rockin' the casserole part deux

i finally made cora's thanksgiving casserole on christmas. i finally posted about it at the end of february. at this rate, i'll have my birthday cake by july 4th, and our anniversary dinner by cookie's first birthday. let's see what else i'll get done late this year! seriously, i have been working hard in the kitchen. it's just a balance. i can't cook and post on the same day because of my other motherly duties. i'm getting more sleep and feeling like i'm doing better--but damn this shit is hard. i always thought that saying that "parenting was the hardest job you'll ever love" was fluffy crap, but it's true. i really love my kids and spouse. in these crazy times i find a ton of comfort in my family.

and comfort means comfort food. you can't get any better than the thanksgiving day casserole, courtesy of the improvisational cora jean. cora was mr. jewy's mom and quite the down home cook. of course, she made everything with meat. ever watch "the brady bunch movie" where shelly long's character is at the butcher getting 80lbs of hamburger? that was cora. to boot she cooked for one of the pickiest eaters on the planet, my father-in-law, so i don't think mr. jewy grew up having many green vegetables simply because his daddy didn't like them. what a cryin' shame!

so--thanksgiving casserole. i didn't get a good picture of it to show the nice layers. here's what ya do: grease up a casserole dish and layer it with leftover stuffing, seitan, veggies, and top with mashed potatoes and gravy. bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes. i used bianca's recipe for seitan. since it was a tester recipe, i can't share it with you but it is one of the most suitable seitan recipes to use if you have something that requires a mock chicken-type meat. i also used her seitan recipe the day i made those spring rolls i posted about a few entries ago. i served mine with a mashed sweet potato and honey maple glazed green beans. it was a nice holiday dish.