No Pattern Required

JELLIED TONGUES!!

Congrats on great win, Kelly!  It was a tough road picking the winner.  Even tougher than the slices of jellied tongue.

Uhhh…that picture still makes me a little queasy.

Now, once again for your viewing pleasure, here is Tom tasting the winning dish!

Contemplating.

Bravely trying.

Chewing.

Approving? Crazy!

You know, it’s kind of strange that the dish Tom actually gave a thumbs-up to turned out to be the most visually unappetizing.  But I couldn’t choke it down, so there you go.

Oh, if you are curious, the Worst Recipe in Tom’s opinion was the Creamed Eggs in a Corned Beef Crust from Sharon. 

For me it was the Tongue.  All the way.

In case you didn’t see it, the Jellied Tongues was mentioned in the Phoenix NewTimes Eater’s Digest Blog.  It was apparently the most digusting recipe they have seen in a while. Score.

Congrats again, Kelly, and thanks to everyone who entered our fun contest!  Over the next few weeks we will be featuring other contest entries that were hilariously weird but weren’t in the Top 4.  So Andrea, Gabrielle, Cassie and Melanie, you had better stay tuned!

By RetroRuth

This is it!!!  And so begins the voting for the Worst Mid-Century Recipe Contest. To bring everyone up to speed, these are the recipes that were submitted by YOU, the readers, for the dubious honor of being crowned the Worst Mid-Century Recipe, and this stunning vintage prize pack:

*Note: Fabulous Conant-Ball Table not included!

There was a flood of responses.  Tom and I sat down with our laptop and a barf bag, and pared the entries down to a lean, disgusting four.

Finalist #1 – Summer Salad Pie From Kathrin (aka Miss Marwood)

Ummm…does this one even need an intro??

A cheese crust, tomato/lemon gelatin filling (of pure evil!), all topped off with tuna salad. Ack. 

This is what Miss Marwood had to say for herself:

*Gak* Thankfully, the little disgusting bits around the side were NOT included in the recipe.  Much to Adriane’s disappointment and my joy.

I hope you find it as disgusting as I do!

Cheers to a fun blog contest!

Best,

Adriane

www.atomiclilly.blogspot.com

Here is a photo of the finished “tower”:

And Tom’s reaction:

I think this was a disappointing one for everyone!

The Verdict: Surprisingly tasteless.  For all the scary trappings of this thing, it wasn’t bad at all.  I mean, it wasn’t great, but we have totally eaten worse. Disaster averted!

To see the whole, gut-churning post, click HERE.

Finalist #3 – Creamed Eggs In Corned Beef Crust from Sharon (aka Charm and Poise)

This one is exciting because it is the only non-gelatin-based dish chosen as a finalist.  And it beat out other gelatin dishes, so you know it has to be gag-tacular.

Here is what Sharon had to say for herself:

I’ve gone a bit out of the box on this one.  It has no aspic in it nor is it made in a mold — two of the best features of a mid-century recipe!  However, this recipe benefits mostly from the photo which is such a clear example of someone being asleep at the cookbook recipe photo wheel that it seems impossible it actually was published.  This sad state of affairs additionally benefits from the fact that it came from Happy Living!  A Guidebook For Brides (1965, 1966, 1970) signaling the fact that some harried, newly married woman might’ve thought it a good idea to serve this to her husband.  And finally, it is a nonsensical recipe that calls for relatively normal ingredients to be combined in an abnormal way to make up a dish that is — from the photo at least — impossible to serve in a nice, neat way. 

 

For your pleasure, then, is Creamed Eggs in a Corned Beef Crust.

 

Cheers!

Sharon (Charm and Poise from Flickr)

 

Here is a picture of the finished “pie”:

And Tom’s reaction:

The Verdict:  Not bad.  Tom ate it.  If you don’t like cream of mushroom soup, don’t try this.  The eggs were totally stupid, but not gag-inducing.  I feel sorry for the poor bride who tried to serve this to company. Yeck.

