I was surfing the web under the guise of research yesterday when I discovered a humorous post titled Why I Love this Man. The author, Karen Hawkins, wanted to make her grandmother’s soup but didn’t have all of the ingredients so she made some substitutions. The quinoa she used in place of the pasta soaked up all of the liquids and the result was a “dry soup”. And my first thought was, I do that on purpose and call the results a casserole.
It is disappointing when something you make doesn’t turn out as you hoped. When one of my experiment doesn’t turn out, I bring it to the table and say, “It’s not much, but it’s hot”. Although this casserole could technically be called a “dry soup”, it is more than just a hot meal. It is hearty, comfort food!
Why do I turn soups into casseroles? Because casseroles are less messy than soups. My 4 year old is the reigning world champion mess maker so I look for ways to reduce messes whereever I can. The Chicken Noodle Casserole was created after the mole trap incident. The Minestrone Casserole was created after googly eyes were glued on the baby grand. Ironically, the messes have become even worse since he has become interested in cleaning. Today he took a bar of lavendar soap and “cleaned” every square inch of the bathroom mirror with it. He was very proud of his hard work, almost as proud as when he labeled the evacuation plan for every room in the house with markers on the walls.
Stew meat is usually sold already cut in rather large pieces. I use kitchen shears
to cut each piece up into much smaller pieces. This allows me to use less meat, but still have it evenly distributed throughout the dish. Another way to save money on this dish is to use homemade beef stock or homemade beef broth.
Beef Stew Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound stew meat
- 1 medium onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup diced bell pepper
- 1/2 pound carrots thinly sliced
- 1/2 pound potatoes diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 - 15 oz. can of corn drained
- 1 pound pasta
- 4 cups beef broth How to make beef broth in a slow cooker
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 2 teaspoons basil
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add stew meat, onion, garlic, celery, and bell pepper to a large, oven-safe pot. Cook over a medium-high flame until the meat is browned.
- Add the carrots and potatoes and cook over a medium flame for 5 minutes.
- Add peas, corn, noodles, broth and spices. Stir to coat noodles. Place lid on pot and place in oven for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove and let sit for 5 minutes.
Related Posts:
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Baked Chicken Parmesan
Mexican Lasagna
This post is linked to $5 Dinner Challenge, Delicious Dish Tuesday, Foodie Friday, and Friday Potluck.
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Ellie Fournier says
Off topic a bit, but just had to let you know I just LOVE the name you’ve chosen for this blog:
Premeditated Leftovers – memorable & so clever!
norma says
WOW!! This recipe looks delicious, I will try in our next cards’ game. Thanks.
Good job.
Sam says
Looks great, but I’d double (maybe even triple) the amount of meat.
Ellie Fournier says
Yes, agree; I’d triple amount of meat, as well.
Lisa says
For the Beef Stew Casserole, are you putting uncooked noodles in the oven or have they been cooked first?
Alea Milham says
I use uncooked noodles and they absorb the excess liquid.
Lisa says
Thank you!
Full Time Mama says
YUM! I’m with you on the soup to casserole thing. Never thought of doing that, what a great idea! My kids can’t make it through a meal without spilling, and soup doesn’t make the dinner list much for that reason. This looks SO good! Thanks so much for sharing for Delicious Dish Tuesday!
Amanda says
This reminds me of the beef stew my Great Aunt makes, except hers always has alphabet noodles. I search high and low to find those and never seem to be able to. Glad to find a recipe with measurements since she can never see to give me any (little bit of this until it looks like that). Thanks for sharing at Delicious Dish Tuesday.
Erin @ Ekat's Kitchen says
Alea, this stew casserole looks fantastic!!! Thanks for linking up to Friday Potluck.
Elsa says
My toddler likes to clean messes now too. She spills something (intentionally, I’m sure) and says, “Oopsie Daisies” and then grabs the nearest item to clean it up with (shirts, blankets, etc.). Fun times. haha! 🙂
Anyway, this is a great idea… turning a soup into a casserole. I would like to try this with my Moroccan soup and see if it works.
Alli says
I love beef stew and casserole. This is genius.
Kelly says
Dry soup = casserole. I love it! Brilliant reframe. And the soap story is just precious.
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
I always enjoy reading about Andrew’s adventures – I’m just very grateful I don’t have to clean up after him! Your beef stew casserole looks and sounds delicious, and I like your frugal tip about cutting the meat in smaller pieces for more even flavour distribution and frugality.