Comfort Food Classics
MUSHROOM AND BLACK BEAN TORTILLA CASSEROLE
Sauteed mushrooms, cooked black beans, and store-bought salsa are
layered with corn tortillas in a baking dish to create this Tex-Mex-inspired
casserole, perfect for any weeknight meal. Top with Monterey Jack cheese
and bake until melted and bubbling.
Active Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
¾ pound cremini or button mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 an (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed
c
and drained
8 corn tortillas, warmed and halved
2 cups salsa
1¼ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
(4 ounces)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-
high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until browned, 7 minutes.
Add garlic and cayenne; season with salt and pepper. Add black beans
and stir to combine. Cook until beans are warmed through, 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
2. Arrange 5 tortilla halves in a 2-quart baking dish. Top with half the
bean mixture and 1/2 cup salsa, then sprinkle with one-third the cheese.
Repeat with another layer of tortilla halves, bean mixture, salsa, and
cheese. Top with remaining tortilla halves, salsa, and cheese.
3. Cover with foil and bake until center is hot and cheese melts,
SLOW COOKER TRIPLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES 10 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is bubbling, 5 minutes.
Think beyond stews: Uncover the sweet side of your slow cooker
with these crowd-pleasing brownies.
Yield: makes 14
Nonstick cooking spray
1¼ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)
1. Lightly coat a 5-quart slow-cooker insert with cooking spray. Line
bottom with parchment paper and lightly coat with spray. In a small
bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
2. Place butter and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl and
microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until choc-
olate is melted. Add sugar; stir to combine. Stir in eggs. Add flour
mixture, w alnuts, and chocolate chips and stir just until moistened
(do not o vermix). Transfer to slow cooker and smooth top.
3. Cover and cook on low, 3 1/2 hours. Uncover and cook 30 min-
utes. Remove insert from slow cooker and run a knife around edge to
loosen brownies. Let cool completely in insert on a wire rack, about 2
hours. Turn out onto a work surface and cut into 14 brownies.
2 | Comfort Food Classics MARTHASTEWART.COM
SLOW COOKER SAUSAGE LASAGNA 1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot,
This meat sauce starts quickly on the stove, cook s ausage and beef over medium-high,
but hours in the slow cooker adds depth. breaking up meat with a spoon, until no
longer pink, 4 to 6 minutes. Add onion,
Active Time: 25 mins carrots, and garlic; season with salt and
Total Time: 25 mins pepper. Cook until onion has softened, 3 to 5
Servings: 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, then tomatoes;
1 ound Italian pork sausage, casings
p bring to a boil, and remove from heat.
removed
2. Spoon 2 cups meat mixture into bottom
1 pound ground beef sirloin of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Layer 3
1 medium onion, finely chopped noodles (breaking them as needed to fit),
2 medium carrots, finely chopped 2 cups meat mixture, and 1/2 cup cheese;
2 garlic cloves, minced repeat with two more layers (refrigerate 1/2
Coarse salt and ground pepper cup cheese for topping).
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste 3. Cover slow cooker, and cook on low,
1 an (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
c 4 to 6 hours. Sprinkle lasagna with 1/2 cup
in puree cheese. Cover until cheese has melted,
9 lasagna noodles about 10 minutes.
2 ups shredded part-skim mozzarella
c Cook’s Notes
(8 ounces) To fit lasagna noodles into a round slow
cooker, break off corners as needed. You
don’t have to p recook the noodles. When the
lasagna’s done, they’ll be ready, too.
MEXICAN STYLE LASAGNA
Active Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
Servings: 4
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 scallions coarsely, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
10 ounces fresh baby spinach
Nonstick cooking spray
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 an (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained
c
and rinsed
1 cup prepared salsa (mild or medium)
8 unces pepper Jack cheese, grated
o
(about 2 cups)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (375 degrees
if using disposable nonstick bakeware; increase
baking time to 35 - 40 minutes). In a food pro-
cessor, combine cilantro, scallions, 1 teaspoon
salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with as much
spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining
spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped.
2. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with
cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish
(they will overlap slightly). Layer with half of
beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese;
repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with
cheese and pressing in gently.
3. Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed
baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25 to 30
minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until
golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool 5 to 10
minutes before serving.
3 | Comfort Food Classics MARTHASTEWART.COM
MACARONI AND THREE CHEESES 2. Generously salt boiling water; add pasta.