To see the whole, ridiculous post, click HERE.

Finalist #4 – Jellied Tongues from Kelly (aka EarthaKitsch)

So, this is the entry that has caused the most controversy, from hard-core readers, casual readers, and even my friends and family. It turns out some of you REEEEEEALY like tongue.

But I have to tell all of you, a boiled tongue, before it has been skinned, looks disgusting. 

Here is the finished dish:

Mmmm…meaty. 

Here is Tom’s reaction:

The Verdict:  Tom claimed it was good.  That the tongue just tasted like beef and it was fine with him.  I just couldn’t get it down enough to even taste it, really.  It was chewy.  And that is all I am going to say.

To read the whole, controversial post, click HERE.

So, those are your finalists!!!!  Please vote for the recipe that you think is the WORST Mid-Century Recipe! Voting will close on August 24th at midnight, and the winner will be announced in the August 25th Mid-Century Menu post. Good luck to all of our finalists!

By RetroRuth

Well, this is the end of the line. Absolutely, totally rock bottom.  I asked for the Worst Mid-Century Recipes you guys could throw at me, and I got what I wanted.  Four hilarious and horrible offerings from the world of Mid-Century Cooking. And I think it is pretty fitting that we end this contest with the creepiest recipe of the bunch.

Jellied Tongues.  That’s right.  You read that correctly.  Jellied. Tongues.

Thanks to Kelly, aka EarthaKitsch, for submitting this odd and horrifiying recipe.  And by the way, I hate you now, Kelly. Seriously.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha. No, seriously.

I must admit that I was trying to find any way, any small reason at all why I couldn’t make this thing.  I put off calling around to look for tongue until the last possible minute. I got Kelly’s recipe submission on June 30th. I didn’t call the butcher shop until this Monday. 

“Hello, this is the meat counter.”

“Yeah, umm…hi.”

“Hi. Can I help you?”

“Yeah….I’m…ahhhh…looking for tongue.”

“Tongue?”

“Yeah, beef tongue.  Crazy, huh? Well, I am sure you don’t have any, sothanksandI’mjustgonnahangup..”

“Beef tongue?  Oh, yeah. We’ve got it in the freezer. How much to you need?”

“Son of a…”

“What was that?”

“I said, beef. Beef tongue. A whole one. I will pick it up this afternoon.”

So, thanks butchers of Midland for having freaking beef tongue on hand. Thanks a lot.  No weaseling out that way.  And thanks for giving me the unique experience of seeing a beef tongue in a plastic bag, laying on the floor of my car.

When I brought the horrible thing home, I refused to touch it.  So, Tom had to step up and do the prep for the tongue.  Here is the awfulness in photos.  Those of you who are pregnant (I am looking at you, Andrea) might want to avert your eyes now.  I mean it.

Yep, there it is.  One cow tongue.  And brave Tom holding it.

Cramming it in a pot.

God!!!

Okay, everyone take a deep breath because the next one is a screamer.  Ready…inhale…

Yeeeeaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!  Ahhhh! Ahhh! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhh….God. Look at it, just look. I hope you are happy, Kelly.

Damnit, it’s a tongue!!!!

Then Tom peeled it.  Yes, peeled it.  I didn’t take pictures of that part, because I got so nauseated I had to leave the room.  And don’t mock me for having a weak stomach.  I never claimed I was Farmgirl!

Luckily, after Tom peeled it (gag) and sliced it, it looked more like meat.

And there you have it.  Slices of beef tongue.  With only small amounts of screaming on the side. 

So, after a pep-talk phone call from my mom (“It’s just beef. I ate it as a kid. You eat hot dogs, don’t you?  Just don’t think about it and eat it.”) I was ready to actually touch it. Oh, and make the recipe.  That, too.

Oh, and a side note, Kelly.  This recipe didn’t call for olives at all!!! What the heck are they doing in the photo??  Weirdness.

Well, at least this part is fine.  Especially cause there are no hooves in this gelatin.

