Chicken Fajita Casserole

Nate loved this dinner and requested it make repeat appearances on the dinner table. It really does taste just like chicken fajitas. I saw the idea over at Poofy Cheeks. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
green pepper, diced
small yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp. butter
3 8" flour tortillas
shredded cheddar cheese
your favorite salsa


Season and bake your chicken breasts. I use this rub when I make Mexican chicken:

2 tsp. chile powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of those really well. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on chicken breasts and then add some of the seasoning and bake your chicken at 400 degrees F for about 30-35 minutes or until cooked through. Once your chicken is cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes and then shred it.

In a skillet, melt the tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the diced pepper and onion and sautee until vegetables have softened, about 3-5 minutes. Once finished, set aside. Lightly grease an 8x8" glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Layer a flour tortilla into the bottom of the dish. Top the tortilla with the shredded chicken and some shredded cheese. Place a flour tortilla on top. Now spoon the sauteed vegetables over the top of tortilla. Then add some salsa over top of the vegetables. Place a tortilla on top and then sprinkle cheese over the top of the tortilla. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted. Serve hot with any desired toppings like sour cream or hot sauce and enjoy!

Chicken Casserole

This is definite comfort food, and a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes or chicken. We made the casserole with corn, but it could easily be made with green beans too. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2/3 cup frozen corn
1 packet chicken or turkey gravy, prepared
1 package instant potatoes, prepared

Preparation:
Spread prepared mashed potatoes on the bottom of a 8x8" baking dish that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. Top potatoes with shredded chicken and corn. Then pour prepared gravy over the top. Cover and bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes. Serve hot!

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Mmm... I love Italian food. Nate is not a big fan of pasta, but he really enjoys chicken parmesan. This dish is a good fit for both of us because it doesn't have pasta but it does have great Italian flavors and a great breadstick topping. It was really good, we both enjoyed it a lot. I'll warn you, it smells so good while baking that it's hard to wait for it to finish! This is definitely a keeper recipe for us. I saw the idea over at Betty Crocker and totally tweaked it to suit our tastes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Italian dressing (I always use fat free)
1 (12 oz.) tube Pillsbury pop 'n fresh plain breadsticks
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
12 slices pepperoni (I always use Hormel brand turkey pepperoni)
1 1/2 - 2 cups of your favorite marinara or pasta sauce (the amount of sauce is flexible, just add however much you like)
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning
4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup + shredded mozzarella cheese (again, the amount is really up to your preference)
grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
Marinate chicken in Italian dressing for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
Dice onion and pepper. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a skillet over medium heat, once hot add diced veggies and saute until tender, 4-5 minutes. Set aside. Cut pepperoni slices into fourths. Set aside.
Cut marinated chicken into 1" cubes. Heat olive oil in a skillet (just use the same one you used for veggies) over medium high heat. One hot add chicken pieces. You aren't cooking the chicken all the way, you just want to get a nice golden brown on the outside.
Once chicken is seared, add the chicken to an 8x8" glass baking dish that's been misted with non-stick spray. Add sauteed vegetables over the chicken. Stir in 1 Tbsp. garlic bread seasoning with your marinara/pasta sauce. Next pour the sauce over the chicken and veggies. Top that with the cut up pepperoni slices and then the shredded mozzarella cheese.
Melt remaining 3 Tbsp. butter. Pop open and lay out breadstick dough onto flat surface. Brush with some of the melted butter. Use a pizza cutter and cut the breadsticks into 1 inch pieces. You won't need all the breadsticks, only about 2/3 (use the remaining breadsticks to make cinna-sticks for dessert). Place breadstick pieces, butter side down, on top of the casserole. Once it's all covered, brush with some melted butter and then sprinkle remaining garlic bread seasoning over the top. Finally dust the top with some Parmesan cheese.
Bake loosely covered in a 375 degree F oven for 10 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the breadstick topping is a nice golden brown. Serve hot with a nice green salad.





I shared this over at Chef In Training and High Heels and Grills.