This luxurious macaroni and cheese keeps Cook, according to package instructions,
unbaked in the refrigerator for up to a day; in the until 2 minutes short of al dente. Drain pasta,
oven, it turns piping hot and creamy inside, and and return to pot.
golden brown on top in less than an hour. Sub- 3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a
stitute your favorite melting cheeses (mozzarella, large s aucepan over medium. Transfer 2
Monterey Jack, and fontina are great options),
tablespoons melted butter to a small bowl;
or vary the proportions of the ones listed here.
set aside for topping. Add flour and mustard
Active Time: 25 mins powder to remaining butter in saucepan.
Total Time: 45 mins Cook, whisking, 1 minute (do not let flour
Servings: 8 darken). Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil;
reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer
6 t ablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for
baking dish until sauce is thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
Coarse salt and ground p
epper 4. Remove sauce from heat. Gradually
1 pound medium pasta shells whisk in c
heeses; add Worcestershire
¼ cup all-purpose flour sauce, and season g enerously with salt and
pepper. Add sauce to pasta, and toss to
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
combine; transfer to prepared baking dish.
4 cups whole milk
4 unces sharp white cheddar cheese,
o 5. Place bread in food processor; pulse
coarsely grated (1 cup) until very coarse crumbs form (you should
4 unces Havarti cheese, coarsely grated
o have about 3 cups). Add r eserved melted
(1 cup) butter, and pulse just to moisten. S
catter
4 unces Muenster cheese, coarsely grated
o crumbs over pasta in baking dish. (If making CREAMY CHICKEN AND RICE CASSEROLE
(1 cup) ahead, cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.) This nostalgic dish (it evokes casseroles made
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce with canned soup) transforms rotisserie chicken.
6. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet,
6 slices white sandwich bread Speed things up by using bags of precooked rice
and bake until topping is golden and sauce
(or leftover rice).
is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. (If refrigerated,
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large
bake for 30 to 35 minutes.) Cool 5 minutes Active Time: 20 mins
pot of water to a boil. Butter a shallow 4-quart
before serving. Total Time: 40 mins
baking dish (oval or 9-by-13-inch rectangle);
Servings: 6
set aside.
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 cups sliced mixed mushrooms (10 ounces)
2 shallots, minced
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2¼ cups chicken broth
4 cups shredded chicken, from a small
rotisserie chicken
2 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large
skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add
mushrooms and shallots and season with salt
and pepper. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms
are tender and browned, 10 minutes. Add
remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the flour. Stir
to combine and cook 1 minute.
2. Add chicken broth, whisking constantly, and
bring to a boil. Add chicken and rice and return
to a simmer. Stir in peas, parsley, and sour
cream; season with salt and pepper. Transfer
mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish. Top
with breadcrumbs.
3. Bake until top is golden brown and mixture
is warm throughout, 15 to 20 minutes.
4 | Comfort Food Classics MARTHASTEWART.COM
BAKED RAVIOLI 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Heat oil in a large saucepan
Active Time: 25 mins
over medium heat. Add onion
Total Time: 50 mins
and garlic, and season with
Servings: 6
salt and pepper; cook, stirring
2 tablespoons olive oil occasionally, until softened,
1 medium onion, chopped about 5 minutes. Add thyme and
3 cloves garlic, minced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce
oarse salt and freshly
C heat, and simmer, breaking up
ground pepper tomatoes with spoon, until sauce
1½ teaspoons dried thyme, is thickened and reduced to about
or oregano 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
1 an (28 ounces) whole
c 2. Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a
tomatoes
large pot of boiling salted water
1 an (28 ounces) crushed
c just until they float to the top
tomatoes
(pasta will continue to cook in
2 ounds store-bought frozen
p
oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.
ravioli
1½ cups shredded mozzarella 3. Toss sauce with pasta. Pour
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese pasta into a large gratin dish or
9-by-13-inch baking dish, and
sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until
golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool
slightly before serving.
SLOW COOKER POT ROAST
Get a head start on dinner with this fresh take on a
slow-simmered, all-in-one meal that makes clean-up
a breeze.
Active Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 6 hours 25 mins
Servings: 8
1 tablespoon cornstarch
8 medium carrots, cut into thirds
2 medium onions, each cut into 8 wedges
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 eef chuck roast (3 pounds), trimmed
b
of excess fat
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1. In slow cooker, stir together cornstarch and
2 tablespoons cold water until smooth. Add carrots
and onions; season with salt and pepper, and toss.
2. Sprinkle roast with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2
teaspoon pepper; place on top of vegetables, and
drizzle with Worcestershire. Cover; cook on high,
6 hours (or on low, 10 hours).
3. Transfer roast to a cutting board; thinly slice
against the grain. Place vegetables in a serving dish;
pour pan juices through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired.
Serve roast with vegetables and pan juices.
5 | Comfort Food Classics MARTHASTEWART.COM