Beef stock, onions, vinegar, salt and pepper.  I wasn’t supposed to add the salt and pepper till later, but looking at the tongue slices was still kind of freaking me out and I forgot what I was doing for a second.

Oh, another disturbing photo.  This is the “tongue stock”, better known as “the water we boiled the tongue in”. And THAT my friends, went into the gelatin.

This is all getting a little too “Little House on the Prairie” for me.

Eggs in the pan.  Because what would a MCMenu be without hard-boiled eggs, I ask you?

Soooooo, I touched it.  I had to eventually.  I mean, I can’t be a namby-pamby forever.  And you guys were counting on me to get my butt in gear and get that stupid gelatin made. I can’t disappoint you!

More tongue and eggs, and then the gelatin.

By the way, my whole kitchen smelled like cooking tongue.  It was almost enough to bring the gags back.

Whew.  Done. 

Sweet Jesus.

“Are you ready, Babe?”

“Yeah,” he stretched his neck and shook out his shoulders, like he was getting ready to lift something. “I can do this.”

“Well??!!?”

“It’s fine.  Tastes like beef.  But the combination of meat and gelatin still just isn’t right.”

I still balked. “I don’t want to do this.  Don’t make me.”

“Come on, you have to.”

“No!! No, I don’t want to!”

“Just a little bite.  Here, just this little one.”

I took it gingerly from the fork.  Chewed, and ran for the sink.

Tom was laughing. “What do you think?”

*Gak*

It took a whole glass of milk to get the taste out of my mouth.  And yes, I realize the irony of washing down cow tongue with cow’s milk.   But at that point I didn’t care, I just wanted it down.  It was just so…chewy.  I couldn’t do it, especially with the picture of the cooked tongue in my mind.

The Verdict:  Tom claimed it was good.  That the tongue just tasted like beef and it was fine with him.  I just couldn’t get it down enough to even taste it, really.  It was chewy.  And that is all I am going to say.

He ate two whole servings. Two!!!!  I am agog.

So, that is the last finalist for the Mid-Century Menu!!! Whew!!!! Thank god that is over.  Come back next week to see some of the runners-up, and to start the voting on which recipe was the Worst. 

I think I am going to go lie down for awhile.

By RetroRuth

Holy Cow!  The Worst Mid-Century Recipe Contest marches onward, and there are plenty of horrible recipes still to choose from. 

Finalist #3 is a peach of a recipe from Sharon, aka Charm and Poise on Flickr, and the curator of the hilariously horrible group Gee, That Food Looks Terrible.  Though her submitted recipe has blessedly few ingredients (and no gelatin), this baby is still a horror to behold. Sharon writes:

Cheers!

Sharon (Charm and Poise from Flickr)

You people are all sadists!  What is the matter with you??  Look at this thing. Disgusting.  And you expect me to make it, and then cram it down Tom’s throat!?!?  Well, let me tell you something!

It will be my pleasure.

I know what you are thinking. Where are the hard-boiled eggs? Where??

They were still in their little egg cooker.  Not quite done yet!

Hooray! Dog food!

Dog food with an egg on it!

This looks disgusting, but was actually pretty fun to pat into the pan.  The downside: Smelly corned beef hands. Yuck.

Mmmm…canned!

A whole lotta eggs, here.

And then….someone threw up on them.

The cooked crust looked pretty much like the raw one.

Filled with barf.

And, the reveal!!!

Good thing there is that sliced egg garnish.  Really saves it from looking disgusting, let me tell you.

Okay, Sharon. Your suspicion is confirmed.  The “filling” does NOT stay on the crust when served, and the dish is IMPOSSIBLE to serve neatly.

Gak.

The moment you have all been waiting for.

Down the hatch.

“Is it horrible????”

“Nah, not that bad.  The texture in the center is gross, but it doesn’t taste bad at all. Salty, but not bad.”

I took my own bite.  The only thing I could think of was…unecessary.  I mean really. The sliced eggs in the center were ridiculous.  They were slimey when covered with soup and added nothing taste-wise.  Couldn’t there have been green beens, or broccoli or carrots or SOMETHING in the center BESIDES eggs???? Blah.

