It’s finally starting to really feel like fall here in Chicagoland… the leaves are starting to change, and there’s a cool breeze in the evenings that almost requires a light jacket. There are quite a few dishes that will eternally remind me of fall: warm homemade applesauce, prune plum compote, Italian pot roast, and Neapolitan casserole. Most of those dishes, well, with the exception of the pot roast, were things that my mom would cook in the first few weeks of school, usually right around the Jewish High Holidays.
The only thing with these recipes is that they take a long time to cook. They require patience, low heat, and generally a slow pace. There’s nothing quite like any of them, and you’ll see all of them here soon. But tonight, I had the insane fall craving for the Neapolitan casserole. This recipe dates back to the 1940s from a cookbook by Antoinette and Francois Pope called The Antoinette Pope School Cookbook. I wish I had a copy of it, but I do have this one recipe that I begged my mom for years ago. I’ve adapted it to be a bit healthier, and of course omitted mushrooms for Adam.
Healthified Antoinette Pope Neapolitan Casserole
Adapted from The Antoinette Pope School Cookbook
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 lb. whole wheat pasta, cooked and kept hot
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
5-6 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
1 green pepper, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
parmesan cheese
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. water
1 tsp. garlic powder
Directions
Preheat oven to 350*. Heat a large frying pan and add the pieces of bacon. Cook until crispy, and add the onion and peppers. Cook until onions are transluscent and peppers are softened. Add the ground beef or turkey. Cook until meat is cooked through. In a casserole dish, put 1/3 of the cooked pasta, 1/2 the meat, and a generous sprinkle of parmesan. Repeat with another third of the pasta, the rest of the meat, and more parmesan. End with the pasta. In a separate vessel, mix together the tomato paste, water, and baking soda. Be careful, as it will froth up! Pour the tomato mixture on top of the meat and noodles and bake for about 25 minutes. Top each serving with parmesan cheese and enjoy!
This brings back a taste of childhood and fall for me…and I was thrilled to eat it tonight! Something about the chopping and sauteeing and baking and waiting that was so comforting.
Fall (or Autumn as you may call it) is really a great time to slow down, enjoy, and savor the little things. The hectic pace of the holidays hasn’t kicked in yet, and everything is simply beautiful… so when the Alouette company contacted me to host one of their Slow Down & Savour giveaways, I jumped at the chance. Little did I know that it would end up being the BIGGEST giveaway I’ve ever done!
ONE lucky winner will receive a Gourmet Fall Cheese Tasting Party worth $150 which includes:
- This beautiful Mariposa two-toned bamboo cheese board with drawers that hold 3 cheese utensils (hard cheese knife, cheese grater, fork-tipped cheese knife) and 3 wine utensils (walter-style corkscrew, wine stopper, and drip ring)
- Coupons for FREE Alouette spreadable cheese, brie, and crumbles
- Cheese identification tags with marker (they’re the silver rectangles)
- Personalized cheese rating cards and pens
- Alouette recipe cards for entertaining
- Slow Down & Savour tips
The cheese rating cards and pens are completely personalized for the winner, and will look like this, with whatever you choose. They take up to 2 weeks to process, and will arrive separately:
How can you win this glorious prize? That’s simple! You have 3 chances to enter, and each requires its own individual comment.
- Comment on this post with your favorite way to “Slow Down & Savor” the fall season. (this is the easy one!).
For extra entries:
- Link back to this post on your blog (or if you don’t have a blog, email me) and leave a comment that you’ve done so.
- Tweet about this contest and leave a comment that you’ve done so! Just tweet this: RT @imadedinner: Slow Down & Savour This Fall with @alouettecheese
The contest will run from Today, September 16 through Sunday evening, September 20. The winner will be chosen at random by random.org, and will be announced at Sunday’s dinner post.
Good luck, and don’t forget to Slow Down & Savour the little things this fall…
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Oh Mara!! You make such beautiful food!!! Plus I’m a lover of anything with ground beef and turkey!!!
Very pretty!!!!!!!!
HAPPY THURSDAY MAMA LOVE!!! I MISS YOU SO MUCHHHHHHHHHHHH! I WENT TO NORDSTROMS TODAY AND LOOKED AT DRESSY WEDDING SHOES AND THOUGHT OF YOU!! Not like looked, but they were by the cashier.
excited for youuuuuuuuuuu!!!
.-= glidingcalm´s last blog ..Love Force Raw Organic Vegan Bread =-.
