good crust)

Decide what you want for ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350*F. Cook your starch according to the packaging (if you're using frozen hash browns/home fries, you can skip that and just let them cook in the oven as part of the casserole). Add in your soup/gravy/cream. Add your filler. Mix well and spread into a greased casserole dish. Add your topper (and keep in mind that crushed corn flakes mixed with melted butter is a great topping AND a delicious, if incredibly unhealthy snack) and bake for about 30-45 minutes (maybe longer for frozen potatoes, but I think those take around 50). Enjoy with bread and butter (optional, except in my house).

CASSEROLES ARE EASY AND AWESOME, YO.

And I'll leave you with one more half-assed recipe for one of the more creative casseroles I've seen in my time, The Reuben Bake.

In layers: sauerkraut pierogies,  sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing, rye croutons. Bake. Enjoy. Sorry I was several weeks late for St. Patrick's Day.