Hashbrown Pie

This is a re-post of a much much older post. I finally took a picture of it. It is difficult to get a good picture of any casserole, but oh-well. The taste is great. It is an all-in-one dish meal & always a kid and husband favorite. We're not huge casserole fans, but on busy nights, this dish is easy to throw together.

from a cookbook at a bed & breakfast in Utah

1 bg frozen hashbrowns
1 lb browned hamburger
1 can corn
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup sour cream
½ pkg Lipton Onion Soup
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Put about 1” of hashbrowns in bottom of greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. You can do more. I’ve just found that 1” to 1 ½” works well. That way the layers are even. Brown hamburger with Lipton Onion Soup and a dash of pepper. Layer hamburger on top of hashbrowns. Add corn. Combine soups & sour cream. Pour over corn. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 350º for 45 to 60 min. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

Lo-fat tip: Use ground turkey and yogurt sour cream.

Mexican Lasagna

This is a repost of a recipe I put on here 2 years ago! (I can't believe this blog is that old!) It is a family favorite but I never remember to take pictures. Super easy, a kid favorite and if there are leftovers, it reheats well. Plus, it can be made ahead and frozen. My kind of meal!

*See variations at the bottom of post

from a card at a grocery store

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef
1 pkg Taco Seasoning -I just do ½ pkg otherwise it can be a little too spicy
1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned salt
1 cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
½ of a 4oz can of diced green chiles
–I put the other half in a Ziploc bag and freeze it for later. It works really well.
1 cup ricotta cheese – I use cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
10 corn tortillas
2 ½ cups (10 oz.) grated Monterey jack cheese –I just use whatever cheese I have

**Note: the pictures are of a 1/2 batch. It makes just the right amount for my little family of 4. You could make a whole batch in 2 different pans and freeze one for another time.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, stirring until cooked through; drain fat. Add taco seasoning mix, seasoned salt, tomatoes, tomato sauce and chiles; blend well. (I leave out the chiles because my two little kids don't like the spice. But before we had kids, the chiles were in and they're great!) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

In small bowl, combine ricotta cheese and eggs. (You can leave the eggs out and just do the ricotta/cottage cheese. You'll just need a little more. I don't even measure anymore... I just make sure the tortillas are covered sufficiently.)

In bottom of 13x9x2 inch baking dish, spread ½ of meat mixture.Top with ½ of tortillas;spread ½ of ricotta cheese mixture over tortillasand top with ½ of grated cheese.Repeat layering, ending with grated cheese.Bake, uncovered, in 350 oven 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into squares. I know it isn't pretty, it all got eaten before I got a picture! And after this picture, it was ALL GONE!

Variation:

For a half batch, I used 1lb hamburger, NO taco seasoning, 1/2 tsp Lawry's, ONE 14.5oz can diced tomatoes with chipotle chiles, 8oz tomato sauce, NO green chiles, NO eggs, cottage cheese, and extra thin corn tortillas. I liked it really well. Very easy having the tomatoes and chiles mixed together. It was the perfect spicy-ness for my family without losing any flavor. I liked the thinner tortillas and it didn't overwhelm the dish at all like some tortillas have in the past. Very good. Will probably do it this way from now on!

Chicken & Stuffing

This is a re-post of a very old post. I finally remembered to take a picture. It isn't a fancy dish, but it is fast and easy to make. And never disappoints for flavor. It is always one I know my kids will eat. :)

from Amy

3-4 chicken breasts or 8+ tenderloins
Cheese , grated
1-2 cans of cream of chicken soup (depending on how saucy you want it)
1 box stuffing (I use stovetop)
salt and pepper

Bake chicken breasts (or the tenderloins) in casserole dish for about 45 minutes at 350. Remove from pan and cut up in strips or cubes, whichever you prefer. You can do them as whole (if you did tenderloins) or cut them up. I find it is easier to have them cut up a bit for my younger kids. Pour out any juices from dish, and place chicken back in casserole dish. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Cover with a layer of cheese,Then cover with soup (undiluted). I usually use two cans or one large family size can depending on how much chicken I used. I like it more saucy. But others might not.Mix dressing as directed on the box (but don't cook it)......and put on top of soup in dish.Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Serve with desired vegetables.

