Bavarian Casserole Recipes

EASY GERMAN POTATO CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Mix soup, sour cream and vinegar in large bowl until blended. Add hash browns, cheese, half the bacon and 1/2 cup green onions; mix lightly.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake 50 min. or until heated through, topping with French fried onions after 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and green onions.

OKTOBERFEST CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk soup, beer and sour cream until combined. Stir in potatoes, sauerkraut, cheese and chopped bratwurst. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes., Uncover; bake 30 minutes. Top with pretzel pieces. Bake until bubbly and heated through, 12-15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving., Freeze option: Freeze cooled potato mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add broth or water if necessary.

BAVARIAN NOODLE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Drain sauerkraut and spread in 13x9 pan.
• Top with sliced Kielbasa.
• Cook and drain noodles.
• Spread over Kielbasa evenly.
• In a bowl mix the soup, onion and dijon mustard.
• Pour over top of casserole and spread evenly.
• Top with the swiss cheese.
• Bake 30-40 minutes until cheese is well melted and casserole is bubbly hot.

BAVARIAN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until almost tender. Drain; when cool enough to handle, cut into 1/4-in. slices., In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels. In the drippings, brown pork chops on both sides. Remove chops; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Saute onion in drippings until tender. Stir in sauerkraut and bacon; cook for 3-4 minutes. , Spoon sauerkraut mixture into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with pork chops, potato slices and tomatoes. Sprinkle with caraway seeds, salt and pepper. Cover and bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°.

GERMAN RICE

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil, and cook the skinned bratwurst until browned, breaking the sausage up into chunks as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions and garlic, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Mix in fennel seed and sauerkraut with juice, and allow the mixture to pan-fry for 2 minutes without stirring.
• Mix in the rice and soup base, and stir until the rice is colored and the soup base is incorporated, about 2 more minutes. Stir in water, black pepper, and raisins, and bring to a boil; cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender and almost all the water has absorbed, about 30 minutes.

GERMAN CHEESE-NOODLE CASSEROLE (KäSESPäTZLE)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Start by making the caramelized onions about 1 hour before the casserole needs to go into the oven.
• Heat the butter and oil in a nonstick pan on medium. Turn heat to low and add onions. Stir every few minutes for about an hour, or until onions are lightly browned and sweet enough for your taste. Here is more information on caramelizing onions .
• Turn off the heat and set the onions aside.
• Gather the ingredients.
• Here is a step-by-step guide to making spätzle with a spätlebrett (wooden board used to make drop noodles). You may use a colander to form the noodles or a grater-like device with a hopper on it called a spätzle maker.
• Place a large pot of water on to boil. You can add salt if you wish.
• To make the dough, whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl or measuring cup, beat the eggs with the water and add to the flour-salt mixture.
• Beat for several minutes or until dough is smooth. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then beat it again. Add water or flour to adjust consistency to a thick batter (a little thinner than brownie batter).
• Place half of the dough in the hopper of the spätzle maker which is placed over the simmering water. Push and pull the hopper back and forth, creating a dough wave inside the hopper. Little bits of dough will be pushed out the other side and drop into the water. They will be fatter and more teardrop-shaped than the spätzle you make with a board.
• The noodles drop to the bottom of the pot, then rise to the surface. Let them sit there for another 2 or 3 minutes, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon or small sieve. Rinse briefly in hot water, then drain well and set aside.
• Using the second half of the dough, make another batch of noodles. If the noodles stick to the bottom of the pan, give a quick stir to loosen. They should then rise to the top.
• Butter and line a 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole dish with breadcrumbs .
• When noodles are done, add them to the (cooled) pan with the caramelized onions. Add the grated nutmeg and 3/4 of the grated cheese and stir to mix.
• Spoon noodles into the casserole, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake, covered, at 350 F for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes. If you like, brown the cheese topping with the broiler during the last 5 minutes.
• Serve hot.
• Enjoy.