But other than that, it was edible.  It just looked like barf on raw meat.

The Verdict:  Not bad.  Tom ate it.  If you don’t like cream of mushroom soup, don’t try this.  The eggs were totally stupid, but not gag-inducing.  I feel sorry for the poor bride who tried to serve this to company. Yeck.

But, true to form, Tom ate almost the whole thing. So it wasn’t that bad!

Thanks for the hilarious recipe, Sharon!  Stay tuned for Finalist #4 next week!

By RetroRuth

Ohhhhhh, baby.  Check this out! This week we have excitement, mayhem, craziness and canned salmon! In gelatin! Seriously!

The finalist for this week’s menu is really something else.  I got this horrifying recipe from Adriane L., who wrote:

I’m submitting the most disgusting mid-century recipe I have ever come across…  I LOVE the cook book it came from, which is literally crammed full of disgusting dishes involving gelatin and canned meat.  But this one is by far the worst.  This cookbook dates from the late 50′s and was re-printed in the early 60′s.  I included a scan of the cover.

I hope you find it as disgusting as I do!

Cheers to a fun blog contest!

Best,

Adriane

www.atomiclilly.blogspot.com

Well, Cheers to you too, Adriane.  Also….dang.  And gag.  And some other disgusting reactions. You know, I hate two things quite a bit. Fish and gelatin.  And this dish some how magically brings them both together to be totally disgusting.

And for some reason, those cucumber slices look like eyes.  Does anyone else see that?

The innocent ingredients.

Holy bloomin’ gelatin, Batman!

Does anyone else think this looks like tinkle in a bowl?  Anyone?

“No, no, no, don’t worry. It’s lemon.”

Maaaaybe I shouldn’t have used my gel coloring on this. Whew.

The second round.

See??? Tinkle.

Also, I didn’t have an impressive enormous mold like they do, so we are going to have to settle for a shorter one.

The second layer.  Very….scummy.

Unmolded.  Oh dear God!

The unspeakable cross-section.

Ummm…yum??

Down the hatch!!

“This tastes like a whole lot of nothing.”

I closed my eyes, and took a bite.  For a gut-wrenching moment, I waited for the terrible taste to register. And then I waited another moment. And another moment.  I cracked my eye open, and started to chew. Nothing.  It tasted like nothing, just like the brave man said it would.

Well, not nothing.  I mean, I could taste a canned pea, a bit of salmon, and some green pepper, but they just tasted like themselves. Another cautious bite yielded the same result. Whew!

The Verdict: Surprisingly tasteless.  For all the scary trappings of this thing, it wasn’t bad at all.  I mean, it wasn’t great, but we have totally eaten worse. Disaster averted!

Thanks, Adriane!  I am glad to report that this did not kill us!

Come back next week to see the next finalist in our Worst Recipe Contest.  It is going to be truly a terrible experience!

By RetroRuth

Well, I think this contest has been inevitable, don’t you?  Only a matter of time until we sent out this request: Tom and I want to hear from you guys, and we want the most creative, bizzare, weird, nasty, ugly, retch-inducing recipe you have.

In short, we are looking for the Worst Mid-Century Recipe.

And what will we give you for all your searching and questing?  Why, a vintage Pyrex casserole dish overflowing with goodies, that’s what!

Pretty slick, huh?  The grand prize winner of this fab contest with receive a vintage, covered Pyrex dish, a smocked yellow gingham apron, a kick-butt oven mitt,  three vintage cookbooks used on the Mid-Century Menu AND a vintage Tupperware cake and pie server.  All to help you make the best Mid-Century Cook you can be!

Awesome.

So, what are the rules to this contest??? Very simple: Send us your weirdest Mid-Century Recipes!  We are looking for things that just aren’t right, combinations that make you go, “What the…?”, and just the all out gross-out factor.  Hideous, wrong pictures of dishes are a bonus, but not required. Gelatin dishes are especially welcome.

