Category: Casseroles

Casseroles · Starches

Zesty Corn Macaroni Casserole

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Last night some friends came to our house for dinner. Since we were gone all day, I decided to just pick up a baked chicken from Costco and then make some homemade rolls, green beans and this side dish. If you have Princess on the Porch, you will find it on page 103. When we sat down to eat, Gary took a spoonful and after he ate it all, he commented that he normally didn’t like mac and cheese, but this one looked different so he thought he would try it. He ask for more. When Janet looked at him, she couldn’t believe that he liked it, much less ask for a second helping. She told us that he never even tries to eat mac and cheese, because he doesn’t like pasta. I would hate to think how much he would have eaten if he “did like it”. HA

Anyway, when I told them the story of where I got this recipe, I decided to post it. When Randy’s parents were alive, they spent the summers in Colorado at a camp ground, where the people there became a second family to them. We would take Cameron with us and head up to South Fork, CO. Besides the biscuit bakes that were popular, so were the evenings that people brought a dish and we would all have dinner together. Sometimes there were as many as 30 people, all sharing dishes. This casserole was one of those dishes that I immediately fell in love with. I never serve it without people telling me how good it is. It is just one of those recipes that would be in any “Comfort Food” cookbooks.

1/2 chopped onion (medium size)

1 can Rotel Tomatoes with Chiles

! can Creamed Corn (normal size, 14.5 oz)

1 can Whole kernel corn, DO NOT DRAIN (I think the size is about 14.5 oz, just the regular size)

1 cup uncooked macaroni, as it cooks as it bakes

1 cup of Velveta, cubed *(I didn’t have any Velveta, so I used the American cheese I had on hand, ended up super)

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients and stir until well mixed. Pour into a well greased baking dish, such as a 9×13. Bake, covered in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30 more minutes. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. If you are a real cheese lover, sprinkle more cheese over the top the last 5 minutes of baking.84

Made the Chocolate Almond Ice Box Pie( which is on page 184 in the cookbook), which is a great ending to a summer time meal. Very rich, but light and so yummy, topped with whipped cream.

Casseroles

Oven Roasted Veggies

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Because Randy and I are trying to eat less meals, we have been on the lookout for different ways to make our veggie meals a little more exciting than just green beans and fried cabbage. When I saw this on FaceBook, I immediately knew that this would be such a great dinner. 2015-04-23 14.02.45Ingredients:

1 bundle of asparagus

1 small bag of snow peas

2 medium to small yellow squash

1 zucchini

1 small bag of baby carrots

1 package of grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

1 sweet potato

EVOO

2 tables rosemary (if using fresh, it will be 3)

2 1/2 Tables Basil (if using fresh, then it would be 1/3 cup)

McCormick’s steak seasoning (pepper-mix, it’s part of their Grinders series)

Sea Salt

1 1/2 teas garlic salt

Preheat oven to 425

Combine as much olive oil  (approx. 1/4 to 1/3 cup)as you like with the herbs and seasonings. Cut the vegetables in 1 1/2″ chucks. Place in a baking dish which has been sprayed with Pam or buttered. Toss all the veggies with the oil mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake about 10-15 minutes longer. Depending on how soft you like your vegetables.

We will be serving this with a salad and Italian bread! ENJOY as a side dish or meal.

Beef · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Meats

Cannelloni-Style Lasagna

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The sun has been shining for a few days and it was such a nice change from the gloominess that we have been experiencing. But, tonight the drops are coming back and that means just one thing…I am in the kitchen baking and eating. Why is it, that the cold, rainy weather makes me want to just bake? I guess that if I lived where it was sunny all the time, I wouldn’t be fat, it is not my fault, it is the weather. When it is sunny, salads sound so good, but cold weather makes me want cobblers, pot roast, chocolate chip cookies and hot bread with butter. If spring doesn’t get here pretty soon, I will be up a dress size. So, back to the recipe, this lasagna sounds just perfect for serving when it is raining. It is out of Taste of Home and combines two kinds of sauce.

Cannelloni Style Lasagna

1 tables olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 lb ground beef (or turkey)

3/4 lb ground pork

1/3 cup white wine or beef stock

2/3 cup beef stock (it will be 1 cup total if you use the stock instead of the wine)

1 bay leaf

3/4 teas Italian seasoning

1/2 teas coarsely ground pepper

1/4 teas salt

2 jars (15 oz ea) Alfredo sauce, divided

2 egg yolks

1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce

1 pack (9 oz) no cook-lasagna noodles

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and carrot; cook and stir 4-6 min or until tender. Add minced garlic; cook 1 min.