Can’t wait to take my girls to Morton Arboretum to see the colors change and collect leaves.
I retweeted, too!!
.-= Kristin´s last blog ..Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw =-.
I am loving the fact that things are starting to slow down from Summer’s frantic pace. It is still humid here, but a few trees have decided to be early changers, and it is making me nostalgic for Autumn! Tonight I am making a potato and corn chowder, and your pasta casserole just might make it on this week’s rotation! Love your blog Mara, and hope the beginning of school hasn’t been TOO insane.
I slow down and savor the fall by thoroughly enjoying Thanksgiving guilt free
.-= Runeatrepeat´s last blog ..Yogurt and too many toppings =-.
Looks wonderful, and sounds like such a cool contest! My favorite fall activity is taking long walks with my husband while stepping on all the crunchy leaves.
.-= Victoria´s last blog ..Eggplant Meatballs =-.
The recipe sounds amazing!! Can’t wait to try it. My favorite way to slow down and savor fall is by spending a full day chopping, dicing, prepping, and cooking and freezing yummy, healthy food. I’ll usually do a veggie soup and/or a hearty turkey chili. I just love peeling and chopping vegetables and the whole cooking process is very therapeutic for me!! Of course fall in Florida is a very different experience for me than it was growing up in Upstate NY, but just the experience of fall cooking makes it feel a little more like the autumn I remember.
You r pasta dish looks sooo good.
It is not yet feeling like fall here in Minneapolis, we have had over 80 degree days this week!!!
I tweeted about your giveaway. And, my favorite way to enjoy the fall is to go apple picking
.-= Jenna´s last blog ..Celebration! =-.
i love pumpkin in the fall!
I like to simmer cinnamon sticks for about 20 minutes and savor a nice cup of hot cinnamon tea with a good book in my bathrobe. Ahhh, bliss!
.-= Yasmin´s last blog ..Geniuses! =-.
I go apple picking with my friends and then spend a few days making different things out of the apples with them: apple sauce and my favorite…spiced apple cider! MMMM
.-= Olga´s last blog ..I got 99 problems… =-.
And I linked your giveaway here:
http://healthingit.com/2009/09/17/writing-skills-saving-skills/
.-= Olga´s last blog ..I got 99 problems… =-.
I slow down and savor by taking my time to enjoy my meals without any distractions. No TV, No computer, no books, just my plate of food and me. Especially looking forward the the Fall pumpkin and squash season. Gonna make some creamy soup out of them which is my favorite part of Fall.
Here is my link back to your giveaway:
http://theskinnyplate.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/the-bolder-mat-company-yoga-mat/
My tweet to your awesome giveaway:
http://twitter.com/TheSkinnyPlate/status/4044731746
That casserole looks so yummy! I love taking the whole day to make applesauce, apple crisp or apple pie. I love the smell of cinnamon and apples cooking in the house.
I like to slow down with a good book and a fall spiced tea!
.-= Amy´s last blog ..He May Be Small, But He’s a Fighter! =-.
I slow down and savor fall with a hot cup of mulled cider with my husband Tom, light a fall scented Yankee Candle and relax in deep conversations with him.. It has become a little treat for the two of us and I enjoy every second.
I also enjoy taking a nice hike with my mom, pack some goodies, bottle of wine and relax at the top. The scenery makes the hike up worth it!
.-= Trista aka HeveyT´s last blog ..Lovely example displayed onDocuments and Designs 32 Sewell St…. =-.
RT @imadedinner: Slow Down & Savour This Fall with @alouettecheese Visit her blog for a fab giveaway!
My tweet for you!
.-= Trista aka HeveyT´s last blog ..Lovely example displayed onDocuments and Designs 32 Sewell St…. =-.
I love the fall, what means fall the most to me is hot mulled cider. Sitting outside, watching the leaves change…Perfect
.-= MackAttack (Beth)´s last blog ..Oh yeah, I’m a weight loss blogger =-.
Also, I just tweeted your giveaway, I’m Fatbustermack
Wow!! You’re right, that is a huge giveaway!! I’ll re-blog about it and let you know when I do! Have you stopped by my giveaway yet?!
.-= Christina´s last blog ..One Year Ago =-.
i love to take walks in crisp weather with my son as we watch the trees change color and the leaves fall to the ground around us…
autumn398 @ yahoo.com
Hey Mara I’m back to let you know I just linked back in tonight’s post!
