Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Bread Braid

We had this tonight. All credit and compliments go to Pinterest and Food Family Finds. I had been wanting to try this awhile but I just always forget. It is great. And what was most surprising to me was that RJ inhaled it---broccoli and all!

Here is what you need:
2 cans Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls
2 cups chicken chunks, cooked
2 cups cheddar cheese
2 cups broccoli, frozen, steamed and chopped
½ cup light mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
fresh rosemary

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2) On a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, spread both cans of crescents length wise to form a long rectangle. (I just lightly sprayed my pan).
3) Press each of the seams to form a single layer of dough.
4) In a large bowl, combine chicken, cheese, broccoli and mayonnaise. Spread mixture over the center of the croissant dough evenly to create a log.
5) Using a sharp knife, cut horizontal strips 1 inch apart down each side of the crescent dough.
6) Fold the dough strips over the top of the chicken mixture, alternating left and right to create a braid.
7) Brush the top of the braid with a beaten egg yolk and sprinkle fresh rosemary on top. (I did this but if you don't want your bread as flaky or as brown, you could omit the egg part).
8) Bake for 28 – 30 minutes until golden brown. (I only baked mine for 25 minutes. I personally think 20-25 minutes is perfect. My oven may just cook fast though).

Serve and enjoy!!!!

Ground Beef Sandwich Casserole

Oh my WORD!!!! This was a little bit of heaven in ALL of our opinions.  It is one of those meals that is totally calorie loaded and completely unhealthy, but it is SOOO good.  We use alot of ground meat in our house-pork, beef, deer, moose, etc, so I am always trying to find new recipes to utilize these.  I would never have thought of doing this with any of the ground meet.  Now, it is for sure a keeper and a one we will repeat.  This recipe was originally from Grandma Loy's Kitchen but has been re-adapted several times.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (or whatever your ground meat preference is)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 10 slices of bread cut in half (I had to use 12 to cover my pan)
• 1 carton Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Creme, Herb and Garlic (I couldn't find this particular flavor but I used the Herb and Cheese or something like that...it was great!)
• 3 cups shredded cheese, mozzarella or whatever is on hand
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper (I just sprayed my pan). Set aside.
2) In a sauce pan, cook and stir the ground beef, onion & garlic powder, and oregano until beef is cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
3) Toast all of the bread in a 350 oven till dry but not burnt - a cookie sheet works well for this (I did this while the meat was cooking).
4) Place 5 of the halved bread slices (10 halves total) on the bottom of the prepared 9 X 13 pan and cover with all of the cooking creme.
5) Then top as follows: cooked ground beef, 1/3 of the cheese, all the spaghetti sauce a 1/3 more cheese then top with remaining 5 of the halved bread slices (10 halves total).
6) Bake uncovered at 350 for 15 minutes....then sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and the Parmesan.
7) Bake again for 15 to 20 minutes or till nice and brown.
8) Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Potato & Smoked Sausage Casserole

We ALL loved this one.  The little "big" 4-year old inhaled it.  I don't know if it was all the super yummy, yet so unhealthy cheese or if it was smoked sausage, but this casserole definitely disappeared and we will definitely be having it on the menu again.  Again, it is fairly easy to put together.  Please notice my "notes" at the bottom as I did make changes to this recipe. 

Here is what you will be needing:

• 3 cups Idaho potatoes, peeled, cubed
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, diced
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 lb skinless smoked sausage 
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

1) Boil peeled and cubed potatoes until just barely tender (in pasta cooking, they use the term al dente).  Drain off the water.
2) While they are cooking, cut the smoked sausage into half moon shapes (if you want-otherwise just slice them up) and then brown them in a skillet.
3) In a saucepan, melt butter.  Whisk in flour to form a roux.  Add in milk, salt, and pepper and whisk until it just starts to thicken.  Add in the cheese and stir until melted.
4) When everything is prepped, add the sausage and the potatoes to the a 2-quart casserole dish or pan.  Mix together a little.  Pour the cheese sauce mix over the top.  Sprinkle paprika over top. 
5) Bake 35-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Notes:
1-If you are using precooked smoked sausage, you can skip the browning part to save time and dishes.
2-I personally can NOT stand Velveeta.  So I used 1/2 pound of cheddar and probably about 1/4 pound of Swiss cheese-just because that is what I had in the fridge.  I also think that you could use whatever cheese or cheese blend that you wanted-as long as it melts good...Some cheeses just don't melt too well.
3-I forgot to set the oven timer and then I got busy talking to the hubby and paying bills.  Anyway, it did NOT burn but the paprika got a little dark. :)

Hashbrown Potato Soup-Crockpot

I LOVE potato soups.  I have tried several and pretty much all of them I have enjoyed, and I am pretty sure that I have blogged most of them.  Well, this one is getting blogged for 2 reasons: 1-it was awesome and 2-it was EASY. 