Italian Chicken, Potato, and Green Bean Bake

Talk about comfort food! This totally hit the spot tonight. It it so simple takes just minutes to throw together too. This would be perfect for a cold winter weeknight meal. I found the idea on Pinterest. I tried to find the original site this came from, but I couldn't, sorry, I'd love to give credit where credit is due. Nate is super excited to have leftovers for work this week. We will definitely be making this again and again!

Ingredients:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 red potatoes
1 can green beans, drained
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 packet Italian dressing mix
salt
pepper

Preparation:
Lightly spray a 9x13" glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts down the middle of the dish. Drain the green beans and pour them on one side of the chicken. Chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces and put them on the other side of the chicken. Sprinkle the whole dish with a little salt and pepper, then pour the melted butter over the top. Finally sprinkle the Italian dressing mix over everything. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until chicken is done and potatoes are tender. I stirred my vegetables halfway through the cooking time to to make sure things were evenly seasoned. Once finished cooking, let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

I shared this over at High Heels and Grills.

We're hoping to adopt, check our profile out at http://adoption.com/profiles/nksmithfamily-1800 and feel free to pass it along!

Chicken Fried Steak Casserole

This is one of the four recipes Nate requested for his birthday. Nate is a big fan of chicken fried steak. It's one of his favorite comfort foods. I originally showed him this recipe online as a joke, but he got all excited to try it. Tonight was the night to try it and Nate really enjoyed it. He said he definitely will be requesting it again. I saw the idea over at Mr. Food and just tweaked a couple of things. So next time your husband's in the mood for a hearty meat and potatoes kind of dish, try this out.

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 lbs. cubed steak
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
Lawry's seasoned salt
Lawry's seasoned pepper
hamburger or steak seasoning
vegetable oil
prepared mashed potatoes (I used 2 packages of Idahoan butter and herb instant potatoes)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
shredded cheddar cheese (we went really light on the cheese)

Preparation:
First you'll need to prepare your chicken fried steaks. In a shallow dish add flour and season with a bit of salt and pepper. In a second shallow dish whisk together egg and milk, again season with a bit of salt and pepper. Then in a third shallow dish add the breadcrumbs and again season. You don't need to season the breadings heavily, but you do want flavor in each layer. Season the cube steaks themselves with a bit of hamburger or steak seasoning and salt and pepper. Dredge the steaks first in the flour mixture, then dip in the egg/milk mixture, and lastly in the seasoned breadcrumbs, being sure to shake off the excess of each dipping. In a large skillet heat 1/4 cup or so of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the steaks once hot and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until cooked through, turning once. You want a nice crispy golden brown exterior. I set the cooked steaks on a plate lined with paper towels and then blotted off any excess oil. Lay the cooked steaks in a 9x13" glass baking dish that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. Evenly spread your mashed potatoes over the top and then top that with a bit of shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I made my potatoes just beforehand so they were still warm and so I only baked mine for 15 minutes. You just need the potatoes to be hot and the cheese melted. Top cooked casserole with a sprinkling of thinly sliced green onions and serve hot. If you like, you can always make a gravy to serve with the casserole. Enjoy.

Chicken Alfredo Biscuit Bake

So Nate's birthday is on Monday and in celebration I had him choose 4 meals that he'd like me to make him around his birthday. I told him he could have anything he wanted, even things that I didn't necessarily like. Nate chose Baked Tacos, Nate's Super Manly Mexican Dip, this chicken alfredo biscuit bake, and a chicken fried steak casserole I'll be making tomorrow. I'm not at all a fan of alfredo sauce, but this dinner really surprised me. I enjoyed it and will definitely make it again. I saw the idea over at High Heels and Grills. I made the shredded chicken the day before and this meal was so easy to throw together tonight. This casserole is definitely comfort food and smells divine while it bakes. This is one of Nate's new favorite meals. ***Update- I've made this three times since Nate's birthday and he says it's one of his top 5 favorite dinners. Also, Nate did the math, a generous serving of this dish plus a side salad (with croutons, no dressing) is less than 550 calories all together. ***

