Casserole for a Crowd!

We are going to get to today's FOODIE FRIDAY post in just a few moments from now.  But before that happens, there's something that I really want to talk about.  Something that is quite serious that is happening just a couple of provinces away from where I am living right now.

As I type this blog out, there is a manhunt going on in the community of Moncton, New Brunswick - located Southwest of Prince Edward Island.  A shooter is on the loose after killing three RCMP officers and wounding two others on the evening of June 4, 2014, and as of right now, the shooter still has not been caught, leaving the city under complete lockdown.  I can't imagine how frightening a situation that must be, and my thoughts go out to the people of Moncton at this time.  Thoughts of condolences and prayer go out to those families of the RCMP officers slain on the evening of June 4, and I am hoping that the nightmare that the people of Moncton are experiencing ends as quickly as possible.

Of course, by the time this entry is posted, it very well could be.  If that is the case, I'll add an edit to the end of this entry if need be.

Secondly, I wanted to pay homage to the 70th anniversary of D-Day.  On June 6, 1944, the Battle of Normandy took place on several beaches where 155,000 Allied troops pushed through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland in what would become the largest amphibious military operation in global history.  It is estimated that a total of 12,000 casualties were recorded in the battle, with only one-third of those confirmed.  It was one of the most important battles of World War II, and I want to take this opportunity to remember those soldiers who gave their lives in an effort to bring peace back to the world exactly seventy years ago today.

Thanks for that.

You know, after typing all that out, I was wondering if it would still be a good idea to even go ahead with the FOODIE FRIDAY post.  But in the end, I thought about it and the more I thought, the more I wanted to do it.  If for no other reason to celebrate the freedom that those soldiers fought for seventy years ago.

So, for today's recipe, I thought that I would take a look through a cookbook filled with scraps cut out from newspapers and magazines.  Over the last twenty years, Mom managed to fill up an entire scrapbook with dozens of recipes.  Allow me to share one with you.  And, while I have no idea where the recipe came from, I would think that maybe Campbell's had a hand in the recipe design!  It's a dish known as...

CASSEROLE FOR A CROWD

2 cups raw macaroni

2 lbs. ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 10 oz. can tomato soup

1 10 oz. can cream of chicken soup

1 10 oz. can of cream of mushroom soup

1 can of water (use the empty can from one of the soups)
1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup melted margarine

1 cup fine soft bread crumbs

1 pinch of seasoned salt or paprika

parsley flakes

PROCEDURE:

Cook macaroni.
Brown ground beef and onion and add to macaroni.
Add soups, water, seasonings, and macaroni blend and cover with bread crumbs and margarine.

Top with parsley flakes
Bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes to one hour
Makes one large or two small casseroles that can feed a total of eight people (or can be used for eight separate meals if you're making it for yourself).

And, that last part is something that I wish to highlight for this recipe feature.  That is that you can use basic, simple ingredients to make enough food to feed an army.

I've never really been all that skilled in planning budgets.  90% of the time, I tend to overspend more than anything.  Granted, I only overspend by five, ten dollars tops.  I'm certainly not shopping at places like Whole Foods or anything - mainly because my small town doesn't have one.  But when you take into account that most people do their grocery shopping once or twice a week, that overspending can certainly add up.  In the list of ingredients that I provided for you, I've estimated that the total cost of all the ingredients will run you about fifteen dollars - possibly twenty if you decide that you want to buy the brand name soup instead of the generic store brand (which I honestly don't know why anyone would since the generic store brand tastes the same as the higher-priced brand name good ninety-eight per cent of the time). 

Not a bad price for ingredients.  Well, that is if my math is correct.  It probably isn't.  But it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than if you went out to a fancy restaurant and ordered the same dinner!

The fact is that in this economy, the future is very uncertain.  Nobody exactly knows when things will improve.  Remember, the Great Depression only ended when World War II began, and I think the last thing any of us wants is another global conflict to perk up the economy.  People are finding new and creative ways to try and stretch a dollar more than ever before, and this includes meal preparations.

I've just posted one example for all of you.  If you have any other cost-efficient recipes to share, please send them to my e-mail address at matthewwturcotte518@gmail.com.  If your recipe is chosen, you will get full credit!

EDIT:  A suspect in the Moncton shootings has now been captured and is in police custody as of 5:58 am, June 6, 2014.