Good-bye, Casserole Season. Hello, Steamed Veggies.

Just how many 9" x 13" casserole dishes does a girl need in her kitchen? Well, if you were trained in the culinary arts by Mildred Rose Collier (my sweet Momma), the answer has to be "just one more." In our family, a casserole was defined as any pleasing combination of favorite ingredients. Most of the time our casseroles were topped with cheese and/or crushed Ritz crackers, and they almost always contained cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, cream cheese, butter, mayo, or cream of chicken soup. On a few rare occasions, all of the above were in the same low-cal (yeah, right) dish. And, there were a few that leaned toward the dessert variety, such as sweet potato casserole with the requisite topping of miniature marshmallows.

Casserole season never really ends at my house, but it has its peak between mid-November and early January every year. During those weeks, we invariably have hashbrown casserole, green bean casserole, squash casserole, Poulet de Normandy casserole, pineapple/cheese casserole, broccoli/rice casserole and breakfast casserole . . . and not just ONCE. My son Matt so associates casseroles with me that he once used a casserole dish for his visual in a Mother's Day children's sermon he shared. I believe he mentioned the regularity of tuna noodle casserole when he was growing up, but I promise we didn't have it nearly as much as he perceived.

This past holiday season was no exception. However, I did slip a few new ones in on my family this year and even used a different shaped cooking apparatus -- a crockpot.

Just as with 9" x 13" dishes, how many crockpots does a cook need? Well, I currently have three, and "I'm not afraid to use them." :) Two dishes in particular that were big hits were Crockpot Mashed Potatoes (after all, who wants to be mashing potatoes when it's time to have fun with the grandkids and start pouring juice into their sippie cups?) and Crockpot Corn. Here are those recipes:

CROCKPOT MASHED POTATOES

5 lbs. red potatoes, peeled and cut in cubes

1 T. minced garlic or to taste

3 cubes chicken b0uillon

1 (8-oz.) container sour cream

1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. butter, softened

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook the potatoes, garlic and b0uillon in boiling, lightly-salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender but firm. Drain, reserving water. In a bowl, mash potatoes with sour cream and cream cheese, adding water as necessary for desired consistency.

Transfer the potato mixture to a crockpot, cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, adding butter, salt and pepper just before serving. 8 servings.

CROCKPOT CORN

1 (15-oz.) can kernel corn, drained

2 (15-oz.) cans cream-style corn

1 (8-0z.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. butter

1 (4-oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low until well-heated, about 3 hours. Makes 10 servings.

Tonight we're getting our veggies in steamed form in honor of our January healthy-eating resolutions. It's also soup weather, though, so those crockpots will be getting lots of use this winter. Maybe I'll share my Chicken Chili Success soon.