Cooking Fail

The recent theme of vintage ads with recipes reminded me of the useful tome that is The Christian Home Cook Book, a vintage cookbook that I picked up from the Mennonite restaurant in Linden, Alberta. As I noted before, the recipes don't have pictures and after so many years, the recipes are merely suggestions. What's a family sized tea bag? How large is a large can? Where do I get young chickens?

Unfortunately I accidentally made myself lunch for the week with this failed recipe. It sounded good (click for larger):





I substituted frozen meatballs for the chicken, used a can of condensed chicken noodle soup instead of Lipton's and added a cup of sautéed celery and onion to fill it up. Unfortunately the casserole came out humble, if not bland to me. I should have also stopped at one cup of breadcrumbs as two turned it into a strange interplanetary landscape. My husband said that the spices in the meatballs overpowered everything. Some spaghetti sauce rescued it, but after two lunches in a row I don't think I can finish the pan. I hate to throw food out, but you know, sometimes you just have to.

Oh, one more little insult to injury - the casserole pan wasn't big enough and during cooking, a large dollop of soupy cream sauce escaped, making for a nice burning smell to go along with tonight's dinner. Sorry Mrs. Orval Johnson of Walnut Hill, Florida, I gave it a shot!