Ingredients:
3-4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cut into large chunks
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cups broccoli
4 cups (32 oz.) alfredo sauce (I used 2 bottles of Classico's light alfredo)
1/2 cup milk
garlic bread seasoning
Lawry's seasoned black pepper
1 can refrigerated biscuits (I used Pillsbury grands layers biscuits)

Preparation:
In a large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp. butter over medium heat. When hot add diced onions and sautee until soft, about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are done, stir in the alfredo sauce, milk, chicken, 2 tsp. (to taste) of garlic bread seasoning, and some pepper to taste. Cook until hot and bubbly, stirring every so often and adjust seasoning as needed. Add broccoli. I cook the broccoli covered in the microwave for about 2 minutes, not so much that it's mushy, but not quite cooked through completely. Then it can finish cooking in the oven and still have a good texture. Once the broccoli is combined in the sauce, cook for another minute or two and then pour the sauce mixture into a 9x13" glass baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Next you're going to top it with biscuits. Split each biscuit into two (that's why I chose the layered biscuits, really easy to split). Arrange the biscuits on top of the sauce mixture. It is important that your sauce mixture is hot! The biscuits won't cook correctly if you put them on top of cold sauce. We also cut some small biscuit pieces to fill in any gaps. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter and brush over top of the biscuits and then sprinkle a small amount of garlic bread seasoning on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through. Make sure the biscuits are cooked through. Serve hot and enjoy!


Photos update 01/14/13. When it's just Nate and I, I halve the recipe and just make an 8x8" casserole.

We're hoping to adopt, check our profile out at http://adoption.com/profiles/nksmithfamily-1800 and feel free to pass it along!

Mexican Lasagna

Okay, this is another recipe is a twist on one from my Grandma Olson. I liked her idea, but not necessarily the ingredients, so I made it the way I liked it. This is one of Nate's favorite dinners. It's so easy to make and I like that he gets some vegetables in him!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning and the water it requires(Nate likes the Taco Bell brand)
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed well and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn
flour tortillas (you could absolutely use corn tortillas, Nate prefers flour)
1 cup enchilada sauce or taco sauce
1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preparation:
Brown ground beef and season with taco seasoning as per seasoning packet directions. Halfway through cooking the beef, add diced green pepper and onion. Once beef is finished cooking, add the black beans and corn. You don't need to thaw or cook the corn first, it'll cook in the oven.

In an 8x8" baking dish spread some of the sauce into the bottom and then layer a tortilla on top. The tortillas we like fit perfectly into the 8x8" pan. Then spread a thin layer of sauce on top of the tortilla. Layer on some meat mixture and some cheese. Reserve a little cheese for the end of baking. Place a tortilla on next, followed by a thin layer of sauce,then repeat. You can make as many layers as you'd like. I usually just do two layers. I also don't use all the meat mixture. You should end up with a tortilla on top covered with some sauce. Cover with parchment paper and then with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until cheese is all melted. Let stand for 5 minutes and then dig in! This is a super hearty dinner, so I just serve it with a simple green salad. Enjoy!

*Okay, don't feel pressured to use all the meat mixture! With all the veggies added to the meat, it goes really far. I generally use about 2/3 of the meat mixture. Leftovers of the meat mixture are really good with some tortilla chips or in a tortilla, or for taco salad. Also, I think this would be really good if you used shredded chicken instead of beef.

I had originally posted this recipe back in late 2010. Nate and I have tweaked it a bit over the years and I finally took a picture of it, so I felt it warranted a re-post.


I shared this recipe over at Mandy's Recipe Box and Chef In Training.

