Also known as “student casserole,” this dish traditionally consists of ketchup, hotdogs, bad cheese and pasta.  However, to make it just a bit “fancier,” (as if student food can be fancy – LOL!), I’m going to toss in a few other items, all in the appetizer basket of a recent episode of Chopped Canada.  These items are:  English muffins, dried strawberries and garlic scapes.

Cut these into small pieces and add them into quinoa

The hotdogs will be chopped into bite sized pieces and then reheated on the stove using a bit of chicken broth (no oil here!!). To that, I will add chopped garlic scapes to give it a bit of green, as well as chopped onions, mushrooms and tomatoes.  However, instead of pasta, for this version, I’m going to use rainbow quinoa, which will be cooked in a separate pot.  Once the quinoa is done, it is mixed with the sausage, scapes, tomatoes and vegetables and a bit of tomato sauce (NOT KETCHUP) is added, along with a bit of white cheddar.  More cheese is added on top.  The casserole is then placed in the oven at 325 F for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, the dried strawberries and English muffins will be used for a salad.  The muffins are chopped into small pieces, tossed in a mixture of olive oil, dried basil and garlic powder and then placed into the oven to toast.  They will be used as croutons.  The salad is composed of arugula, spinach, dried strawberries, goat cheese and English muffin croutons and tossed with some strawberry infused balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.  It is served alongside the chicken hotdog casserole, thus elevating a student inspired dish.

Note:  Other mystery items (for the main and dessert courses) included crescent rolls, brisket and nopales.

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