Add the beef (or turkey) and pork; cook until meat is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in white wine. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is almost evaporated, about 1 min.

Stir in stock and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered about 15 min to allow flavors to blend. Cool slightly. Remove bay leaf; stir in 1 cup Alfredo sauce and the egg yolks.

Preheat oven to 350. To assemble, spread 3/4 cup marinara sauce into a greased 9×13″ baking dish. Layer with flour noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and 2 cups meat mixture. Top with four more noodles and 3/4 cup marinara sauce. Layer with flour noodles, 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce and remaining meat mixture. Top with remaining noodles and marinara sauce. Drizzle remaining Alfredo sauce over top.

Bake, covered, 30-40 minutes. Uncover and bake 20-25 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 min before serving.

Casseroles · Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Starches

Chicken Florentine Manicotti Alfredo

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Received my new Southern Lady magazine. I have wiped off the drool from the front cover as it displayed a gorgeous pecan-date pie which is just divine and went quickly pass the desserts in search of a new dinner recipe. This one sounded like it was meant for today, since we woke up to 27 degrees and need something that will “stick to our bones”. Of course during the last 2 months we have found lots of recipes that have “stuck to our bones”. That is why we are shopping this week for new clothes…a size larger. Of course we always say that we are just going mall walking, but in reality, all we do is walk into the stores and see what is on sale. But it sounds great when friends call and ask what we have been up to. “oh just got back from our walking the mall.”

Makes 6-8 servings *This recipe also freezes very well

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup firmly chopped green onion

1 teas garlic powder

1 (8 oz) package manicotti, cooked according to package directions

1/4 cup butter

2 tables flour

1/2 teas salt

2 cups whole milk

1/4 teas ground white pepper (I am cheating and using black, do not want to go back to grocery store)

1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tables Italian seasoning

1/2 teas ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, cream cheese, green onion, and garlic powder.

Beat at medium speed until well combined with hand mixer. Spoon chicken mixture into manicotti and place in prepared pan; set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add flour, salt and white pepper; cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually add milk, continuing to whisk. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 4 min, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Spoon sauce over manicotti and sprinkle evenly with Italian seasoning and pepper.

Bake for 35 to 40 min or until bubbly and heated through.

*To make ahead and freeze you can completely make the casserole and just cover and freeze without baking. When ready to serve, thaw completely and bake in preheated 350 degree oven, uncovered for about 40 minutes or until bubbly hot.

Breads · Breakfast · Casseroles · Holiday Fare

Cheese Sausage & Croissant Casserole

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What a wonderful new Christmas Morning breakfast dish. Taken from Southern Living, all you need is a great fruit compote which will be on tomorrow’s blog post and you have a great way to celebrate Christmas morning.

1 lb ground pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)

1 1/4 cups (5 oz) shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teas salt

6 green onions, sliced

1 (13.22 oz) package mini croissants (about 24 of the mini ones), torn

Vegetable cooking spray

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Gruyere cheese

Cook sausage 8 min in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to crumble. When sausage is done, drain and toss with the Parmesan and next 3 ingredients. Arrange in a 13×9 baking dish which you have sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

Whisk together milk and next 2 ingredients; pour over sausage mixture. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Uncover casserole and sprinkle with Gruyere. Bake 45 min or until golden. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats · Starches

Enchiladas to Die For (well, maybe not die, but they are worth the calories)

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For the past 3 days,  I have been making casseroles that I sell each year. The two best sellers are Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas and Chicken Spaghetti. Having just finished about 30 of them, I had some of the sauce left over from the Chicken Spaghetti. Not enough for me to make a complete casserole but enough to not throw out. I began to think to myself that maybe if I added a can of green chile sauce to the mushroom spaghetti sauce I could whip up another pan of enchiladas. So I did and the results are so good that the next green chile enchiladas will be made with this sauce instead of what I usually use. OH MY GOSH!!!! Seriously good. Since I didn’t count on them being this good, I didn’t count out exact measurements but these measurements will get you the same results…had a few left over to keep for our dinner tonight (which will be in addition to the 2 I scarfed down “testing them” to see if they were good. So here is what I did.

