casserole

Back to School Recipe Round Up: Casseroles and Hot Dishes!

Abby H.
Casseroles and Hot Dishes are a great way to add extra veggies to your family meals!

For some parents, the end of August and the beginning of September means Back to school time. With all of the moving parts, having an easy dinner that is tasty and comforting can be a welcome way to end the day.

Many casseroles and hot dishes can be prepped the night before and stored in the fridge until it’s time to cook them in the oven, and some can be made in a crockpot!

Here are just a few of my favorite casseroles and hot dishes:

Family Recipe: Chow Mein Hotdish

Abby H.
My mom made some recently and sent some home with me!

OK, so growing up we used to have this like once every few weeks. It’s quick, it’s easy, and I swore that it was a family recipe.

When researching this recipe, I then found out that apparently, this is a hot dish that’s made all over the Midwest. And according to my mom, it’s in tons of church cookbooks.

This recipe is pretty simple, and it’s delicious, and it is kind of weird. And definitely not at all Asian.

Chow mein hot dish 

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon of dehydrated toasted onions, or 1/4 diced white onion
  • one can of cream of mushroom soup
  • half a can of cream of mushroom soup filled with water
  • One cup of uncooked rice
  • Two ribs of celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup of water
  • 1 small can of water chestnuts slices, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can of chow mein noodles

Directions

  1. In an electric skillet over medium heat, cook and crumble ground beef and onion.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients except chow mein noodles.
  3. Cook on medium stirring often until rice is tender.
  4. Remove from heat, top with chow mein noodles, and serve immediately.

Serves 6.

If you want to add extra veggies, add 1 cup sliced mushrooms when cooking the meat and onion.

You can cook this on the stove, but I’ve always cooked the majority of my hot dishes in an electric skillet. I’m not sure why. Probably because my entire family does.

Some people like this served with a little bit of soy sauce, but I find that the condensed cream of mushroom soup is salty enough as it is.

Family Recipe: Chili Mac in an Electric Skillet

Abby H.

When I was a kid, my mom cooked a lot in an electric skillet in the summer. It was a great way to make dinner without heating up the entire house. And it’s all cooked in one pan.

Since we’ve been living without a stove/kitchen for almost 7 months (the end is in sight), I decided to revisit one of my favorite childhood meals.

Chili Mac (serves 6-8)

  • 1 lb of your favorite ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken, pork, or ground meat-free crumbles to make it vegetarian)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves diced garlic
  • 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 envelope of Chili seasoning
  • 14 ounces water
  • 2 cups protein pasta (I like Brami)
  • 1-3 cups of sharp cheddar cheese

Directions

  1. In an Electric Skillet, cook and crumble the ground meat over medium heat.
  2. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, add garlic and cook until fragrant.
  3. Add remaining ingredients, turn the electric skillet down to low, and cover.
  4. Allow mixture to cook on low for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add extra water 1/4 cup at a time as needed. Pasta will absorb some of the liquid as it cooks.
  5. Once pasta is Al Dente, top with cheese to your liking and serve.

Perfect with cornbread and a green salad.

Chili Mac is better the next day- perfect for meal prep!

Fall Recipe Round-Up!

Abby H.

ttronslien-0825.jpg

Thanksgiving in the US is just a few days away, and for most of us, it means cooking a HUGE feast to share with family or friends.

I wanted to share with you some of my family’s favorite fall recipes- They are all pretty tasty, and easy to make. Some are great for Thanksgiving dinner, and some are just tasty fall recipes.

Family Recipe: Wet Burrito Casserole

Abby H.

This recipe is 100% Midwestern hotdish and 0% South of the Border. It is, however, pretty good. My brother recently texted me and asked for this recipe. It was a favorite of my dad.

Ingredients:

  • 1lb ground beef
  • 1 can of refried beans
  • 1 envelope taco seasoning 
  • 2 cups Mexican cheese
  • 8-10 taco-sized flour tortillas
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup 
  • 1 small tub sour cream

Directions:

  1. Cook ground beef per taco package directions, once cooked and seasoned, add beans and combine.
  2. Spread 1/4-1/2 cup of beans/beef inside the tortilla, top with a sprinkle of cheese, roll up and place seam side down in greased baking dish.
  3. Once the dish is full, top with a soup and sour cream mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
  4. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
  5. Serve with Spanish Rice and a Salad Kit (I like the Avocado Ranch chopped salad kit from Taylor Ranch)

Family Recipe: Baked Red Pesto and Roasted Veggie Pasta

Abby H.

This recipe is easy to make, and amazing. It uses Red Pesto, which has a tomato base. It’s warm, filling, and comforting.

The first thing you need to do is roast some veggies. Check my recipe here. I roast 5-ish lbs of veggies each week, so we usually have some in the fridge.

 

Baked Red Pesto and Roasted Veggie Pasta

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Boil salted water and cook pasta per package directions. As you drain, reserve some of the pasta water (about 1/2 cup).
  3. In a large baking dish (11×13) mix roasted veggies, pasta, red pesto, and add pasta water a little bit at a time, until all the pasta is coated. You may not need all 1/2 cup.
  4. Mix in 1/2 of the cheese.
  5. Smooth the mixture down into the baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes covered.
  6. After 20 minutes, top with the remaining cheese and continue to bake uncovered for 10-ish minutes until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
  7. Serve with garlic bread and a green salad.

Serves 6-8. This re-heats well, if there are any leftovers.

