Anonymous wrote:I make lots of casseroles that are not particularly healthy but do not contain processed food. Instead of the cream of whatever soup make white sauce with butter, flour, milk and chicken bouillon or whatever broth you want for flavoring.
+1. Bechamel is the answer, and takes about 5 minutes. (I don't use broth -- I just use butter, flour, and then reduced fat milk -- it thickens up like cream of mushroom soup very quickly). Depending on what else is going in the casserole, you can then season it with salt, garlic power, etc. I made a casserole last week that was sort of a lasagna, but it was based on what I head -- sauteed ground chicken with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, ground carrots, and chopped spinach; add in a bunch of bechamel and grated fontina and grated parmesan; layered with lasagna noodles. I think the trick with anything casserole-ish is not to go too light on the sauce. I went too light, and it was not as creamy as I had hoped.
One healthy thing about casseroles is that you can throw a bunch of chopped veggies in there and no one really notices. My son complains about cooked carrots, which is why I ground them in the miniprep -- he didn't even notice they were there.
Now I want to make a tuna noodle casserole.