8 corn tortillas

1 cup chopped chicken breast

1 small can of diced green chiles

1 cup of mild green chile enchilada sauce

1 regular size can of cream of mushroom soup

1 small can Rotel Tomatoes with Chiles (mild)

1/2 cup of chopped onions, 1/2 cup of green bell pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

About 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth

1 cup diced onion (in addition to the above 1/2 cup)

Garlic to taste

Seasoned Salt and Pepper to taste

Oil

First, in a large skillet, heat about 2 tables oil until hot. Add the chopped onions and bell peppers and cook until tender. Add the chopped chicken, 1/2 can of the diced green chiles, seasoned salt, pepper and garlic. Stir while cooking over medium heat for about 5 min.  Take up and place in a bowl and set aside.

Using the same skillet, heat another 1 tables of oil and add the 1 cup of diced onion, stirring until onion is clear. Add the mushroom soup, the can of Rotel Tomatoes and Chiles,  the rest of the diced green chiles,  can of mild green chile enchilada sauce and slowly add the chicken broth just enough to make it the consistency you like for pouring over the enchiladas. Season with more garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, adding chicken broth as needed to keep a nice thick pouring consistency. Set aside. Hang in there, we are almost done.

*If you like a more spicy flavor, get the hotter Rotel chile-tomatoes and the spicier enchilada sauce.

In another skillet, heat about 2 tables oil until sizzling. take the corn tortillas and fry them on each side in the hot oil for about 2 -3 seconds per side. Place on paper towel to soak up some of the oil. If you skip this step, the enchiladas will be soggy and tough.

Now, grease a baking dish that will hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Place about 1 full Tables of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.  Take one of the corn tortillas and place about a teaspoon full of the chicken-green chile mixture and place it in the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle about 1 teas of shredded cheddar over the chicken mixture. Roll up the tortilla and place in the baking dish. Repeat until all 8 tortillas have been filled and placed in the dish. Sprinkle the top of the enchiladas with more cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 20-25 min.

I did NOT say that these are good for you, I just said they were great tasting. Tomorrow you can go back to your health shake and salads.

 

 

Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Starches

Rice & Lentil Casserole

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After scraping the pan this afternoon of the caramel banana pudding that I made for dessert tonight, I thought the least I could do would be to post something healthy to make myself feel like I have not completely gone to the dark side of life…..an all sugar diet.  This is one of the recipes that I told you about that I found while waiting in the Dr’s office in California. When you read the ingredients….well, even just the title, you can tell that it would come from a Dr’s office magazine and not a Southern Living Magazine, I think Lentil and Southern comfort food might even be an oxymoron. Anyway…for all you folks out there that  are on restricted  diets of no meat, no gluten or diary, this one is for you. But please at least end your meal with a cookie or Red Delicious apple, you can only go so long without sugar. At least that is what I tell myself around 4 every afternoon.

1 cup uncooked basmati rice

1 cup dried split green lentils

1 (10 oz) package chopped spinach (thawed and squeeze as much moisture as possible out of spinach)

1 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

1 teas turmeric

1 teas ground cumin

1 Tables grated fresh ginger

Be sure to rinse lemtils before cooking.  In a large saucepan, add rice, lentils, salt & pepper, turmeric, cumin and ginger.

Bring mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, covered, cooking for 45 min, stirring occasionally. Cover the saucepan, continue cooking over low heat until all liquid is absorbed. Add more water if needed to be sure rice and lentils are completely done.

Makes 6 servings

Casseroles · Starches · Vegetables

Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna

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While on the road the past 3 weeks going between California and Arizona, we discovered quite a few mom & pop joints (and yes they were joints, as they are the type of places that you would probably drive right past, but being married to Mr. Adventure, we usually don’t just drive by, we stop and eat), we had a ball talking with people that we would not come across in our normal daily routine. It was exciting to hear people’s stories and to learn different recipes that we had not yet tasted. Since we were in our adventure mode, I even thumbed through magazines at the doctor’s office while in California.  One of the recipes that I found was this lasagna. Since we are trying to be good and not eat as much meat, this one caught my eye.