I guess I slow down and savor the fall by watching the girls play soccer.
erica_haggins@hotmail.com
.-= Erica´s last blog ..WeekEnd Report & GiveAway Winner!!! =-.
Totally loving that cheese kit!!! Can you believe that I just serve cheese on a cutting board with a steak knife!? I KNOW!!! What a dork I am. So I could totally use this!
.-= Jaden´s last blog ..Chanterelle, Plum, Bacon Salad with Blue Cheese =-.
AAH!! I really really really want to win this because I am a total CHEESE-WHORE and this will totally blow my cheesy mind away! Thank you!
.-= Sophia´s last blog ..It’s Worth the Grill =-.
I twitted!
.-= Sophia´s last blog ..It’s Worth the Grill =-.
CHEESE!!!!
My favorite way to slow down and savor Fall is to go Apple picking. So relaxing and guess what? Apples go GREAT with CHEESE!
.-= Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats´s last blog ..Fantastic Fall Dinner =-.
I’ve tweeted! I just discovered your blog and I love it! Will definitely be reading more!
Cheese makes the world go round & round. I love this. What a fab cutting board set…beautiful!
I’d like to slow down & savour this beautiful casserole you’ve made! YUM!
.-= deeba´s last blog ..DARK CHOCOLATE ICE-CREAM…for days when life hands you yolks!! =-.
What a fantastic fallish dinner!
And what a fantastic giveaway! I love to enjoy nice crisp walks in the fall. The air is so fresh and cool. I just love this season.
.-= Lauren´s last blog ..A POM-filled Kind of Day =-.
So excited to have found your site through Jaden’s tweet! I tweeted your message. I love celebrating Fall with all my favorite hot soups.
first, that pasta looks awesome!
and what a cool giveaway. My favorite ways to slow down + savor the fall are:
carving pumpkins outside on a cool night with a cup of hot cocoa
spending all day in the kitchen with family getting ready for Thanksgiving
hiking in the mountains once the leaves have changed
My very favorite Fall food would have to be Texas Pot Roast.
I have a hard time slowing down in the fall- such a feeling of urgency to get things done before winter! However with a cup of steaming mulled cider and gingersnap cookies it is nearly impossible not to sit still for a few minutes!
.-= Phoo-D´s last blog ..Wild Plum Tart =-.
Halloween parties, noticing the changing leaves, and roasting food instead of grilling.
I would love to win this prize. I am also tweeting this contest.
.-= janis Tester´s last blog ..Sneaky food day 2 =-.
My favorite way to slow down in the fall is to curl up on the couch with my one and only, have large, steamy cups of hot chocolate, and watch movies all night. Nothing beats it!
Nothing like getting up super early on a fall weekend and heading out to the farmer’s market before the masses arrive to stroll the aisles slowly with a cup of coffee.
.-= PikaPikaChick´s last blog ..Little latin boy in drag, why are you crying? =-.
I can’t believe the leaves are already changing and falling here in Michigan. I have a feeling that it’s going to be an early winter.
Blogged.
.-= PikaPikaChick´s last blog ..Little latin boy in drag, why are you crying? =-.
I tweeted about this as well. http://twitter.com/Nila_Rosa
.-= Veronica´s last blog ..Postless day + Saucy Mama Winners =-.
Fall – hearty soups, roasted root vegetables, hot spiced cider…I could go on and on! The only thing I love more than fall is wine and cheese. (Tweet and e-mail to come!)
.-= Pamela´s last blog ..Welcome! =-.
E-mail and tweet completed @iowawinegirl. Thanks Mara – can’t wait for the results!
Ok, linked back in my last post!
.-= Kristin @ Iowa Girl Eats´s last blog ..Nice People Make the World Go Round + Three Question Thursday! =-.
This is a crazy good give away … I am pumped for roasted butternut squash bisque.
.-= Kara Knaack´s last blog ..Spicy Tortilla Soup =-.
I like to slow down and savor by carving pumpkins and looking at the folliage at our cabin in west virginia.
I don’t know if you’d consider it “slowing down” but I definitely set aside time to savor every bit of football. No multitasking here- my team gets my full attention.
My favorite way to slow down and savor the fall is by making hot spiced apple cider with my DH. Not my favorite to drink but love to make it.
.-= Jacquie´s last blog ..PYT in Philly =-.
great giveaway, my dear!
I like to take long walks with the Mister and admire the leaves
I tweeted! http://twitter.com/fsukristen
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