 

Here is what you need:

• 1-30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns {I used Ore Ida}
• 3-14oz. cans of chicken broth
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 pkg. cream cheese (I used regular.  Supposedly fat free doesn't melt smooth...I don't know)
• any garnishes desired

1) Combine everything in a crockpot except for cream cheese.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. About 30 min-1 hour before serving, add cream cheese and cook until melted. I personally used my warm setting for about 5 hours and then added the cream cheese.  I turned it up to high and let it cook about 45 minutes.

 

Serve with any garnishes you may like: sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onion, etc.

 

Enjoy!

Chicken Spaghetti

This one is from boomerbrief.com.  Another one that we ALL fell in love with.  The picture is not the best, but it tastes great!

Here is what you need:

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• 2 cups chopped, grilled chicken or 1 large can of chicken
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of mushroom soup (98% fat free or regular)
• 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cream of chicken soup (98% fat free or regular)
• 1 can (10 ounces) Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
• 8 ounces sour cream
• Sprinkling of Parmesan or Mexican-blend cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Boil pasta as package directs and drain. Mix all other ingredients (except cheese), add to cooked pasta and put in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and return to oven to melt.

 

Enjoy with yummy bread or a salad!

Beef and Bean Taco Casserole

This recipe is stolen from sixsistersstuff.com.  I LOVE their site.  A LOT of my cooking ideas come from these incredible ladies.  On their site, they introduce this casserole as "all the goodness of a taco in an easy to make casserole."  I agreed and Dale actually hates the crunchy tacos, so this was a WIN for us because I finally got the "crunchy" taco :)

Here is what you need:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 can (16 ounce) refried beans
• 1 jar (16 ounce) salsa
• 1 package (1 ounce) taco seasoning mix
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely broken tortilla chips
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 medium green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• see savings
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
• 1 cup shredded lettuce

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in refried beans, salsa, and taco seasoning mix. Reduce heat to medium. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
2) In greased/sprayed 2-quart casserole or 9x13, place 2 cups of the broken tortilla chips. Top evenly with beef mixture. Sprinkle with bell pepper, onions, 1 cup of the tomato, the cheese, and olives.
3) Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and cheese is melted. Top baked casserole with lettuce, remaining 1/2 cup tomato, and remaining 1/2 cup tortilla chips.

Very basic and very easy and very tasty!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Like my post on chili rellenos, I LOVE chicken cordon bleu but I never want to take the time or effort to make it.  So, I came across this recipe from organizeyourstuffnow.com and thought sure! If this works out, I will have all the super awesome greatness of chicken cordon bleu in an easy casserole.  So I HAD to try it.  Everyone loved this one, including the picky little man.

Here is what you need:

• 2 cups COOKED rice
• 3 cups COOKED chicken, cubed
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 10 slices of ham
• 2 Cans cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 1/2 Cup sour cream
• 1/2 Cup crushed saltines (I used Ritz)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp garlic
• 1/2 tsp parsley

Directions:
1) In a bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soups, milk, and sour cream.  Set aside.
2) In a small bowl or bag, mix together the crushed crackers, paprika, garlic, and parsley.  Set aside.
3) Preheat oven to 350.  Grease/spray 9x13 dish.  Layer 1: Spread cooked rice in dish.  Layer 2: Put chicken on top of rice. Layer 3: Layer the Swiss cheese on top of chicken. Layer 4: Place the ham on top of Swiss cheese. Layer 5: Pour the soup mixture over the other layers. Layer 6: Spread the cracker mixture over the soup mixture.
4) Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chili Rellenos Casserole

I love Mexican Food.  I know I have mentioned that at least 100 times before.  I have never attempted to make chili rellenos before but I have ordered them/it (not sure if it is singular or plural) at restaurants before.  The main reason why I have never attempted chili rellenos at home is because I am a lazy cook.  I love cooking, but things that I perceive hard or taking alot of time, just don't happen.  So, I cam across this recipe from the Green Cattle Blog and thought, what the heck?  If I can get all the chili rellenos flavor and taste in a casserole, great! A further bonus is that I still had some super awesome large Anaheim Green Chili peppers frozen from last year's garden, so I figured that I could swap them in for the canned whole chili peppers.  Fabulous!

Here is what you need:

• 1 lb. beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cans whole green chilies
• 1 can green chilies, chopped
• longhorn cheese (I just used plain cheddar)
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup flour
• red pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375. Brown meat and onion. Add salt and pepper and about 1 T. of red pepper (use less if you like a more mild "zing"). In a casserole dish, place whole green chilies on the bottom (cut open so they lay flat-at least that is what I did).

2) Top the chilies with cheese.  Then top the cheese with meat. Then top the meat with another layer of cheese. Then top with chopped green chilies (I personally think that the green chilies can be mixed in with the beef while it is cooking).

3) In a bowl, beat the eggs.  Add in the milk and flour and beat until well mixed.  Pour over the casserole.

4) Bake for 50 minutes-25 uncovered and 25 covered. 

 

Enjoy!