"Fast and Fabulous Golden Divan"

Originates From Campbell's Best Ever Recipes
(with my modifications)
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 c butter
8 oz package of stuffing
2 c cooked broccoli cut up (or as much as you desire)
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken
1 can creamed corn
shredded cheese
1/2 c milk
1- 4oz can sliced mushrooms drained (optional... I don't use them)

Make stuffing first... add water, butter and bring to a boil then add stuffing mix. Mix it all up and put into a 2 quart baking dish. Arrange the chicken and broccoli over stuffing. Mix up corn, 1/2 cup cheese, milk and mushrooms (if desired). Pour over chicken and broccoli . Top with more cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Chicken Lasagna

from: http://comeandpeek.blogspot.com/2008/05/weeknight-easy-chicken-lasagna.html

This is a great recipe. I didn't want "recipe poach" so I have given credit with a link to the author's website. She has some other great recipes, too.

Here is the recipe with my changes:

Chicken cooked, and shredded (it calls for a whole chicken, but I just did 2 large chicken breasts)
9 lasagna noodles, cooked (it calls for 12, but it was just too much noodle for us)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cottage cheese (it calls for ricotta cheese)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp minced garlic
chopped spinach, cooked (optional)
fresh or dried cilantro (I use parsley if I don't have any cilantro)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded or powder)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix sour cream, soups, cottage cheese, garlic, spinach and cilantro. Put small amount on bottom of pan so that the noodles don't stick. Place 3 noodles on the bottom. Put 1/3 of mixture over noodles. Put 1/3 of chicken over mixture. Put 1/4 of cheese over chicken. Layer 2 more times so that you have 3 layers. On the top, put remaining cheese and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes to set up before serving.

This dish is REALLY great the next day as leftovers. My family really liked this dish and it was nice to try something different. It was pretty easy, too.

Lo-fat tip: Substitute sour cream for yogurt sour cream.

Yummy Potatoes (a.k.a Funeral Potatoes, Cheesy Potatoes, sour cream potatoes)

from Mom and Aunt Kathy -with my changes

1 lb 10 oz bag hashbrowns, mostly thawed is best
2 cups sour cream
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp dried, minced onions
1/4 cup milk
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup+ grated cheese

Melt butter in bowl. Add minced onions and soup. Warm in microwave for a couple of minutes. Add milk, cheese, and sour cream. I add more cheese if it looks like it needs more. Warm in microwave until cheese is melted.
Add hashbrowns. Stir until evenly coated. (You may not need all the hashrowns. I add them gradually so I don't get too many. If you get too many, it is dry. If you don't have enough, it is too soupy.) Pour into 9x13 pan. Mix finely crushed corn flakes and some melted butter together and sprinkle over potatoes. Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes. You want it to be bubbling all over. See 10 second video below.

Let set up for 5 minutes before eating.

I like to serve this with ham or sometimes just as a main dish -eventhough it is more of a side dish. Note: The original recipe calls for regular potatoes, shredded. But I don't always have the time. If I do have time, I bake several large potatoes the day before and then put them in the fridge to cool overnight. When I need them, I peel them and shred them into my mixture until it looks right. If there are potatoes left over, I use them for hasbrowns the next day for breakfast or something like that. Or you can parboil the potatoes. I've just found that using mostly thawed hashbrowns works well and is quicker.

Note: This recipe is very easy to halve. I do it all the time since I only have a family of 4.

Red Hamburger Pie

from Gayleen

1 lb hamburger
Minced onions
1/2 tsp salt
Dash pepper
Green beans or corn
1 can tomato soup
Shredded cheese
Mashed Potatoes (made however you'd like)


Cook hamburger and minced onions. Drain grease. Add salt and pepper. Add beans (or corn) and tomato soup. Turn to low and let sit while you finish preparing the potatoes.

For best flavor: Make homemade mashed potatoes with real Idaho russet potatoes, using a mixer, whipped up with butter, milk, and salt.


For a quicker way:
Potato Topping:
2 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp margarine

Boil and remove from heat.
Add 3/4 cup milk and 2 cups instant potatoes.
Add beaten egg just before you put over hamburger mixture.

Put hamburger mixture into 9x13-inch pan. Top hamburger mixture with potatoes and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I've done this both ways and found if you have the time it is TOTALLY worth it to make real homemade mashed potatoes.

I took a picture of it after we'd eaten some. It tastes much better than it looks. I never have complaints about this dish.

Enchilada Pie

from Rhonda

1 lb hamburger, browned & drained
1 can Rosarita enchilada sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup (cream of chicken can be used if needed)
Shredded cheese
Crushed chips (Doritos or Fritos work well)

In casserole dish, crush enough chips to cover the bottom well.Mix hamburger, enchilada sauce, and soup.Layer over chips, and sprinkle with cheese. Layer again with chips, then meat mixture, and top with cheese. Bake at 350º until bubbly, approx 30 min.