Chicken Ole

12 corn (or 4 large flour) tortillas
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken or turkey
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 7oz can green chilies
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp chopped green onion
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Lightly grease sides and bottom of slow cooking pot.

2. Mix together chicken, undiluted soups, green chilies, sour cream, and onions.

3. Arrange alternating layers of tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Last layer should have soup on top. Then cover with remaining cheese.

4. Cover and cook on low heat for minimum 3 hours. You will know it's done when it looks all bubbly and melted.

Broccoli Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can milk
4-6 cups broccoli florets (I like fresh)
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded (bake or throw in the pressure cooker)
1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
Enough Frozen Tater Tots to cover top
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp hot sauce (Tabasco or Chalula) OPTIONAL

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place soup and milk into a large pot over medium heat. Whisk until smooth and heated through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in broccoli and cook for 5-10 additional minutes to soften slightly. Stir in chicken, hot sauce (optional), pepper, garlic salt, and 1 cup of cheese.

Pour mixture into 13x9 inch baking dish. Top evenly with tater tots and remaining cheese.

Cover with foil, bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

You can add 1 teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco or Chalula); I don't because my little ones have a difficult time with the spicy stuff.

Zucchini Lasagna

One of our summer favorites, I couldn't believe it wasn't on here already...

1 lb. ground turkey

zucchini

spaghetti sauce

cottage cheese

cheese (usually mozzarella, I used colby/cheddar blend because that's what I had)

I don't have amounts because you can make this as little or big as you want!

Cook ground turkey until cooked through. Season it to taste. I used some salt, pepper and some McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic and Herb.

Spray your casserole dish I used my 11X14! slice zucchini thinly and layer on bottom of pan. (I use the zucchini in place of the noodles.) Sprinkle with 1/3 of ground turkey, layer spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese and grated cheese. Repeat with another layer of zucchini, ground turkey, cottage cheese & grated cheese. I had three layers.

Put in 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly and zucchini softens.

Let sit for about 10 minutes and dig in. Mine was quite soupy but absolutely delicious none the less!!

Yorkshire Pudding

I love this recipe for left over roast and roast drippings. It is wonderful covered in roast and roast gravy!

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Stir flour and salt.

Beat eggs until thick and combine with milk.

Make a well in the center of flour and gradually stir in milk-egg mixture.

Beat with a rotary beater or electric beater at low speed until batter is smooth (about 2 min).

Pour about 2 Tbsp of roast drippings into a shallow 9" square pan or muffin pan; heat in oven until almost smoking hot. Pour batter to 1/2 inch depth.

Bake at 450 degrees until puffed and brown (about 15-20 min), gradually lowering the temp to 350 degrees for remaining baking (15 min). The pudding will bubble up and leave a hollow middle.

Serve with left over heated roast and roast gravy! I suggest homemade gravy from the roast drippings. I mixed my gravy and roast together tonight.

Tolerine

This makes a lot, but it's great for left overs, too!!


2 lbs ground turkey
dehydrated onion, to taste
3 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 to 2 cans diced tomatoes, (I prefer 2, my kids prefer 1)
1 can black olives, sliced
10 - 13oz grated cheddar cheese, use more or less to taste
1 lrg pkg egg noodles (about 7 - 8 cups dry)
salt & pepper to taste


Brown ground meat, onion & salt and pepper. Drain if necessary. Add soup, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes (juice and all); simmer while noodles are cooking in separate pot according to pkg directions.

Drain noodles, put back in pot and pour sauce into the noodles. Add about 8 to 10oz grated cheese & olives. Pour into 10 X 15 pan, sprayed with cooking spray and bake at 350 just long enough to heat through. Top with more cheese, if desired.

Scrumptious Stroganoff

I felt like Stroganoff this evening; however, I didn't have any mushrooms so I altered my other Stroganoff recipe and I really liked it.

1/2 lb ground hamburger
1/4 cup onion thinly sliced (or 1 Tbsp dried onion)
2 Tbsp butter
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup cut up olives in with juice
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles

Brown the hamburger and onion in butter. Add undiluted soup and olives with liquid. Cook over low heat until hot. Mix in sour cream and pickles.

Serve over cooked egg noodles. This recipe goes with about five or six cups of uncooked egg noodles. It makes a lot!

