Mugs in my Oven

The other day I asked everyone what is their favorite out of the oven meal, and got a wide range of responses.  That made me think of these mugs I got for Christmas from my mom, they look just like the traditional white ramekins. Do you see where I'm going with this yet? While holding one of these mugs, the first thing I thought of was making french onion soup with all that bubbly cheese, or a miniature pot pie.  And how handy would that be, a favorite dish, small enough or individualized enough to bring to work as a lunch?  With all that thinking, you know I went straight home and made little Shepherd pies in those mugs!

A Shepard's pie is basically a layered casserole (in my case leftovers) with the bottom layer being thick mashed potatoes, the middle layer a meat and vegetable stew or gravy, and the top layer biscuits.  I love using Shepherd's pie to use up leftovers.  This particular night we had leftovers from a beef roast and leftover mashed potatoes.  The only thing I had to actually make were the biscuits and that takes seconds in a food processor.  We ate these that night, but since then I have frozen a few for later.

Tips on making and/or freezing oven meals for mugs:

• Only use thicker, ceramic style mugs.  Some thin glass mugs will shatter in the oven, and plastic will melt.  You should also never put plastic in the microwave. 
• A standard sized casserole recipe should fill 6 or more mugs.
• Only bake and serve what will be used that night, freeze the rest before baking.
• First line mug with plastic wrap or parchment/Reynolds wrap then fill mug if you're going to freeze it.
• Freeze the mug casserole in the mug, then slide out the casserole and wrap once it's frozen (this doesn't tie up the mug).
• When you want to eat the mug casserole simply unwrap, reinsert it into the mug, heat in the oven.
• For shorter cook time, thaw in refrigerator (unwrapped and in the mug) over night.
• To reheat the mug casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for about 20 minutes or until it's heated through.  To microwave, heat on high for 3 minutes at a time until heated (it will likely take 6 minutes).
• Check the temperature with a thermometer, not your finger, it should be approximately 160 degrees in the center.

Types of Casseroles to use:

• Pasta doesn't always freeze right, but for best results with it cook pasta to almost al dente.  To determine how long, use the packages directions for cook time then subtract 2 minutes.  Then add to casserole and freeze.
• Raw vegetables also don't always freeze well in a casserole.
• Cook each portion of the casserole minus shells or biscuits before freezing.
• Cheese should also be un-melted.
• Soups and stews can be frozen in mugs using the same method,

If your casserole follows these rules, it can surely be frozen to serve as a lunch later!  Now enjoy!