Wild Rice Hamburger Casserole

This is just one of those comfort foods.  It probably really isn't too healthy with the cream soup, sour cream, and cheese, but all the fresh veggies make it full of flavor.  We enjoyed this dish even though it is very basic.  One side note though...Wild rice takes a while to cook and this recipe is supposed to bake an hour, so if you don't have a rice cooker, you can except to be "cooking" for a couple hours.  I cooked my rice on the stove top during lunch and then just added it to the casserole precooked and cold.  Saved me some time on the preparation side.  Anyway, this recipe is from grouprecipes.com.  It was not one that RJ liked because of the mushrooms and celery and jalapeno.  But we liked it :)

Here is what you need:

3/4 c. wild rice

1 lb. hamburger

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. celery, chopped fine                                                 

1 jalapeno pepper (optional)                                                 

1 cup sour cream

1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 can cream of mushroom

1/2 - 3/4 can milk (I did use the mushrooms and since they had liquid, I choose not to add the milk)

1 (4 oz.) can sliced mushrooms, undrained (optional)                                                 

1/2 c. grated Swiss cheese

1/2 - 1 tsp seasoned salt (or any spices you prefer)

Directions:
1) Cook rice in salted water until grains pop or how you prefer your wild rice. (We like ours kind of chewy.) Drain and rinse. Put in strainer.--Again, I did this before hand.
2) Saute hamburger until brown. Add remaining ingredients. Stir in wild rice.
3) Spray casserole dish with canola or olive oil. Add rice and hamburger mixture. Sprinkle cheese over top. (I am actually going to add cheese into the actual casserole while it is in the skillet cooking)
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cover for half the time so it does not dry out. (I actually kept it covered 45 minutes.)

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I found this recipe at the SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl blog.  It is supposedly an Olive Garden copycat recipe.  However, I have not eaten this soup at Olive Garden in forever, so I can not verify or deny that.  Now, that being said, I LOVE it!!!!  This was SOOO delicious and it can be made in the crockpot (which is what I did) so even better!!

Here is what you need.

• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups (32 oz) chicken stock
• 3 cups russet potatoes, cubed
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups kale, in bite size pieces
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• parmesan cheese, grated

Directions for stove top cooking:

1) In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain the grease. Add the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Once sausage is browned and crumbled, drain off grease leaving a tbsp to saute the onion.

2) Push the sausage and bacon to the edge of the pot and add the onion to the center; saute until translucent; add garlic; saute until fragrant.
3) Stir in the stock and potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4) Add kale and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a simmer. Top with parmesan cheese, when serving. 

Directions for crockpot cooking:
1) Cook the bacon until crispy.  Drain the grease.  Add the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks.  Once sausage is browned and crumbled, drain off almost all the grease.  Push the sausage and crumbled bacon to the side and add the onion and saute until translucent.  Add the garlic.
2) Transfer contents of skillet to crockpot.  Add in the chicken stock and potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for 4-8 hours on low.
3) About 30 min-1 hour before serving, turn heat to high.  Add in the kale and whipping cream.  Stir and let cook.
4) Serve with grated parmesan.

Butternut Squash Soup

I admit right off the bat that I was very skeptical of this recipe.  I also knew that it was a recipe that little man would not eat.  I found this recipe from The Italian Dish blog.  It does have crumbled bacon listed on the recipe, but if you wanted to make this completely a meatless dish, just leave it out.  Anyway, as I said I was skeptical.  I like "things" in my soup-chicken, beef, tomatoes, etc.  When this one was just squash, I did not have high hopes.  I even told my hubby that we were going to give it a try but I was willing to run to town for pizza.  Well, we were pleasantly surprised.  This soup was SOOO good.  Granted you do have to like squash.

Here is what you need:

3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, grated or minced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage (about 3 leaves)

2 to 2-1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes

1/8 cup sherry (I left out)

4 cups chicken broth

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 ounces pancetta, chopped (pancetta is an Italian bacon...I just used real bacon crumbles)

1/3 cup cream

salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Melt the butter and olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and sage and saute one minute. Add squash cubes and saute 5 minutes. Add the sherry, broth and cayenne pepper. Cover and simmer on low for about 25 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in a little skillet until nicely crisped. Drain on a paper towel.

3) After the soup simmers, puree soup, either with an immersion blender right in the pot, or transfer to a food processor or blender. Return to pot and stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4) Serve in bowls with pancetta on top.

 

Creamy Tortellini Soup

I found this recipe from the Better Home and Gardens website.  It is simple, fast, it is in the crockpot, it is tasty, and RJ loves tortellini.

Here is what you need:

1- 1/2 to 2 ounce envelope white sauce mix

4 cups water

1-14 ounce can vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1- 7 to 8 ounce package dried cheese tortellini (about 2 cups)

1- 12 ounce can evaporated milk

6 cups fresh baby spinach leaves or torn spinach (I don't like cooked spinach so I used kale)

Ground black pepper (optional)

Finely shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

 

Directions:

1. Place dry white sauce mix in a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker. Gradually add the water to the white sauce mix, stirring until smooth. Stir in broth, mushrooms, onion, garlic, basil, salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.

3. Stir in dried tortellini. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 1 hour more or high-heat setting for 45 minutes more.

4. Stir in evaporated milk and fresh spinach/kale. If desired, sprinkle individual servings with black pepper and Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Calories: 450 per serving