Beefy Queso Bake

This is total comfort food for Nathan. He loves Mexican food and I'm always on the lookout for new ways to fix Mexican food. I knew he'd love this dish. It's definitely not health food, but every now and then you need a little comfort food. I saw this idea over at The Country Cook. Nate loved it, he rated it a 10 out of 10. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning and the water it calls for
4 large flour tortillas (8-inch size)
1/2 cup queso (we like the Tostito's brand salsa con queso)
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheese

Preparation:
Brown and crumble ground beef. Add diced vegetables, taco seasoning, and water. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Once ready, add 1/2 cup queso. Stir well and then heat through. Spray your baking dish with non-stick spray. Place a tortilla in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread 1/3 of the meat mixture over the tortilla. Top with a little shredded cheese. Lay another tortilla down, followed by meat mixture, and then cheese. Repeat once more then top with last tortilla. Top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges of the tortillas are a light golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes and then slice and serve hot! Serve with salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream, salad, etc.

Shepherd's Pie

This dinner is full of memories for me. This is a super easy dish, one I've made since I was very first married, before I really learned to cook. I remember my mom making this on cold winter nights when I was growing up. We always looked forward to Shepherd's Pie. My mom always put a sprinkle of paprika over the top, so I did too. I'm sure everyone has their own version of this dish, but here is mine.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can green beans, drained
1/2 onion, diced
mashed potatoes (Nate prefers instant mashed potatoes, so I just use one package of Idahoan brand butter and herb potatoes)
shredded cheese, optional
steak seasoning
salt and pepper
smoked paprika

Preparation:
In a skillet, cook ground beef and onions. Season with steak seasoning a small amount of salt and pepper. Once beef is cooked and crumbled, reduce heat to low and add tomato sauce. You may not need the full can. You want enough to generously coat the meat, but you don't want it really soupy and runny. Spread meat mixture into the bottom of a glass 8x8" baking dish. Top meat with green beans, and then with mashed potatoes. Sprinkle the top of the mashed potatoes with a small amount of paprika. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. The potatoes should have a nice light crust. Remove from oven and top with a bit of cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted (if you want cheese). Enjoy!

Breakfast for Dinner Casserole

Nate and I went up to Idaho to visit my grandparents Easter weekend. Saturday morning my super cute grandma made us a breakfast casserole. This dish is really similar to what she made and it is perfect for breakfast for dinner.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
10 oz. shredded hash browns (if you're using frozen, make sure to thaw them first)
1/2 lb. cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup milk
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
salt
pepper

Preparations:
Whisk together eggs and milk. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in all other ingredients. Pour into a greased 8x8" or 9x9" baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until eggs are cooked through and set. Serve warm.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

Another Mexican dish for Nate! I'm happy to say it turned out really well. Both Nate and I really enjoyed this dinner. We didn't end up eating dinner until 8:10 last night, so I'm so happy it was good! I make a Mexican lasagna which we both really like, it uses tortillas instead of noodles. This recipe is another fun variation. I saw the idea over at Not So Homemade, and adapted it, I also made my own sauce. One perk of this recipe is that you are more than likely to have every ingredient on hand. All I had to buy was a green pepper and an onion. Love it when that happens!

This makes an 8x8" or 9x9" pan. Simply double for a 9x13".

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
9 lasagna noodles
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
2/3 cup frozen corn
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
shredded Mexican cheese blend (I had colby jack on hand, so that's what I used)
1 (8 oz.) can mild Rotel sauce
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
6 oz. water (just use the tomato paste can)
1 cup mild salsa
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
salt and pepper

