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In , on April 8, 2015 with No Comments

Days of Casseroles: Day 5 – Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

Since the family wanted a main dish other than “casserole” today, I decided to make a broccoli casserole to go along side the shrimp scampi they were screaming for. We all love broccoli, even the kids, so this is a favorite side dish for us any time of the year.

 

Cheesy Broccoli Casserole

2 10-ounce packages frozen broccoli (I used 2 frozen quart bags I had from our garden last summer)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups crackers, crushed (can substitute Panko bread crumbs)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, mayonnaise, cream of mushroom soup, cheddar cheese and beaten eggs until well combined. Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle crushed crackers or Panko bread crumbs over the top of the casserole, and evenly drizzle the melted butter over the topping.

Bake for 35 minutes or until set and bubbly.

Since I mentioned it, here’s my recipe for shrimp scampi. I’ve made it for years, and while we don’t have it often, it’s a treat when we do and really very easy to make. The ingredients are in approximate measurements, as I really just eyeball it when making this.

Shrimp Scampi

2 pounds fresh or frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons Wildtree shrimp scampi seasoning, optional
1 stick butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 to 3 cloves freshly minced garlic
1/3 cup dry white wine
Fresh parsley, chopped
Hot cooked rice or noodles

If using scampi seasoning, combine prepared shrimp and seasoning in a large bowl to completely coat the shrimp. Set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic to the pan, and saute until translucent but not browned. Add shrimp to the pan, and cook just until the shrimp turn pink. Don’t cook longer as this toughens the shrimp.

To serve, place cooked shrimp and some of the butter sauce over hot cooked rice or noodles. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.

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In , , on April 7, 2015 with No Comments

Days of Casseroles: Day 4 – Easy Shredded Chicken Mexican Lasagna

I have this huge list of different casserole recipes I’ve been wanting to try, so can you believe I’m stumped on day 4?? Well, not really. It’s just I’m refusing to go grocery shopping until I whittle away on a few things still in the freezer and cupboards. Once I get through what’s already here, I can go grocery shopping with a more focused idea of exactly what I need to get based on the recipes I’ll be making each week. I’m such a terrible grocery shopper – I buy what I see. Yes, I make a list and get what’s on it, but I always end up spending way more than I should on impulse purchases. I’m hoping this casserole-a-day experiment will help us save on our grocery bill by narrowing my shopping list down to EXACTLY what I have to have for my meals. I should have a better idea how this will work by the end of April. 🙂

For this recipe, I used what I had in my pantry. The sauce mix was an impulse buy, with me thinking I’d use the crockpot for an easy-to-fix meal. Since that didn’t happen and it’s still sitting in my cupboard, I’m using it in this recipe, although I definitely prefer to make my enchilada sauce from scratch.

 

 

Easy Shredded Chicken Mexican Lasagna

1 package flour tortilla shells
1 package Campbell’s Slow Cooker Mexican Red Chile Taco sauce***
1 1/2 pounds cooked, shredded chicken breast
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 package frozen corn, thawed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained well (I used home-canned grape tomatoes)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I found a use for my home-canned black beans!)
Shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Sour cream, guacamole, chopped onions for garnish, optional

Combine the cooked chicken, cream cheese, diced tomatoes, black beans and corn in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.

Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan. Place one layer of the flour tortillas on the bottom of the baking pan. Layer half the chicken mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top of the meat mixture. Repeat layers. Pour the Campbell’s sauce over everything. Top with remaining cheddar cheese. Cover with foil.

Bake casserole in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for about 40 minutes. Uncover casserole and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, chopped onions if desired.

***If your family loves spicy food, you’ll love Campbell’s Slow Cooker Mexican Red Chile Taco sauce. My family said it was too spicy and asked that I remake this with my homemade mole sauce, which isn’t so spicy. They did like the casserole overall, though – so fair warning to those of you who like a milder taco dish 🙂

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In , , , on April 6, 2015 with No Comments

Days of Casseroles-Day 3: Pizza Casserole

Well, we’ve made it through three whole days of the casserole experiment, and so far, no complaints. The first two casseroles were rated as ones I can make again, so that’s good news 🙂

Today’s casserole is another family favorite – Pizza Casserole. You can change out the ingredients to ones your family loves. This is what I usually make to satisfy our pizza cravings.

 

Pizza Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 16-ounce package rotini noodles
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 16-ounce jar meatless spaghetti sauce (I use homemade canned sauce)
1 8-ounce can mushrooms (or use fresh if you prefer)
1-2 teaspoons pizza seasoning, optional (I use Wildtree’s Pizza Sauce seasoning)
1 package pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine the eggs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and melted butter in a large bowl. Set aside.

Cook rotini noodles per package instructions. Add cooked noodles to the egg and Parmesan cheese mixture. Toss noodles to coat. Set aside.

Cook ground beef with the onions until the beef is completely brown. Drain. Add spaghetti sauce and mushrooms, and cook on low for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce is well combined and slightly thickened. Add meat mixture to the cooked noodle mixture. Add pepperoni slices, reserving some to place on the top of the casserole. Mix all ingredients until well combined.