The recipes should be from the time frame of 1930-1980, and scans of recipes are preferred, but clear photos will do in a pinch. Email them to ruth@nopatternrequired.com by July 15th at midnight. Tom and I will choose the craziest four and actually make them, choking them down and rating them as best we can.  But the actual results will be up to you, brave readers! You will then vote for the one out of the four recipes that deserves the title of Worst Mid-Century Recipe!

Whew! 

I hope Tom’s stomach is excited, because I know I am! Once again, submit your recipe to ruth@nopatternrequired.com by July 15th at Midnight.  And pimp this contest out to your friends, family, FB followers and blog readers.  I want everyone to know about this baby, because I want to find the WORST that’s out there.

Can’t wait to see what you guys have got for us!

Oh God.  You know we are going to make something truly terrible when we recieve a mid-century recipe from reader that has fascinated and horrified them for months, but also freaks them out too much for them to make it!  Thanks to reader Miss Marwood, who sent us this amazing submission from the BH&G Cookbook, Pies And Cakes.  This baby was published in 1966, and, if the recipe sent to us by Miss Marwood is any indication, is completely insane. 

Well, maybe not completely insane.  But at least lacking in judgement.

Even those cherries cut into the pie crust on the cover look wrong to me.  I mean…look at them!

But I am just stalling for time here, drawing out the introduction as long as I can before I show you….THIS PICTURE!

Duh…duh…DAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!  *Screams* Oh my god its…hideous!! There are…balls in it! Balls!

Ha ha, I love this!  Really?  A standby for summer entertaining??

Well, I am excited! Let’s get started!

Notice the improved pictures??? Tom got a new camera, and so was more than happy to play photographer.  Enjoy the carnage!

*Note, I did use pasteurized egg whites for this recipe because I am ultra-cautious.  I want Tom to suffer, but I don’t want to kill him.

Well, either someone was sick in this bowl, or my gelatin is ready. Yuck!

Check out the “cantaloupe” peeking out from the bowl!  Its just…wrong.

My photographer got a little woozy at this point.  “This smells terrible.”

Slllllllurrrrrp!

Okay, am I crazy, or do you guys see a face in this too? Cantaloupe eyballs, crust mouth.  Yeaaaaahh. That’s creepy.

You know, I think I have seen this somewhere before.  Where was it? Oh yes, I remember now…

Lane’s mystery dessert from Better off Dead.

“It has…raisins in it. You like raisins.”

Try some!  Tom’s thinks you will like it….

The Verdict: Scary, but actually pretty good. The lime and cantaloupe don’t really go together, but the lime pie by itself was pretty tasty. Tom liked it, but not enough to eat several pieces.  I declare this Seafoam Cantaloupe Pie edible, but no way in hell would I serve this to guests!

Thanks, Miss Marwood!!!

 Welcome to this week’s Mid-Century Menu!  In this episode, I have finally decided to bow to the wishes of my stupid brain and itchy fingers, and finally revamp a disgusting recipe.  Why am I doing this?  Well, I am a glutton for punishment.  And I want to see if it is possible, with just small tweaks, to save a horrible mid-century recipe.  Maybe I will fail.  Maybe everything will taste terrible. But at least I will have tried!

So, my goal in this is to preserve as many of the original ingredients in the recipe as possible.  When I went to tweak the Ham Banana Nightmare, I identified a few quick changes immediately. 

Casserole Components:

Ham – That can stay ham. Easy

Bananas - Plantains. A small switch that will make a big difference.

Cheese Sauce – Chihuahua Cheese, but not in a sauce.  Just straight up.

Mustard – No. Way. The mustard was terrible in this. No mustard in the new one.  Instead I am serving it with hot sauce on the side.

The old recipe:

Gah.