Preparation:
In a pan, combine the ground beef with a small amount of salt and pepper, 2 Tbsp. of taco seasoning, green peppers, and onions. Cook and crumble the ground beef. Once finished, set aside. Par boil the lasagna noodles (cook them most of the way through and take them out a few minutes before finished). Rinse the noodles with cold water to stop the cooking process. Lay out the noodles on a piece of parchment paper so they don't stick together. In a medium bowl, combine the Rotel sauce, tomato paste, water, and salsa. Add a pinch of salt if you need. In an 8x8" or 9x9" baking dish, pour some sauce into the bottom of the dish. Make sure it's enough to cover the entire bottom. Lay some lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. You will most likely have to trim down the noodles so they will fit. Pour a small amount of sauce on top of the noodles. Add 1/2 the meat mixture on top and then 1/2 the beans and corn. Sprinkle some cheese over the top. Add another layer of lasagna noodle, then sauce. Make sure you add a fair amount of sauce to ensure the noodles finish cooking in the oven. Then add the other 1/2 of the meat mixture, beans, and corn. Sprinkle some cheese over the top. Add the last layer of lasagna noodles and a fair amount of sauce on top, making sure it covers the top. I had just a little bit of sauce left over, so don't stress if you don't use it all, but you should use most of it. Cover the baking dish with a square of parchment paper, and then cover with tin foil. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil and parchment paper and sprinkle some cheese over the top. Return, uncovered, to the oven for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted. Let the lasagna stand for a full 10 minutes before slicing, or else your lasagna will be a sloppy mess when you dish it up. Nate finds this 10 minute wait almost unbearable, poor guy! Dish up and serve hot with a fresh and crisp green salad. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken and Rice

Oh man, talk about good comfort food for a cold night! This recipe is reasonably healthy and so so flavorful. We loved it. I'm so glad we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. This is definitely a new family favorite of ours. I found this idea at Cooking with K.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
6 boneless chicken thighs or 4 boneless skinless breasts, rinsed and pat dry (I used the chicken breasts)
1/2-1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cajun seasoning (optional)
1 15 oz. can chicken broth (I always use fat-free, low sodium broth)
1 15 oz. can vegetable broth
1 pkg. Knorr classic vegetable soup mix

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread rice in the bottom of 9 x 13 baking dish that has been lightly greased. Arrange chicken evenly only top of the rice; sprinkle with salt and cajun seasoning. Pour chicken broth over each piece of chicken. Sprinkle vegetable soup mix evenly over the the chicken. Pour chicken broth over each piece of chicken. Using and fork, separate the chicken to let the broths run evenly around the chicken. Cover and seal tightly with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Once finished, let it stand for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy hot!

Sloppy Joe Casserole

Nate loves my sloppy joe recipe and he loves biscuits, so this combination popped in my head one day. When I suggested it to Nate, he was all over it. So try it we did. Nate was really happy with it and definitely wants it made again. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 tube refrigerated biscuits
1 lb. ground beef
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced (optional)
1 green pepper, finely diced (optional)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1-2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
seasoning salt
seasoned pepper
shredded cheese

Preparation:
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Halfway through cooking, add the diced onion and pepper and finish cooking. Drain any fat/grease. Turn down the heat and add the chili powder, taco seasoning, mustard, and ketchup. Mix well to combine. Keep heat low and simmer beef mixture for 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (or temp indicated on biscuit tube). Spread beef mixture evenly into bottom of an 8x8" baking dish. Top with biscuits. Bake for 20 minutes or until biscuits are fully cooked. Serve hot with a little shredded cheddar cheese on top.

Cowboy Hash

This is a recipe my mom came up with when my dad was craving a hearty casserole. She also came up with the name. It's been a family favorite ever since. So easy to make and the leftovers taste as good as the night you make it.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
2 cans sliced potatoes
2 cans green beans
2 cans condensed cream of celery soup
salt and pepper
hamburger seasoning, optional (I like the McCormick hamburger seasoning)

Preparation:
Brown and season ground beef. Drain both the potatoes and the green beans. Mix all ingredients together and put in a 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes.



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Baked Ravioli

Since Nate gets home so late in the evening we didn't want to go out to dinner tonight. We went out on Saturday instead. I still wanted to do something special for Valentine's Day so we had ourselves an Italian feast. Nate's parents came over for dinner so I made a 9x13" pan and we still had tons leftover, I will definitely half this recipe next time.

Cheesy Baked Ravioli

Okay, not a real recipe, just the basic idea. Cook your ravioli until almost done, it will finish cooking in the oven. I also browned some ground beef and half an onion to add to my pasta sauce. Basically you make a ravioli lasagna, layer your favorite sauce, 1/2 the ravioli, then some shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat and top with remaining sauce. Bake uncovered for 30. Add some more cheese to the top and cook 10 more minutes or until cheese is melted. That's it!


