Like Rodney Dangerfield, the casserole gets no respect.
To many, the word conjures up church basements and Pyrex pans filled with bland blends of mushy noodles, cream soups, mayonnaise, sour cream and cheese.
But why? "Casserole" is a broad term that applies to any food baked and served in the same dish. As such, it describes not only the bourgeois recipes printed on soup cans but also culinary sophisticates such as cassoulet and tagine.
Casseroles deserve a place in the home cook's repertoire. Not only are they the ultimate comfort food, browned and bubbling on a cold winter's evening, but they also are economical, stretching meat with the addition of pasta or rice. They can be prepared in advance and freeze nicely. A typical 9- by 13-inch pan usually makes enough for two meals, and leftovers are easy to reheat in the microwave.
One rap against casseroles over the years has been their artery-clogging combinations of hamburger, sour cream, eggs and cheese -- lots of cheese. But with a few tweaks, casseroles can be part of a healthy diet.
Reducing is the first line of defense. For example, the amount of butter in a recipe can be cut by one-fourth with no discernible difference in taste. And if a casserole recipe calls for salt, it can always be omitted.
Second, learn to substitute for the high-fat, high-sodium offenders. Casseroles are a forgiving bunch. Among the suitable substitutes:
Meat. Use meat that is at least 90 percent lean. When cooking with turkey, look for packages labeled "breast." Ground turkey that isn't breast meat may contain skin and dark meat with more fat and calories. Soy vegetable crumbles (look in the supermarket freezer case) can stand in for ground beef in any casserole recipe.