Notes:

  • This dish is vegetarian, but not vegan. This is a vegan red pesto, but I’ve not tried it. To make it vegan, use a vegan red pesto and vegan Italian Cheese blend.
  • Pesto is not a nut-free product! If you have a nut allergy, be careful!
  • Feel free to use your favorite pasta (high protein, gluten-free, made from soy, etc). I do not recommend shirataki noodles- They have a weird texture and smell (seriously).

 

New Recipe: Chipotle Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Abby H.

This is a super easy, yummy recipe. My kids love it because it’s cheesy, and vegetarian (important for my big kid). I’m making a big batch for dinner this week, with plenty of leftovers!

It freezes well so you can make a bigger batch and have some for later.

Chipotle Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag MorningStar Farms® Chipotle Black Bean Crumbles (12 oz)
  • 3 cups cheese, divided (I use Mexican blend)
  • 1 large (28 oz) enchilada sauce (I like green)
  • 16-19 corn tortillas, torn into bite-size pieces
  • 1 bag (12 oz-ish) fajita blend (that’s onions and peppers)
  • spray release

Directions:

  1. Spray a 9×11 baking dish with spray release.
  2. Layer torn tortillas, black bean crumbles, fajitas blend, tortillas, sauce, and cheese.
  3. Layer until pan is filled, top with cheese.
  4. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly.
  5. Remove foil and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes until the top is brown and bubbly.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, and diced black olives (optional, but a family favorite). I serve with a Mexican Caesar Salad, or Cilantro Lime Rice-a-Roni.

To make this dish vegan, use vegan cheese.

Mexican Cesar Salad

Ingredients:

  • 6-8 cups of your favorite lettuce/lettuce blend (romaine and bibb is great!)
  • 2 tomatoes cubed/sliced
  • ½ cup purple onion, cut into rings
  • 1 small can corn, drained and rinsed
  • ¼ c ranch dressing
  • ½ c your favorite salsa

Directions:

  1. Combine the salsa and ranch together, chill in fridge 6-8 hours before servings. This allows the flavors to blend.
  2. Toss the veggies in a chilled salad bowl with the dressing.
  3. Top with ¼ c crushed corn chips/tortilla chips for some added crunch!

Serve topped with grilled chicken breasts for an entree or without meat as a side dish.  Serves 3 as an entree, serves 6 as a side dish.

 

Recipe: Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

Abby H.1 Comment

I don’t really like Cracker Barrel, and there isn’t one close to us, but these potatoes are delish. In some places, these are called Funeral Potatoes. While doing my weekly meal prep this morning, I realized I had all the ingredients and decided to make a pan. It’s a great side dish for any holiday event. I improved it a bit as well.

I’ve included substitutions to make it vegan below.

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

Serves 6-10

Ingredients:

  • 1 large bag frozen hashbrowns, defrosted
  • 1 can condensed cream of soup (I used cream of mushroom because I have a vegetarian in the house, other people use cream of chicken)
  • 8oz sour cream
  • 2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but Colby jack is good too), divided
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1T. butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste
After being baked. It was..sampled.

Directions:

  1. Preheat over to 350 degrees, Spray a 9×11 baking dish with spray release.
  2. In a small pan, saute onions in butter until translucent- about 5-10 minutes.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine soup, sour cream, 1 cup cheese, hashbrowns, and sauteed onions.
  4. Pour mixture into a greased baking dish, top with remaining cheese.
  5. Bake for 60-70 minutes.
  6. Serves 6 as a main dish or up to 10 as a side dish.

This casserole is great reheated and is good for up to 3 days in the fridge, but it won’t last that long.

Vegan substitutions: In lieu of dairy sour cream and cheddar cheese, use your favorite vegan brand. In place of soup, use your favorite white sauce and 1/4 cup diced mushrooms. Saute onion in your favorite spread or oil. If you need a good white sauce recipe, there are directions in this recipe.

Family Recipe: Frito Surprise!

Abby H.1 Comment

It’s not a surprise. And I can’t believe I’ve never posted this recipe before. My grandma invented it one summer, driving across the country in a Winnebago full of kids, my grandfather cruising the highways and byways of America.

It’s similar to Frito Pie, but it’s a little beefier. Ya know, when you have seven growing kids, you gotta add a bit more.

My friend Kara asked for the recipe yesterday, and I thought I’d share it.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef (you could use ground turkey, but honestly this recipe is not anywhere near healthy)
  • One can of Hormel chili with beans (It has to have beans)
  • One bag Fritos
  • 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
  • one canned sliced black olives, rinsed and drained
  • Two tomatoes diced
  • One avocado, pitted and sliced
  • sour cream
  • salsa

Directions

I like cooking Fritos Surprise in an electric skillet, but you can cook it on the stovetop in a regular skillet.

  1. Crumble and fry the ground meat (drain as needed).
  2. Add the chili and cook until heated through.
  3. Top with Fritos and cheese.
  4. Cook on low until cheese is melted.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Add tomatoes, olives, and avocados.
  7. Dish out portions and top with sour cream and salsa as desired.

It serves about 6-9, depending on how much you eat. And it’s really good. In true grandma fashion, serve it with fruit salad and bread and butter.

Holiday Recipe Round Up!

Abby H.

Most of us are home for the holidays, and that means that we are at home cooking.

If you are looking for some new recipes to tempt your taste buds, here are a few of our family’s favorite holiday recipes: