Reddit mentions: The best casserole cookware

I have a microwave at my office space rental, but I'm on the road a lot with my job, so I've looked into many different solutions. There are a variety of options available.

Non-electronic storage:

They make a squattier version of the Thermos you have from RTIC, which is what I sometimes use:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DRP86T1

Spoon for size comparison:

https://i.imgur.com/AR4itKB.jpg

It's not so deep that I can't get a spoon in. It'd be nice if it were a little wider, but it does the job. A bit smaller than your Thermos at 17 ounces. Pinnacle Thermoware sells insulated a pretty nice insulated bowl set, if you specifically want a bowl shape:

https://www.amazon.com/Pinnacle-Serving-Salad-Soup-Dish/dp/B07RT1X47C/

If you need more food than just one bowl can hold, Ailijin makes a 2-bowl, single-tote insulated solution: (kind of a round bento-style)

https://www.amazon.com/AILIJIN-Leakproof-Insulated-Stainless-Portable/dp/B07QQ9JYG3/

If you need to heat up a soup before you go to put into an insulated storage container, I use one of these vented microwave mugs, so it doesn't explode all over the inside of my microwave when heating up:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F5IC478/

Electronic storage:

Beyond that, there are 3 common electronic options, depending on what power you have available: (12V in a car or an A/C wall plug)

1. Crockpot Lunch Crock (A/C power)
   
2. RoadPro 300F lunchbox oven (12V car power)
   
3. HotLogic lunchbox oven (A/C power, car-compatible A/C, or 75w+ inverter for car power)
   
   The Crockpot unit is basically like your Thermos, except you plug it in to heat it, and it has a pretty nice wide bowl size. My buddy has one & it's pretty dang handy! My brother has the RoadPro, as he's on the road all day long, and it's super nice because it does a pretty decent job (heats up to 300F, basically like a mini oven), so you can heat up burritos, melt cheesy stuff like lasagna, etc.
   
   The HotLogic is nice because instead of just being a mini portable crockpot, it's also a mini oven, and can be used from a wall plug, a newer-vehicle 2-prong car plug, or with a 75-watt (minimum) inverter. There's a good Facebook group available as well! It heats up to 218F & then holds the food at 180F, so it's more for reheating food than cooking food, like the RoadPro can do (HotLogic says you can cook chicken breast in it in about 2 hours, but ehhh...), but it's also a bit more versatile as you can plug it directly into the wall an hour before lunch & have your food ready to go without needing a microwave or toaster oven.
   
   Homemade soup:
   
   If you're into soup & haven't heard of Souper Cubes, it's basically a silicone ice cube tray with 1/2-cup & 1-cup markings (4 per tray) & lids, plus a wire frame around the top to hold it together, which makes portioning out bulk soup cooks super easy:
   
   https://www.soupercubes.com/
   
   I mean, just look at this insanity:
   
   https://www.instagram.com/p/B0cU_UFBSQp/
   
   Also, if you're into making soups at home, the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) is my BFF...it makes cooking soup a lot faster & more automated (aka easier overall!). Poaching from another one of my posts, here are some soup ideas: (I use the IP for soups, stews, bisques, broths, stocks, etc.)
   
   

• Ham & bean
  
• Vegetable beef
  
• Chili con carne (chili is just thick soup...lol)
  
• Olive Garden's creamy chicken gnocchi
  
• Broccoli cheddar potato soup
  
• Asian chicken noodle
  
  Some ideas for soup toppings & easy no-knead breads:
  
  
• Ranch oyster crackers
  
• Cheese & onion roasted chickpeas
  
• Homemade flavored croutons
  
• Crusty rolls
  
• Ciabatta bread
  
  Also if you're trying to get more veggies in your diet, check out this master guide on making blended soups in the Instant Pot, definitely worth a read:
  
  https://allthenourishingthings.com/make-blended-soup-instant-pot/
  
  I tend to make soup about once a week in my Instant Pot at home, then freeze it in my Souper Cube containers, and keep a stash of different varieties in my freezer so I can just grab one & go. When you have a solid storage system setup (electronic or non-electronic), it makes the whole process pretty dang easy:
  
  

1. Store a variety of soup flavors at home (Souper Cubes or canned soup)
   
2. Heat it up in the vented mug if you need it hot before you leave
   
3. Put it into your container of choice
   
4. Heat up your container (if needed) & enjoy!
   
   For me, it's really about nailing down a solid process & taking care of all of the little annoying details. Like you said, the tall insulated mugs are too small to get a spoon into & eat out of, so you have to find something better that meets the needs of your individual situation better. Then, setting up a system to support convenience means you can always have a variety of soups to grab before you leave the house, whether it's a can that you heat up in a vented mug & store in a food thermos or a frozen Souper Cube that you toss in a Crockpot Lunch Crock & plug in before lunch!

Basically, buy a ham (the precooked ones, remember that spiral sliced costs extra and is basically just pre-sliced). Put it in a roaster/whatever kind of thing you have to cook a whole ham in. Buy a bottle of Korean BBQ sauce (Aldi's is actually quite good). I like to add some extra stuff...pomegranate liqueur is tasty but expensive, but I found a bottle of Torano pomegranate syrup that added pretty much the same flavor. Maybe some orange ginger stir fry sauce...I dunno. Whatever I had sitting around in the fridge.

Pour the BBQ sauce over the ham, follow the cooking directions put it in the oven on say 300 degrees and baste every half hour. Voila! Korean BBQ ham.

I will say that the best lasagna pan I've found is this Rachael Ray casserole dish, because I wanted something with a lid you could use in the oven. It cleans up really nicely. I actually did the last ham in there because it was a small one. I also had a hell of a time finding a large roasting pan and finally found a huge one at Bed Bath and Beyond a few years ago...I don't see it on their website, though.

For baking, though, I find the old stuff usually works better, too.

Both Jetboil, and MSR have this sort of heat transfer concept. Jet boil even has a cozy for the pot and I believe a cap for the bottom, so once it is hot, you can keep it that way. Personally I'd like to see something with isolated walls, a high surface area bottom and a matching insulated pad to sit it on like similar to the jetboil for crock like recipes.


Edit: I guess someone makes my dream pot.
Don't really care for cast aluminum cookware, but some people like it. Hope he does well, but I won't be getting one.

I'm on the hunt for a nice vintage oval roaster, but I've done chicken in a round roaster (Dutch oven) and it comes out great.

If you want a new oval roaster, Lodge does make an enamel covered one, as does Cuisinart, and Le Creuset.

On the cheaper end, Bayou Classic and Old Mountain both make plain cast iron ones.

Does All-Clad have a saute pan that has the casserole pan handles? I have a piece of cookware from Cuisinart that we use all of the time, and I love it because it has two handles rather than one side handle and one long handle. So easy to pop in and out of the oven, and the handle doesn't get in the way when I'm using more than one burner.

This is what I have - though I can't quite recall if it's the 3 quart or the 5.5 quart. It has about a 12-in diameter

Look around for something like this CorningWare 3qt dish. I have the older version of it, and it makes a beastly giant pan of lasagna. If you can find it in a local store that would be best, this was one of the few things that ever failed to ship safely from Amazon.

HAPPY CAKE DAY!!!!

Didn't know the dollar limit so here are a couple!

Munchkin Nursery Projector and Sound System, White

Corningware French White III Round Casserole with Glass Cover, 1.5-Quart

The Little Linen Company - Baby Muslin Swaddle Blanket - Chevron Teal

I used to use this until I switched to an enameled cast iron casserole dish. It has all the advantages of cast iron, plus it's easier to clean.

In regards to autumn foods: EAT ALL THE SQUASH!

• Spaghetti squash lasagna
  
  
• Spaghetti squash spaghetti
  
  
• baked acorn squash
  
  
• sweet peppers, chicken sausage, and whole wheat pasta with pureed butternut squash for sauce
  
  
• zucchini everything
  
  
• sliced zucchini with sweet apple chicken sausage, raisins, walnuts, and whole wheat spaghetti tossed with a little olive oil
  
  
• yellow squash all the things when you run out of zucchini!
  
  
• Ratatouille
  
  As for heating food without a microwave...
  
  
• Portable mini crockpot
  
  
• Heated lunch box
  
  
• Hot packs
  
  
• Thermoses

I've been taking an hour or two each Sunday to cook my lunches for the week. Once you get your system down, it's really easy.

Buy a bunch of containers. I like these 3-cup Pyrex jobbies. You can go from oven to freezer to microwave with no problems and no bad chemicals. They also happen to fit quite nicely into this awesome lunch bag if you're in the market for such a thing.

Okay, next, buy a bunch of chicken breasts or ground beef. If you want to be ambitious, marinate the chicken. Otherwise, spice them with garlic powder, salt/pepper, and paprika. Bake the chicken (375 degrees, fifteen minutes per side) or broil the burgers (get a broiler pan if you don't have one, ten minutes per side). Put the meat in the container. Add a cup or two of frozen veggies. Slap down a slice of cheese. Pop in the freezer. You're set for the week.

For Yogurt, I boil milk in IP and then transfer it over to a Insulated Casserole, basically it doesn't culture inside the IP and yes I do not use the Yogurt button. I have always made yogurt at home even before the existence of IP and now I basically use IP for boiling the milk, for the exact same reason as you that I don't have to monitor it like on a stove top.
When making multiple items that need to be boiled or steamed but not together I use [this.] (https://www.amazon.com/Stack-Stackable-Steamer-Insert-Sling/dp/B072N6N96Y).
I have yet to find a way to sear meat as well as steam veggies! But tbh the only reason I haven't bought a second one is because I don't have the counter space. Go for it!

This behemoth. I like to make a big batch, and the depth (4 in) and width (14 in) are just right for easy stirring of lots of add-ins with all that rice.

Moritaka 240mm AS Gyuto

Catskill 19x14 End Grain cutting board

All Clad Thomas Keller (no relation, unfortunately) 5qt Sauteuse

Bamboo flat spatula, the one on the far right.

Dish washing net cloth. No dishwasher, so it's all hand wash in my house.

Bonus round: Instant read thermometer, Microplane, Immersion blender, SS Mixing bowls various sizes, Stock pot/Dutch Oven

Parchment works well because it is steaming the food inside. Any baking dish of your choice with a lid or foil will produce similar results.

I cook for 1 also and I like small casserole dishes when cooking for myself.

HippressureCooking has an entire page devoted to this topic.

Any heat proof container that fits inside should work. Look for something that's oven safe. The recipe specifies a 4c (1qt) container.

• Pyrex makes a bunch of round glass bowls that may work.
  
• CorningWare makes a bunch of white glazed stoneware crocks that also could work. These are thick though, so you may have trouble finding one that fits with enough capacity.
  
• Stainless Steel would be another (good) option. Also look at Camping pots: they tend to be more angular than mixing bowls and usually come with lids/lift handles which help when pressure cooking.
  
  
  
  I don't know which ones would fit well in the Instant Pot (on my to-do list) but you should be able to measure the diameter & height of the inside of the pot, then look at the specs to find one.
  
  

Like some of these?

https://www.amazon.com/Oz-Round-Gratin-Baking-Dish/dp/B00JR9EPBU/ref=sr_1_42?

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https://www.amazon.com/HIC-Gratin-Baking-Dishes-Porcelain/dp/B005KMKSP0/ref=sr_1_4?

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https://www.amazon.com/BonJour-Porcelain-Brûlee-Ramekin-4-Piece/dp/B0001K17WO/ref=sr_1_9?

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https://www.amazon.com/Fiesta-Inch-Individual-Casserole-Cobalt/dp/B000UVO78U/ref=sr_1_31?

In their defense, I looked it up, and a covered ovenproof Tupperware casserole dish costs almost $70. To do dinner meal prep for 5 days using Tupperware would cost $345. I would bet that even they wouldn’t expect people to spend that kind of money on their products for one party.

https://www.amazon.com/Tupperware-Lasagna-Casserole-Microwave-Cosmos/dp/B00CWKDO90

Get some oven safe Pyrex.

http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-quart-casserole-glass-cover/dp/B0057RRD8S/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1393986478&sr=1-1

This casserole dish would make my life easier. I'm in a casserole phase and only have one I have to constantly wash by hand (no dishwasher). An epic tragedy. :-)

Something like this

http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Premium-One-4-Quart-Casserole/dp/B0052CGI66/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_y

the style of pot looks like a brasier to me with it being relatively shallow and having the curved sides. Lodge makes one for $80

you can buy these on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Le-Creuset-Fresh-Magnet-Multi-colored/dp/B004YVVQ9A

Also Re-Ment makes a few sets that feature mini Le Creusets- you can find out more in the Re-Ment subreddit! /r/rement

https://www.amazon.com/Bella-Casserole-2-75-Enameled-Cast/dp/B0091FWHQK

It was a gift to me, but I would think they come in cheaper than $43.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093JWLJC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_tfqFAbQSE6ADY

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IOCYO8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_OeqFAb159PWDF

I got me one of these for when I bring a burrito fro lunch.

I use one of these to transport and microwave it, and I've never had an issue.