*Warning, this is the worst picture ever! I promise it tasted way better than it looks!

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Made this for dinner last night, I totally forgot to take a picture though. This is a super simple recipe, you can add or substitute different ingredients to make it the way your family will enjoy it most! This recipe is for an 8x8 casserole

Ingredients:
8 oz. frozen shredded hashbrowns, thawed
1/2 lb. bacon (you could also use sausage)
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
5 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
salt
pepper

Preparation:
Cook and crumble bacon. Saute onion and green pepper. In a large bowl mix hashbrowns, bacon, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper, and mix well. Pour mixture into a greased 8X8" baking dish. In a bowl whisk eggs and milk. Pour egg and milk mixture evenly over the hasbrown mixture. Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes. If you are wanting cheese over the casserole, add 10 minutes prior to casserole being done.
Casserole is done when knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I personally don't like cheese with my eggs, so we didn't add any cheese. If you like cheese you could add it to the hashbrown mixture and then you'll have cheese throughout the casserole.

Chicken and Dorito Casserole

This is a variation on King Ranch Chicken. This is not my favorite recipe, but Nathan LOVES it. He loves the super saucy chicken and of course he loves Doritos. I haven't made this for probably 9-10 months, I forgot I even had this recipe.


Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel brand tomatoes
2 cups cheddar cheese
nacho cheese Doritos


Preparation:
Crush Doritos into large pieces and layer them into the bottom of a 9x13" casserole pan. In a bowl mix soup, Rotel, and chicken. Spread the chicken mixture over the Doritos. Top casserole with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melted.


*I've used the cream of chicken soup, Rotel, and shredded chicken as filling for enchiladas before, that and some cheese. It turned out really nice.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe is also from Alisha.

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
4-5 sweet potatoes (cooked and peeled) OR 1 40-oz can sweet potatoes (I use the canned yams)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Streusel Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup quick oats
Pinch of cinnamon
Miniature marshmallows (as needed)


Directions:
Mash the sweet potatoes. Add 1/3 cup butter, milk, vanilla and egg. Mix well and transfer into a well greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Prepare the streusel mixture in a plastic bag by mix all of the ingredients together until combined leaving out the marshmallows.
On top of the casserole, alternate the streusel mixture with the miniature marshmallows, making diagonal rows with each. Bake at 350 degrees until the streusel and the marshmallows are golden brown, approximately 30 - 45 minutes.

*If you prefer your sweet potato mixture to be sweeter, you can add ½ to 1 cup of sugar to the potato mixture, along with the butter, milk, vanilla and egg.

**If you are planning on feeding several, you may want to make 2 of these. Everyone will want seconds!

Poppy Seed Chicken

This recipe comes from Alisha. I've heard it is really good.

Ingredients:
8 Chicken breast, boiled and cubed
1/2 c. butter
2 Cans cream of chicken
12 oz. sour cream
Mix above ingredients in bowl.

3 c. cooked rice


Topping:
1-2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 c. butter (melted)
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
Mash Ritz, butter, and poppy seeds in bowl.

Directions:
In 9X13 pamed pan lay down cooked rice. Now mixed chicken and cream of chicken soup mix. Next top with Ritz and Bake for 30 mins in 350 oven.

Pepperoni and Meatball Lasagna

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I adapted this recipe from one of Guy Fieri's. I really like his show Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, but I cannot stand his cooking show. I found this recipe and knew I had to try it. It is just a nice variation on plain old lasagna.


Basically you make your lasagna the same way you always do except, substitute cooked beef meatballs for your ground beef or sausage. I slice the meatballs in half so they lay flat. Since meatballs are so thick I just do one layer of them. On the top of your lasagna, after you sauce it, you are going to put on pepperoni. Before you add the pepperoni cook it up in a pan until it crisps up then add to the top of the lasagna and bake like normal. It is a fun new way to liven up your lasagna.

*in our house we like turkey meatballs and turkey pepperoni