The new recipe:

Ham and Cheese Plantains

4 ripe plantains

1/2 cup ham, chopped into small pieces

1 cup Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese

2 T Melted Butter or Oil

Peel plantains and place in a baking dish.  Brush plantains with half of the melted butter or oil.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 mins.  Flip plantains, brush with reserved butter or oil and cook for another 15-20 mins. Meanwhile, brown ham in a pan, making sure it gets nice and crispy.  Take cooked plantains and carefully cut a slit in one side, taking care not to cut all the way through. Stuff the plantain with cheese and crispy ham. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and ham on the plantains.  If they aren’t hot enough to melt the cheese, return to the oven for 5 mins. Serve immediately with hot sauce.   

*Note: The inspiration for this was several Latin American recipes found online, especially this one at Laylita’s site.  And her pictures look WAAAAAAAAAAAY better than mine!

So, here is the experiment!

I also remade the Flan, with evaporated milk and less eggs!

The peeled plantains.  Mine didn’t get as ripe as I would have liked them, but oh well.

Finished.  You know, this still doesn’t look very good. Good thing I am not a food stylist.

Tom, hesitantly taking a bite of the new creation.

“So, how is it?”

“Pretty good.  Definitely better than the last one. But the plantains are a little dry.”

I took a bite.  They were a little dry, but it was still a hundred times better than the bananas.  Tom and I tried different combinations of seasonings and spices, but we both like the new recipe with just hot sauce, even though Tom missed the mustard.

“Where is the mustard? And the cheese sauce?  Those MADE that casserole!”

I rolled my eyes.  “Just eat your plantains.”

The Verdict:  Good.  Way better than the Ham Banana Nightmare, so this experiment is a success!!! Try and get your plantains as ripe as you can get them, otherwise they get a little dry.  Next time, I might just leave the skins on if they aren’t ripe enough.  Tom kept asking where the eggs were, and saying this reminded him of breakfast, so I would recommend serving them for breakfast with some eggs.

The Flan: Better than the other version, but still not perfect.  Didn’t someone say that have an amazing Flan recipe?? Share it with us!

The recipe I used:

The only difference is that I reduced the number of eggs to three and used a can of evaporated milk instead of water!

By RetroRuth

Welcome to the Mid-Century Menu, Ladies and Gentlemen!  Prepare to be amazed as I waive the wand of Mid-Century Magic over humble, (mostly) nutritional ingredients and turn them into something never before seen by man! What will the magic produce this time? A piece of veal shaped like a duck? A cake made from tomato soup? A jellied mass filled with eggs? Let’s find out!

*Bing*

Looks like the magic led us to this adorable pink cookbook pamphlet, SOUR CREAM The Gourmet Touch to Everyday Cooking. Waaaaaoowwwww. Oooooo. Ahhhh.  Bask in it’s glory.  Bask!

Seriously, though, I picked up this cutie at a local church rummage for about 10 cents.  It was a steal, especially with the cute graphics.  It doesn’t have the year on it, but I am guessing late 1950′s, early 1960′s and it is from the American Dairy Association Test Kitchen.  Now, I am going to agree with them that sour cream is an excellent ingredient. Is it magical?  Well…maybe.  But sometimes it’s powers are used for evil as well as good. Shall we see what is on the menu today?

*Bing*

How about…wait for it…Stroganoff Pizza! How’s that for something a little crazy?

Wait…adding yeast to…biscuit mix???  What the?  And chili sauce?  Well, I hope the gourmet magic of sour cream gets us through this one!

And we are off!

*Bing*

All the little ingredients.  Notice the giant tub of sour cream in the back.  Here’s hoping for magic!

The yeast, “softening” in the water.

All the biscuit/crust ingredients. Go, yeast, go!!

A nice ball of biscuit dough. Except for all the pokey parmesan.

Onions swimming in a half stick of butter.

The ground beef and mushrooms, frying away in the butter.

Meanwhile, I started rolling out the dough. It was pretty easy to roll out, but I couldn’t get it into a circle!  So, I just decided on lousy circles in the interest of time.

The beef, onions and mushrooms, all cooked.

And now the moment you all have been waiting for.  Here is where we add the magic of sour cream and get…

 *Bing*

CAT VOMIT!  Ahhh!!!

