All of us lead very busy lives these days, trying to balance our work and home life successfully. At the end of a long day, all you really want to do is to pop a ready to eat meal into the microwave. Though we need less and less of cooking skills now, there is certainly a healthier and more nutritious way to a meal and that too without spending a lifetime in the kitchen. Many countries have the traditional casserole recipes where the food is usually cooked in earthenware pots on a slow fire. 

Though kitchen equipment has changed drastically over the decades, casseroles always remain in demand. Though slow cooking is delicious, the cooking time can be quickened with the right kind of ingredients. Casserole recipes that can be cooked quickly and easily taste heavenly too and without dismantling your monthly budget. Once you leave the casserole dish in the oven, you can go about completing other chores around the house. 

With a casserole, you can either use leftovers or prepare a new meal. You can safely experiment with various casserole recipes and tweak them to suit your palate. Since casseroles require slow cooking, cheap cuts of meat are an ideal choice; this brings out the flavor and gets the meat tender with the slow cooking. You could cook your vegetables, fish and poultry this way too. 

A classic dish is the Beef Stroganoff which uses ground beef. You can quicken the cooking time by using egg noodles and a can of cream mushroom soup. Another inexpensive and quick meal is the corned beef casserole that uses egg noodles, canned corned beef, cheese and a can of cream of chicken soup.

You can bring out the flavor of root vegetables with casserole recipes as well. use sweet potatoes and squash with Swede and carrots. You can also use mushrooms and peppers in this kind of cooking. Use a can of corn soup in the condensed form with milk, cheddar cheese and broccoli for a broccoli and corn casserole. For a broccoli and cheese casserole use broccoli, cheese, onion, rice and a chicken soup can. 

You could also add chicken and turkey to your casserole recipes in several ways. After thanksgiving, make a turkey casserole by using the leftover turkey with egg noodles, sweet red peppers, peas and canned condensed celery soup. Cut the turkey into cubes and add bread crumbs and margarine for topping. 

Why leave seafood behind? Make a scrumptious tuna casserole that can be done in numerous variations. For an unusual treat, make a crab casserole with snow white crab with rice, onions, mushrooms, peppers, cheddar and canned shrimp soup. For an Italian adventure, try sausages, spaghetti sauce and zucchini in an amazing casserole recipe.

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