Place mixture into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top casserole with remaining pepperoni slices and the 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake covered in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

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In , , , , on April 5, 2015 with No Comments

Days of Casseroles: Day 2…Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole…Plus Easy Cherry Cheesecake

Kevin got in some garden today, as he planted kohlrabi, radishes, peas and some lettuce. He also got the rhubarb transplanted, so while I might be out a rhubarb crisp this year, next year I should have plenty of tasty stalks to pick 🙂

The chickens were moved to the coop this past week too. We lost another chick before that, so we’re down to 52 little peepers. The rest are looking great, so in a few weeks, we’ll be up to our necks butchering.

Today’s casserole is a great way to use up that leftover Easter ham, and it works well as a brunch or dinner main dish.

 

 

Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole

1 2-pound package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups chopped, cooked ham
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 8-ounce container sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups crushed cornflakes
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/2 cup melted butter, cream of chicken soup, ham, sour cream, chopped onion, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well. Place mixture in a greased 3-quart casserole dish.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup melted butter and crushed cornflakes until the cornflakes are coated. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole.

Bake covered at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.

What’s an Easter dinner without dessert? While I generally make traditional cheesecakes, I was running short on time (as in the kids wanted to eat cheesecake today instead of letting it set overnight!). This is a good recipe when you’re in a hurry.

 

 

 

Easy Cherry Cheesecake

1 graham cracker pie crust
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 can cherry pie filling (or use your favorite flavor)

Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk, and blend thoroughly. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into pie crust.

Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm. Top with chilled pie filling before serving.

Yield: 8 servings

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In , , , , on April 4, 2015 with No Comments

Days of Casseroles-Day 1: Baked Spaghetti…Plus Basic Honey White Bread

I talked to Kevin about trying to do a casserole a day for a year, and I think he’s up for the challenge. I have so many different casserole recipes, both in my personal cookbooks and notebooks of recipes I’ve found over the years and from ones I’ve found on Pinterest and the Internet. I told him I’d mix it up, and not every casserole recipe will be a main dish for dinner. There will be side dishes and breakfast casseroles too. Either way, we’ll get to try a bunch of new recipes and find some new favorites along the way. 🙂

For today’s casserole recipe, I found this tasty one on Six Sisters’ Stuff….lots of great recipes on this blog!

 

 

 

Baked Spaghetti

1 16-ounce package spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 26-ounce jar meatless spaghetti sauce (I used homemade canned sauce)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, optional
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt, if using. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain the spaghetti noodles. Add noodles to the egg mixture, and toss to coat.

Place half the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Top with half the cottage cheese, meat sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted.

I haven’t made homemade bread in a while, and since the loaf on the table was pretty low, I figured it was time. Travis likes plain white bread the best, despite my attempts to convert him to whole wheat, but this recipe is a tasty one, even if it is white bread! I did use my bread machine, but I’ve included instructions if you want to make it the traditional way 🙂 P.S. The top looks “wet” as I always rub a stick of butter over the bread right when it comes out of the bread machine or oven.

 

 

Basic Honey White Bread

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups bread flour**
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey (I used local honey, unpasteurized)
1 1/4 cups warm water

If using a bread machine, add ingredients as directed by the machine manual. Select the basic/white setting, 2-pound setting. **When the bread is mixing, watch to make sure you don’t need to add more flour. I did, as the dough was really wanting to stick to the sides of the machine. Add flour by tablespoons until it pulls away from the sides and kneads as it should.

Conventional Instructions:

Add all ingredients to the bowl of a large stand mixer. Using a dough hook, mix and knead dough for 5 to 8 minutes.

Put a little olive oil in a large bowl, and add the dough, turning once to coat the dough with oil. Cover the bowl and place it in a warm place to double in size for about one hour.

Punch down the dough, and shape into a loaf. Place dough in a well-greased 9 x 5 x 4-inch loaf pan. Cover the pan, and place it in a warm place to allow the dough to double, which should take about 30 minutes.

Bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown in color.

Yield:  One loaf

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In , , , on July 17, 2014 with No Comments

Buffalo Chicken and Pasta Bake

I got my Wildtree Blazin’ Buffalo Blend yesterday, and, of course, I had to come up with a recipe to try it in. I had chicken. I had rotini pasta. I had cheese. A casserole was born!

This was really super simple to make, and it was delicious. Both Travis and Kevin loved it and said I could make it again. The recipe is actually formulated from the dip recipe that is on the side label of the blend bottle, but I just changed it up to make a sauce for my casserole.

 

 

Buffalo Chicken and Pasta Bake

1 package chicken tenders, cubed or shredded (your choice), cooked
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided
1/4 cup Parmesan Romano cheese
2 Tablespoons Wildtree Blazin’ Buffalo Blend
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (enough to make a creamy sauce)
1 16-ounce package rotini pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, combine 1 cup of the shredded cheese (reserving 1 cup) with all other ingredients. Add milk to the mixture until it reaches a sauce/soup consistency.

Drain the pasta when al dente and combine pasta with the sauce ingredients.

Place mixture into a greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 20 minutes. Top the casserole with the reserved 1 cup of shredded cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melted.

Yield:  Approximately 6 to 8 servings

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