MS. FOODINI: Hearty For The Party

Oh my goodness, it’s almost another new year! Can you believe it? This year has completely flown by like the geese pooing on your car. Yeah, that kind of a year.

However, did you get that invite for a New Year’s party and don’t know what to bring or thinking of a family snack?

I got just the thing for you that is always a hit and good for those cheer filled parties or kiddos. Stuffed, baked bread.

This isn’t just bread. This is a savory, cubed bread that is stuffed with a combination of savory goodness that you can change up any way you like. Super easy and doesn’t take long to make.

Let’s get to it!

While you’re out there grabbing your groceries, be sure to pick up a few extra ingredients.

You’re going to need a loaf of french bread. You know, the ones from the bakery that’s in those paper bags? Yeah! Next, you’ll need a few boxes of Stouffer’s Cream Chipped Beef that you can find in the frozen food section. Then you’ll need a can of water chestnuts, green onion, shredded cheddar or cheddar and colby jack, season salt, pepper, granulated garlic, worcestershire sauce, and some hot sauce. May I suggest a hot sauce?

I only throw this out there because there’s one out there that’s flavorful without much spice, and that’s Cholula.

Ok, you have all your ingredients. Make sure your creamed beef is defrosted. If you’ve never heard of this, it’s dried corn beef in gravy. Being from the Midwest, this is a staple or traditional food commonly found amongst us Iowans.

Ever heard of SOS (Bleep on a Shingle)? Similar to biscuits and gravy but we do this creamed beef on toast and it’s absolutely perfect on a winter day because it’s just too dang cold up there.

Anyways, start with cutting up your bread into cubes. Typically, this is not cubed but making slices halfway into the french loaf and then stuffed, but I’ve found that through all this crazy pandemic, cubing the bread is beneficial so you can use a utensil and is so much easier. Ok, put that cubed bread in a large baking dish. Make sure your baking dish is covered in foil and sprayed (non-stick spray) for easy clean up or be sure to spray your pan if not using foil. In another bowl, mix up your creamed beef, chopped up water chestnuts, sliced green onion, cheese, seasonings, worcestershire sauce and a few dashes of hot sauce.

The hot sauce is to your liking as well as the seasonings. You can add or subtract seasonings as you go since you can easily change this baby up to suit your tastebuds.

Once this is mixed up, place that mix over your cubed bread and try to get it in those nooks and crannies to get a lot of those bread pieces coated. Add more cheese on top if you like. If you want a gooey cheese, try mozzarella, havarti, gouda, or muenster. These are soft cheeses that will do that delicious stringy action when pulled apart.

Pop this concoction into the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees. Super easy, super delicious, and will help soak up that cheer during your celebration.

Enjoy and have a wonderful New Year!

Tips: You can use sausage, seafood, hamburger, or chicken as your meat. Using a creamed gravy is beneficial as a base or a simple butter combination with cheese and fresh herbs. If you have leftover soup, use it! You can never go wrong.

RECIPE:

*1 french bread loaf

*2 boxes Stouffer’s Creamed Chipped Beef

*1 can water chestnuts, chopped

*2 or 3 sprigs of green onion, chopped

*1 cup shredded cheese, plus extra for top if you like

*1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce *1 TBSP hot sauce
*1-2 tsp season salt
*1-2 tsp black pepper

*2 tsp granulated garlic