500 Casseroles: The Only Casserole Compendium You'll Ever Need (500 Series Cookbooks)

Okay. I know this will sound stereotypic, but I don't usually write reviews. I felt compelled to do so after reading some of the negative reviews...10-cents, etc.I bought this book about a month ago. I have made two recipes so far including Choucroute Garnie and Rigatoni and Sweet Sausage Bake. Both came out exceptional and delicious. (They made it to my permanent stash of regular works.)It is true that both dishes were (mercy!) time consuming and (oh my!) used more than one dish and, in some cases, (ye gods!) were not cooked in a card-carrying casserole dish. Maybe, on some planet, that invalidates this volume because it violates some arcane semantic more. For me? Couldn't care less. I actually enjoyed seeing how the ingredients were assembled. (It seems to be the Thyme that makes spaghetti sauce smell like spaghetti sauce. :-) ) The difference and payoff was in the _taste_.I think the author's intent here was to provide a transcendent and novel interpretation of the "casserole." In doing so, she did take some liberties. However, given the wide range of dishes and Continents represented by this cuisine, I think the reader (and diner) is far richer for the transgression.I respect opinions to the contrary, but do beg to differ. Folks who want something quick and would consider it an injustice to manually build a sauce from the ground up (vs. opening a jar) or mix their own curry (vs. opening a box) may want to skip this one. Save the money and go buy TV dinners instead.I will, as they say, follow my gut and, so far, at least, my gut says "bravo, Ms. Baugniet."PS. For the Garnie - Quarter and de-core a single apple into the final pot. It takes the edge off of the sauerkraut and sweetens the result. Mon Dieux, that's good stuff.

Not many things get me so excited, but this little book did. In fact, I was wowed! I ordered this after I had recieved the '500 Soups' book in this series. I liked that book fairly well so I decided to give this one a shot. Now I've had a number of other casserole cookbooks and read many that friends and family own. But nothing prepared me for what I got when I began paging through this little treasure.There are so many things I like about this book series, and especially this book, that I could rant and rave forever. But I'll try to be brief. Ok... best highlights of this book are:1. Small, unobtrusive, fits on most any shelf2. Pages lightly laminated for easy clean up.3. Hardback... withstands many uses.4. Clear, concise, easy to read print.5. Great photos with 99% of recipies.6. Pages between chapters that give you variations on recipies in the chapter.7. Non-exotic, everyday ingredients.8. Variations include 'short cut' ingredients, if you want to make it faster.9. Everyday casseroles, classic casseroles and intriguing 'new' stuff.10. Recipies are simple, not many steps, realistic to busy lifestyles.I have to say, whether you're a seasoned cook or a novice, this is THE casserole book to own. This will stay in my small cookbook library for years. It is well worth the money.As an aside, I took it to work to share and a number of the women I work with were completely enthralled and immediately started copying recipies. I ordered another copy to give as a Christmas gift this year... on specific request.Highly highly highly recommend.

Tonight I made a variation of lasagna. The entire recipe is made from scratch, including crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, and garlic powder. I could've skipped those ingredients altogether by just getting four cups of pasta sauce, saving me money on my grocery bill. This variation of lasagna didn't contain meat of any kind! This recipe was also NOT a casserole. I converted it into one by throwing it into a casserole dish and finishing it up in the oven instead of on top of the stove. Why couldn't she have done that instead of leaving it up to the cook to convert it for themselves?The other recipe I made in here was curry chicken. She had you make the curry powder from scratch. Again, I could've saved money at the grocery store by just buying "curry powder." Once again, it was NOT a casserole and was made entirely in a pot on the stove.If I'm going to make a casserole, I want to throw it into a casserole dish, toss it in the oven, and let it cook. Most of the recipes in this book have you cooking the entire meal in a pot.I dislike having to make everything from scratch. I want as few ingredients as possible to make the recipes simple and save me time and money.The book is also very small. Smaller than the average paperback novel you'd find at a grocery store. It also doesn't stay open easily and I actually set a hammer on of it to hold it open while I cooked (the hammer was within easy reach otherwise I would've chosen a different item on my counter).This recipe book just wasn't for me, I guess. I wish I had passed it up altogether.I would've given this book one star, but after each section, it includes several variations of each meal for those who would like to switch it up every once in awhile. I thought that was a nice addition.

When I first opened this cookbook I was like, ehh seems ok. The recipes where pretty basic-no frills. I consider myself an advanced cook and tend to go for the more challeging, gourmet recipes. I had to remind myself why I purchased this book. Ya see I just had a baby and now have very little time to make a fancy gourmet dinner. So with that being said this book works well for what I wanted it for; quick n easy casseroles/dinners. I've tried the tuna cass, lasagna, chicken tetrazzine, mac n cheese and they have all been fine and dandy. I did add my own spices and contributions here and there, but I have to say the recipes stand good on their own. One thing to mention, not all of these recipes are casseroles! If your expected all 500 to be casseroles.. there not. If you need a quick cookbook full of fairly easy stuff, this is it.

Amazingly easy and great recipe’s

Good recipes. Smaller than I expected.