Beef Taco Bake

1 pound ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1/2 cup milk
6 flour tortillas (8 in.), cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook beef until browned. Pour off fat.

Add soup, salsa, milk, tortillas, and half the cheese. Spoon into 2 quart shallow baking dish. Cover.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Chili Cornbread Pie

1 pound ground turkey or lean ground beef
1 packet (1.4 oz) chili seasoning or taco seasoning mix (I made up a chili seasoning with some spices)
2 cans (8 oz each) no-salt added tomato sauce
1 can (15.25 oz) no-salt added whole-kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained (I soaked and cooked dry black beans)
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated milk, divided
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies, drained (optional)
2 boxes (8.5 oz each) dry corn muffin mix
2 large eggs
Sliced avocado, salsa, and/or sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking dish.

Cook turkey or beef in large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in chili seasoning, tomato sauce, corn, beans, 3/4 cup evaporated milk, and chilies. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.

Combine corn muffin mix, remaining 3/4 cup evaporated milk, and eggs in medium bowl; stir just until moistened. Spread mixture over meat filling.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Serving suggestion: serve with chopped avocado, sour cream, and salsa.


*This is a tasty dish! I don't think it would be healthy to serve this often, but it's a good potluck dish. I strongly recommend the avocado accompaniment, and next time I'd probably leave the chilies out. We might be eating this all week -- it makes 10-12 servings, and we're on night #2.

Lasagna Toss

Do you love lasagna but hate the time it takes to make it? Have you ever wanted to make lasagna but hate heating up your whole house (especially in the summer time)? Well then this recipe is for you!

1 lb hamburger

2 green peppers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jar spaghetti sauce (26 oz)

1 2/3 cups water

1/4 cup Zesty Italian Dressing

12 oven ready lasagna noodles, broken into pieces (consider who will be eating it to determine noodle size)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Brown meat in large saucepan (I needed my dutch oven to make this recipe); drain. Stir in peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water, and dressing; bring to a boil. Add noodles; stir. Cover. Cook on medium-low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occassionally. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover. Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This is great served with bread sticks and salad. My family really enjoyed this lasagna alternative. My notes: my box of noodles came with 16 but the recipe calls for 12 so throw in some extra water or spaghetti sauce. I like to use the chunky spaghetti sauce (it contains mushrooms, peppers, etc.--a little extra veggies has never hurt anyone!). A little extra water will not hurt. Also, this recipe would be great with cottage cheese or ricotta cheese mixed in but added before the mozzarella cheese. Again, this was AWESOME!! Dave does not care for lasagna but he really liked this.

Substitute: Substitute 12 regular lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces, for the oven ready noodles. Increase water to 2 cups and cook 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Taco Casserole

3 cups leftover taco-seasoned ground beef (or you can use one pound)
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese (whatever kind is your favorite for Mexican food)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1-1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, diced
1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the taco meat and beans; spoon into a greased 8-in. square baking dish (or 2 quart casserole dish). Sprinkle with cheese. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk and biscuit mix until moistened. Pour over cheese. **After I have everything combined and placed in the baking dish I use a knife and poke around to let some of the batter soak through. This way, when it bakes the crust will surround the meat mixture versus just being on top.**

Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Spread with sour cream. Top with your favorite taco toppings such as lettuce, tomato, and olives.

We also add extra cheese and taco sauce but use what ever taco fixings you like (omit the ones you don't). This is one of our favorite meals! I have been known to make taco meat just so we can eat this casserole.

You can either spread this casserole with sour cream and cover with toppings and then serve or you can cut out individual pieces and top.

Goulash

1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tblsp. flour
1/8 cup cold water
Hot cooked noodles

Cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink, drain. Add the water, ketchup, Worcestershire, paprika, sugar, salt, mustard, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. In a bowl, combine flour and cold water until smooth; stir into the meat mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over noodles.

Corn and Sausage Casserole

1 lb sausage, browned & drained
1 can cream-style corn
2/3 cup crushed soda crackers
1 egg
1 cup milk

Mix crackers, egg, and milk; add to other ingredients. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

I use one sleeve of saltine crackers--we like it to feel/taste fuller. I also spray my pan with cooking oil before baking.

Pepperoni Pizza Pasta

2 cups uncooked pasta

1 (14 oz.) jar pizza sauce

3/4 cup sliced pepperoni, halved or quartered

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 8 inch square (or 2 qt.) baking dish. Cook pasta to desired doneness. Drain. In a large bowl, combine pasta, pizza sauce, pepperoni, bell pepper, Parmesan cheese, oregano, and garlic powder. Mix well. Spoon into baking dish, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is heated through and cheese is melted.