Chicken and Rice

I love how simple and good this recipe is:

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 large uncooked chicken breasts cut up
1 1/2 pkgs. dried onion soup mix
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
4 cups milk

Place rice in buttered 9 x 13 baking pan. Place chicken on top. Sprinkle with soup mix.

Mix mushroom soup and milk in bowl and pour over rice and chicken.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours.

Dinner in 15 min flat!

The other day I got distracted and all of the sudden it was 15 minutes before Jason arrived home from work. I normally wouldn't be to worried about dinner being on the table; however, Jason only had 15 minutes before he had to be out the door to a meeting. I quickly wracked my brain for something that would be quick and palatable. This is what I came up with....

Noodles, Chicken, and Veggies
In a deep skillet, boil a couple cups of water
Add:
sliced carrots
a couple pinches dehydrated onions
chopped broccoli
Boil a couple minutes then add
2 Ramon noodle packages (don't add seasoning packet)
Boil two to three minutes
drain most of water then add:
a can of chicken with juice
sprinkle a little of the Ramon noodle oriental seasoning packet and stir

My girls really liked it and I was pleasantly surprised at how it tasted. So the question is, was it finished by the time Jason got home? Yes!!!! However, on his way home he got called into church early, so he actually didn't get home for another three hours.

Ship Wreck Casserole

If you like fried potatoes and hamburger, you will love this one. It disappeared pretty fast tonight.

4-6 potatoes
1 medium onion
1 lb hamburger
1 can (or half a frozen bag) corn
1 can tomato soup
1/2 can water
salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger and season with either salt and pepper or seasoning salt. I personally go for the seasoning salt. ;)

First the layer of potatoes and second the layer of onion.

Third the layer of hamburger, fourth the layer of corn and then pour over the top the tomato soup mixed with half of the soup can of water.

Cover and bake at 375 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

I would have got all the vegetables from the garden if the raccoons would have stayed out of the corn. Grrrrr!

The potatoes and onions were wonderful however.

Gourmet Burgers

If you were having a burger party these would be a lot of fun!!! Some are even great Fry dippers.

Cheddar Burger Topping

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
optional: Add 2 Tbsp crumbled bacon bits

Special Sauce Burger Topping

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 chopped onion
2 Tbsp sweet pickle relish

Mexican Burger Topping

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup prepared chunky salsa

Barbecue Burger Topping

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup hickory-smoked BBQ sauce
2 Tbsp onion

Italian Burger Topping

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped pepperoni
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Dijon Burger Topping

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix together any of the above topping recipes. Serve in individual bowls and serve over burgers and buns.

Homemade Burgers

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Dash of garlic salt

Combine, shape into patties and fry. Makes 6 servings.
I like to add 1/2 cup bread crumbs and an egg. It goes farther. I also substitute Seasoning Salt for the salt and pepper.

Squash Casserole

I would have to say it wasn't the title that attracted me, but the ingredients did. It ended up being really good. Of course I really like anything that has stuffing with it!

2 lbs. yellow crookneck squash sliced (any summer squash works well)
1 onion, sliced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (I only salted the squash and onion while steaming)
1 package dry stuffing

Steam squash and onion together. Prepare stuffing according to package directions.

Mix soup, sour cream and cheese together and add squash & onions.

Place 1/2 stuffing mixture in greased casserole dish, cover with soup & vegetable mixture and place remaining stuffing on top.

I tried this in a regular 9x13 casserole dish and it was kind of sparse, so I transferred it to a square 9x9 and it was a little much, so something in between would be best.

Bake at 350 degrees fro 45 minutes.

Stuffed Ground Beef

This recipe is mainly from one of my favorite cookbooks:Lion House Recipes

I cut it in half for my little brood; however I will give you the full 8 serving with some of my ideas along.

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups herb stuffing mix (I just use a .99 cent box of stuffing)
2 cans (10.5 oz each) cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and make stuffing mix following package directions.

Mix beef, eggs, bread crumbs, mil, salt and pepper until well blended. Divide into 16 portions. Flatten into thin patties (I like to do this between two sheets of plastic wrap).

My hands get really itchy if I touch hamburger, so when I prepare this I use the food handler plastic gloves. You can by them in boxes at Sam's club.

Scoop about 1/4 cup stuffing on 8 of the patties.