2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided

2 tables butter

2 tables flour

4 oz Fontina cheese, shredded

1 (15 oz) container whole milk ricotta

1 large egg white

2 teas fresh sage, minced

1/2 teas black pepper

2 cups shredded fresh spinach

1/2 cup scallions, minced

9 lasagna noodles

2 oz mozzarella cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add squash and cook until tender, about 12-15 min. Drain and puree in a food processor.

Preheat oven to 375. In a pot, heat butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook one min more. Whisk in 1 cup milk,  stirring constantly to avoid lumping and starts to thicken.

Add the butternut squash puree and continue to cook until mixture has thickened and then stir in Fontina cheese, to complete the béchamel sauce. Whip together ricotta, egg white, sage and black pepper in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix spinach and scallions. Cook noodles according to directions on box or use no-boil noodles.

To assemble lasagna layers, pour 1/4 of the béchamel sauce into bottom of a 9×9 baking dish, which has been lightly greased. Layer 3 noodles in the bottom and top with spinach mixture, then another 1/4 sauce. Repeat once more and finish with the 3 remaining noodles and pour remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top and bake until the cheese is completely melted and lightly golden. About 30-35 min.k

Breads · Casseroles · Meats

Cowboy Cornbread

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Last night we were invited to a friend’s home for dinner. She had told me she was cooking (oh my I almost said, “fixin”) a big pot of pinto beans for dinner and there would be six of us. I promptly told her that I would bring the cornbread. Visions of this great bread from years ago began to invade my memory. Why had I not made this great cornbread that is almost a meal by itself? Actually, put a salad with it and it is a meal.

So last night I proudly walked in with my old iron skillet, filled with my cowboy cornbread. We had a fabulous meal of beans, salad, cornbread and ended the great dinner with a homemade peach cobbler that Connie brought. The entire evening was mixed with laughter, sweet fellowship and great food. The gift of friendships sharing a meal is one of life’s greatest blessings!

2 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread

1 can cream style corn

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1 small can of chopped green chiles

1 lb of hamburger beat (yes, all you healthies  out there, you can use Mexican flavored ground turkey)

1/2 cup of frozen seasoning veggies (it is Stillwells brand of mixed chopped onions, bell pepper and celery) or fresh chopped.

4 tables butter

1 teas garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fry the meat with the frozen seasoning veggies, garlic, salt and pepper until meat is done and veggies are tender. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven now to 400.

Combine cornbread mix, eggs, corn, green chiles, cheese and milk. Stir until well combined. In a large skillet (iron if you have one), add about 1 tables oil and heat on burner until oil is hot. Turn off the burner.  Place half of the cornbread mixture into the hot skillet and then sprinkle your meat mixture over it. Spoon the rest of the cornbread mixture over the meat. Place in preheated 400 oven for about 35 minutes or until it tests done and is lightly browned on top. As soon as you take out of the oven,  spread butter over the top, allowing it to melt and cover the entire bread. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and then cut into wedges and serve.

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats

Chicken Breasts Lombardy

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A friend of mine brought me 2 sacks of cookbooks that she was getting rid of, knowing how I love to look through them, she immediately called me to see if I wanted them…one of those was Five Star Recipes from Southern Living which has a picture with each recipe. This one caught by eye and cannot wait to get back in town to make it.

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

2 tables butter, melted

6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup butter, melted and divided

3/4 cup Marsala or any white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

1/2 cup ( 2 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Cook mushrooms in 2 tables butter in a large skillet, stirring constantly, just until tender. Remove from heat; set aside.

Cut each chicken breast half in half lengthwise. Place each piece of chicken between two sheets of wax paper.; flatten to 1/8″ thickness, using a mat mallet or rolling pin. I prefer to cut each piece into smaller pieces.

Dredge chicken pieces in flour. Place 5-6 pieces of chicken in 1 to 2 tables butter in a large skillet; cook over medium heat 3-4 min on each side or until golden. Place chicken in a lightly greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish or other large casserole dish. repeat procedure with remaining chicken and butter. Reserve pan drippings in skillet. Sprinkle reserved mushrooms over chicken.

Add wine and broth to skillet. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper. pour sauce over chicken. Combine cheese and green onions; sprinkle over chicken.

Bake uncovered at 450 for 12-14 min. Broil 6″ from heat (if you have electric oven, allow door to be partially opened), 1-2 min or until browned.

Serves 6-8