I substituted Italian seasoning for the oregano. I also omitted the Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. I added a little mozzarella to mine and Isabella's portions after it was out of the oven. For anyone who can't have dairy, this is great without any cheese!

Veggie Chicken Casserole

3 cups cubed, cooked turkey or chicken

4 cups frozen mixed vegetables

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. celery seed

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Transfer to greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until heated through. Stir before serving.

I was looking for something quick and easy for supper tonight, and found this recipe. It was really good, and I can't believe how quick it was! I made a half batch (using one can of cream of celery soup) and it was more than enough for our little family.

Chicken and Rice Hotdish (or casserole if you don't live around here) :)

I came up with this recipe a couple of years ago, when I was searching for something to make for some unexpected company. Looking back, it was probably not the smartest thing to try a new recipe (much less one I came up with myself) on company, but it was delicious! When I don't have Uncle Ben's on hand I sometimes substitute plain rice with some chicken bouillon granules and about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. each of sage and thyme.

1 box Uncle Ben's Chicken and Wild Rice with seasoning packet
chopped celery
mushrooms (optional)
1 can cream of celery soup
1 and 1/3 cups water
2 large chicken breasts, cooked and diced

Mix everything together, pour into 2 qt. baking dish, cover and bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees. (I usually take the cover off for about the last 15 minutes of baking)

Hamburger Hot Dish

1 lb. hamburger

1 cup diced celery

1 onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 can tomato soup

8 oz. noodles, cooked

Brown hamburger, celery, and onion together. Mix together with rest of ingredients and place in casserole dish. Bake 25 minutes and add cheese (optional). Cover and bake 15 minutes more.

This is one of my new favorite hotdishes, even with the modifications I made. I didn't use cheese, and I used 2 cans of 98% fat free cream of celery soup instead of the cream of mushroom and chicken soups. I always use that substitution as the 98% fat free cream of celery has the smallest amount of dairy in it.

Pork Chop Casserole

4 to 6 pork chops
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tblsp. butter or margarine
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 cups sliced potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 and 1/4 cups milk


Melt butter in skillet; add salt, pepper, onions, and chops. Brown lightly on both sides. Place potatoes in baking dish. Arrange chops over potatoes. Add soup and milk to skillet. Blend and pour over chops. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 30 to 40 minutes more.

I made this for the first time last night, it's a very good, basic "meat and potatoes" meal. However, I wasn't watching it, and left it in for the full 70 minutes. I don't think they need to be in that long since you brown them first, our pork turned out a little on the tough side. Although, I used small, boneless pork chops so that's why they probably didn't take as long to cook.

Busy Day Casserole

Place a layer of peeled, sliced raw potatoes in casserole dish. Then a layer of onions. Over this, place one can cream style corn. Next, a layer of browned hamburger. Pour one can tomato soup over all. Cover and bake at 350 until done (about 1 and1/2 hours). Mix well before serving. Optional - top with grated cheese.

If you ever want something really easy, this is great (you just have to be around for the long cooking time). I have always eliminated cheese if a recipe calls for it, due to Monte's food allergies, but this time I put the cheese on Isabella and my portions because she is obsessed with cheese. It is SO good with the cheese (now I know what I've been missing out on all these years)! If you can't have cheese, though, it's still very good without, that's how I've always made it before.

Spicy Asian Chicken and Noodle Casserole

2/3 cup Thai peanut sauce
2/3 cup chicken broth
3 Tablespoons peanut butter
1 bag (1 pound) frozen broccoli stir-fry vegetables
1 package (7.31 ounces) refrigerated cooked stir-fry noodles, separated
2 packages (6 ounces each) refrigerated grilled chicken breast strips
1/4 cup chow mein noodles
1/4 chopped peanuts

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.

2. Cook peanut sauce, broth, peanut butter, frozen vegetables, and noodles in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until hot. Stir in chicken. Spoon into casserole.

3. Mix chow mein noodles and peanuts; sprinkle over chicken mixture. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until mixture is hot. Let stand 5 minutes.

My notes:
If you like something a little spicy this is the casserole for you! When I made it I used 1 cup of chicken broth instead of 2/3 cups. I cooked up two packages of ramen noodles instead of buying the refrigerated cooked stir-fry noodles (I just omitted the seasoning packets from the ramen noodles). For the chicken I used up my leftover baked chicken breasts from the night before. I just cut it up into bite size pieces and mixed it in. I used a one pound bag of frozen snowpea stir-fry vegetables and I think it tasted great! I did not have any peanuts so I made the casserole without them and when I make it again I will probably do the same as Dave does not like to eat nuts.