Getting creative with casseroles

Casseroles normally don't make an appearance at our house, except for after baking a turkey. I ate lots of casseroles as a kid and really have no aversion to them today. My daughter noted that the one listed below hadn't been made for the last two years.

One casserole that made an appearance at our house, when I was about 10 years old, was after we had been invited over to the neighbor's house for dinner, and found what turned out to be a very yummy casserole served to us. Mom managed to get a copy of the recipe and it became a favorite dish of mine over the years.

Like any good casserole, it can suffer through various additions, deletions, or substitutions. I've made it with chicken instead of turkey. No cheddar cheese? No problem. It works well with just about any other non-hard cheese, though I wouldn't try cream cheese. Got some left over green beans? In they go. No corn flakes? Use corn chips. Have nothing but crackers? Use them instead. Want to use a little oyster sauce to ramp up the flavor? Go right ahead. Don't have a 9x13 inch baking dish, use a cake pan. Oven doesn't work? Put it in the crock pot, though not for an all-day bake.

One variation I wanted to try was to make the celery more cooked through when it was served. I placed my celery in a frying pan with a little butter and then let it brown, stirring occasionally.

GOLDEN TURKEY BAKE

• 2 cups diced cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 3 cups cubed cooked turkey
• 1 1/2 cups corn flakes
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (use more if desired)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ina large bowl, mix together all ingredients until well combined. Place into a 9x13 inch baking dish and place in oven. Bake until heated through and top begins to brown, at least 30 minutes.