I think it was the chili sauce.  It gave it an unappealing pink/gray color. 

Okay, maybe it will look better on the crusts.

Or not.  Okay, let’s add some more magic sour cream and see if that makes it better.

*Bing*

Wellllll…that’s  a little better. Into the oven, I guess.

Straight from the oven. And curdled. Yum.

Tom, game for the first bite as always.  Even though I was kind of scared.

“So, how is it? Filled with gourment magic?”

“No. It kind of tastes funny.”

I took a bite.  It did taste a little funny. The stroganoff topping was actually sweet, which I didn’t care for at all.  Probably from the chili sauce.  But the crust was good. 

The Verdict:  Okay, not great.  The stroganoff topping was too sweet, and there was too much of it. And the heat from the oven made the sour cream curdle. But the crust was good, so it wasn’t a complete waste.

*Bing*

Happy Wednesday, All! Welcome to another Mid-Century Menu.  This week our adventures have taken us to Campbell’s Emergency Cookbook, a cute little pamphlet that fell out of another cookbook that I recently purchased.  This little cutie doesn’t have a date on it, but I am guessing by the illustrations that it is late sixties or early seventies.  It looks to be an advertisement for the much more recognizable Campbell’s cookbook, Cooking With Soup.

Several little cooking “emergencies” are laid out in the pamphlet with appropriate Campbell’s recipes to rescue your dinner. The sections are:

Blown your food budget? Make Frankfurter Boats or Campbelled Eggs.

Listless Leftovers?Try a Hot Meat Sandwich or Tetrazzini.

Company Coming?Meatball Stroganoff or Peachy Chicken to the rescue.

No Talent for Sauce Making? Make a Cream or Barbecue sauce with soup as the base.

No Time for Dinner?  Make Yankee Franks ‘n Noodles (you had better believe I will!) or Souperburgers.

Got a Bunch To Feed And Two Different Cans Of Soup on Hand?  Ok, they had me nodding “Yes, yes, I can see that,” right up until this one.  Why can’t you just make different soup separately?  Why do you have to throw them together into something nauseating like Puree Mongole, which is Pea soup mixed with Tomato soup. Why do that? Why? 

Anyway, my manufactured emergency for this week is Listless Leftovers.  We have the leftover Easter ham as a source of ready meat, and after I pried it out of Tom’s hands, (“Just one more piece! Just one!”) I carved up some chunks to make this:

Scalloped potatoes and ham (or their counterpart Au Gratin Potatoes) is probably one of the most common dishes to come out of a leftover ham, but my mom always scalloped her own potatoes, so to speak, with a white sauce.  So I have never tried to make it with a condensed cream soup, let alone Cream of Celery, which I am always kind of afraid off.  Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom always seem so much safer. 

So anyway, we were off!

A lot of chopping again this week. Tom was nice enough to help me chop a bunch of stuff before he went for his run.  He also took pictures, which was great!

Layer 1.

Layer 2.

Layer 3.

Now if anyone else read the recipe, which I apparently didn’t do very well, Layer 4 was supposed to be the soup/milk mixture, which was then supposed to be followed by repeated layers.  But I missed that, because I am an idiot.  So, when I finished layering all the other ingredients and realized my error, Tom suggested I just dump all the soup and milk on top. It seemed to work out pretty well.

Here it is!  Hot from the first bake off in the oven.  I was pleased to see that throwing the soup on top had appeared to work. Whew.

Covered with cheese and paprika for the final bake.

Ta-da!

The all-important first bite.

“How is it?”

Tom nodded.  “Really good.”

I took a bite, and it was really good.  I was surprised that it didn’t overwhelm me with the flavor of celery, and it seemed to go well with the ham.  I was happy.

The Verdict:  Really Good.  Tom had to restrain himself from eating all of it and I stopped myself after my second helping.  I thought that I preferred Au Gratin Potatoes with Ham, but these were very good.  If you have any ham leftovers, I recommend it!