Place second pattie on top, then press around edges to seal well. I put these together in the baking pan so I don't have them fall apart or anything while moving them. It will take two cake pans for 8.

Brown meat in 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes.

Mix soup with water and pour over patties. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes.

Serve with baked potatoes, that you cook right along with them, or rice pilaf.

Tater Tot Casserole Number 2

So this is a different version of Tater Tot casserole that I came up with this week.

I thought potatoes and pasta sauce wouldn't taste that bad; and I was right.

1/2 lb ground beef
1 (26 oz) can spaghetti sauce
1/2 - 3/4 bag tater tots
grated cheese

Brown ground beef seasoning with salt and pepper. Add spaghetti sauce and pour into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Layer tater tots on top and bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes.

With mine I used left over sloppy joe meat and added the spaghetti sauce. My kids loved it and my husband preferred it over the original Tater Tot Casserole. Me: I like both!

Sloppy Joes

As per requested, I am putting in my Sloppy Joe recipe! Sorry it took so long!

3 - 5 celery stocks cut up
1/4 onion
1 Tbsp butter
1 lb hamburger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp mustard
1 pkg Sloppy Joe mix
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Saute celery and onion in butter. Set aside.

Brown hamburger and cook with Sloppy Joe mix (I use Western Family) according to package directions (you can get these packets for 3 or 4 packets for a $1.oo on sale) using the can of tomatoes instead of the tomato paste and water.

I know it is cheating, but I haven't found a recipe yet that has all the right seasonings to taste like the packet.

Add soy sauce, mustard, sauted vegetables and brown sugar and simmer until thickened.

It is also good with chopped up dill pickles in it and a little of the juice. Enjoy!!!

"Funeral" Potatoes

Potato Wednesday!

This is one of my favorite potato casseroles. It is quick and it tastes great.

1 can condensed cream of mushroom OR cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp dehydrated minced onion OR 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp dried parsley
1 cup grated cheese
6 boiled potatoes, cooled, peeled, and shredded OR 2 lbs frozen hashbrowns
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes (takes about 1 cup uncrushed)
2 Tbsp butter or margarine melted

Combine first six ingredients in large bowl. Gently stir in prepared potatoes to combine.

Turn into 9"x13" baking pan. Combine crushed cornflakes with 2 Tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle over prepared casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Top-Notch Stroganoff

Okay, going along with the meal planner I've been living by; I have decided to share some of the daily ideas for a while. So here is a rice one I made tonight. It was really good.

Have you ever felt the stroganoff recipes you have tried are missing something? I definitely have!

1/2 lb ground hamburger
1/4 cup onion thinly sliced (or 1 Tbsp dried onion)
2 Tbsp butter
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped dill pickles

Brown the hamburger and onion in butter. Add undiluted soup and mushrooms with liquid. Cook over low heat until hot. Mix sour cream and pickles together. You can either stir them in at this point or you use it to top each serving and sprinkle with paprika.

Serve over rice. This recipe goes with about four cups of rice.

4 cups water
2 cups long grain rice

Bring water to a boil. Pour in rice and reduce heat to low and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes. Serve with Stroganoff.

American Goulash

So my husband served in the Czech Republic for 2 years and informs me many times that goulash does not include noodles. The European goulash is apparently very different from what I grew up with.

This recipe is one I grew up with. In a family of 8 children and very short on cash through the eighties, you could call it recession cooking. ;)

1/2 lb hamburger
3 cups macaroni
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup ketchup

Cook macaroni. While cooking you can brown the hamburger (onion is pretty good with the hamburger if you have any). Drain excess fat off hamburger.

Drain Macaroni. Mix in cooked hamburger, spaghetti sauce and ketchup. Mix and serve.

Other things that add flavor are canned mushrooms and tomatoes.
Hot dogs can also be used in place of the hamburger.

Alfredo Pizza

Prepare pizza crust recipe. Roll out the dough. Prepare Alfredo Sauce. Put half the sauce on one 15" pizza. Then pile on the toppings of choice.

Monterey Jack shredded cheese
Mozzarella shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese
Fresh tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes
Cut up chicken
Artichoke hears
Onion
Black olives

Pretty much whatever you think sounds good. It is a lot of fun for the whole family to make.

Chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, and olives before I cooked it.

Both after I cooked them. The one on the left is a four cheese pizza.