November 21, 2024

GCH: What’s on Your Plate? – Tex-Mex Casserole

January 4, 2013 by

tex

Tex-Mex is one of my favorite kinds of food. It’s typically easy to throw together, delicious, and is hearty enough to satisfy the Mr. (Who happens to give this two thumbs up!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground chuck
  • 1 bag frozen corn
  • 1 bag Southern style hashbrowns (the cubed potatoes)
  • 1/2 lb. Velveeta, cut into large cubes
  • 1 pkg. Taco Bell Taco Seasoning Mix
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 1 bottle Taco Bell Mild Restaurant Sauce

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cook ground chuck in a large pot. (I use a 6 qt. pot.) Cook until done, but do not allow to overcook. Drain meat.
  3. Add Velveeta, water, and taco seasoning mix to the pot.  Heat on medium, stirring occasionally, and allow cheese to melt a bit. (About 5 minutes.)
  4. Add corn and potatoes to the pot. Mix well. Allow to cook for 3 or 4 minutes.
  5. Add 1/3 c. mild sauce to pot. Mix well.
  6. Remove from heat and transfer to a 9×13 baking dish.
  7. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.
  8. Remove foil, stir, and return to oven to bake for an additional 15 minutes (until it is heated through.)
  9. Drizzle with mild sauce and serve.

Notes:

  • To make this stretch for another person or for the hubby’s lunch the following day, I add an additional pound of ground chuck to the recipe. It bulks it up a bit without sacrificing the taste or having to double ingredients.

Praise God! Let’s eat!

Shandy

Be sure to visit Shandy’s personal blog Aprons ‘n Pearls for recipes, crafts, homekeeping tips & more!

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GCH:What’s on Your Plate? – Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Bacon

December 11, 2012 by
Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Bacon

Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Bacon

What you need:

1/2 lb bacon (save 2 tbsp bacon grease), crumbled

4 tbsp butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

4 cups cooked white rice

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)

9×13 casserole dish

skillet for cooking bacon

medium saucepan

whisk

large spoon

Instructions:

Cook bacon, drain and set aside.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.  After bacon has cooled, crumble into pieces.

Place butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, whisk in flour, pepper, salt, and chili powder until smooth and bubbly.  Slowly whisk in chicken broth.  Increase heat to high while whisking broth until thickened.  Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese.  Reduce heat to a simmer and set aside.

Put shredded chicken and cooked rice in a casserole dish and mix in the 2 tablespoons of reserved bacon grease.  Add cheese sauce, mix to combine all ingredients.  Top with 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, then top with crumbled bacon.  Place under oven’s broiler for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings.

God is great, God is good… let us thank Him for our food! 🙂

<3 Shauna

PS – you can also find Shauna on her personal website, www.workhomeplay.net

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GCH:What’s on Your Plate? – Chicken Shepherd’s Pie with Parmesan Cauliflower Topping

December 10, 2012 by

Now that title’s a mouthful, hmmm?  Pun FULLY intended!  My husband loves Shepherd’s Pie—and any variation I can come up with!  And so I indulge him! 🙂  This recipe fits into our healthy but oh-so-yummy category in a couple of ways:

  • it is low-carb (with the absence of mashed potato topping)
  • it  is made with natural ingredients that you can pronounce (as the gravy is made from scratch)
  • it is low in fat/high in protein (using boneless chicken breast as the protein)

This recipe could easily be doubled and baked in an 11 x 13 baking dish.

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie with Parmesan-Cauliflower ToppingIMG_1310

Filling Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1# boneless chicken breast, pounded evenly, cut into 1″ cubes
1 sweet (vidalia-type) onion, chopped in pieces about 1/2 inch
4 ounces baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean sliced chunky
2 tablespoons chopped garlic in oil (from a jar)
16 ounce package frozen mixed veggies (your choice), set out to defrost

1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup white wine (or broth)
1 + 1/4 cups chicken broth

Topping Ingredients:

1 medium-sized head of cauliflower, cored and chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, smoked gouda) *use a flavorful cheese

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375.  Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Chop cauliflower into small pieces and simmer ‘til  soft enough to mash easily (10-12 minutes). Drain cauliflower very well in colander; place back into pot and  use an immersion blender or hand beater to “mash” the cauliflower with the milk and Parmesan. Season very well with salt and pepper to taste.

While the cauliflower cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the cut-up chicken adding the chopped garlic for the last minute (don’t let garlic burn).  Saute ’til just getting brown but don’t overcook.  Remove pan from stove; set aside cooked chicken.  Wipe frying pan with paper towels to remove bits. Then add 2 additional tablespoons olive oil; heat over medium, and saute chopped onions for 3 minutes.  Add chopped mushrooms and saute for 4-5 minutes more to caramelize.  Reduce heat to low; add 1 tablespoon butter, and sprinkle flour over the mushroom-onion mixture, stirring with a whisk.  Cook this mixture for 3 minutes occasionally scraping the pan.  Then gradually whisk in the wine ’til the mixture is smooth.  Gradually whisk in the  broth and your gravy will come together.  Gently simmer for 5 minutes.  Add back the cooked chicken and the defrosted veggies and heat together for 1-2 minutes.

Spread the chicken-vegetable-gravy mixture in the bottom of an 8 cup casserole dish.  Top with the cauliflower, and spread across the pan almost to the edges.  Bake for 20 minutes, and then top with the grated cheese.  Continuing baking another 10 minutes or so ’til bubbly.  If top is not lightly browned, can be carefully placed under broiler for 2-3 minutes.  Enjoy!

God loves you!  and I do too.  <3 Coleen

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GCH: What’s on Your Plate? — Chicken Casserole

November 20, 2012 by

One of my favorite dishes that my mom used to make was her Chicken Casserole… she passed away in 2004 but I am blessed to have her handwritten copy of the recipe.  Every time I make it, it feels like she’s still here.  Food can bring back vivid memories, don’t you think?  I guess that’s why I like to make this recipe often!  I hope you will enjoy it too….

Here is what you’ll need:

2 boxes of Stove Top Stuffing… one Cornbread flavor and one Chicken flavor. (I only had Cornbread and Turkey flavors on hand so that’s what I used here… improvise, people! lol)

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup

1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup… Note: my husband and I are picky eaters and we do not care for mushrooms.  BUT we do like the taste of cream of mushroom soup (weird huh?), so I strain out the mushroom pieces whenever I use it in a recipe.  But if you’re a mushroom fan, by all means, leave them in.

3 large chicken breasts

2 sticks of butter (I used salted, but use whatever floats your boat) – Paula Deen would be proud 😉

2 cans of chicken broth

9×13 baking dish

Extra butter or Cooking Spray to grease the baking dish

First – cook your chicken.  You can do this on the stove in a pot with water or broth.  I like to throw some frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker with water or broth (if I have some handy) and let them cook for 4-6 hours on high.  The chicken will be so tender you can shred it with a fork.  So that’s what I did here.  If you cook your chicken on the stove, you will need to dice it up into small pieces when it’s done.

While that’s happening, you need to get everything else ready in separate bowls.

Dump the two boxes of stuffing into a large bowl.  DO NOT prepare the stuffing as directed on the boxes.  Just throw the dry stuffing into a large bowl.  Then take your two sticks of butter and melt them in the microwave and add to the stuffing.  Mix it up good so the butter covers all of the stuffing.  Now set that aside.

Next, you want to empty your can of cream of mushroom into a medium sized bowl (strained or unstrained, that is the question… ) Save the can and fill it full of chicken broth, then mix that into the cream of mushroom soup.  I use a whisk to make sure it’s mixed well.  Set the cream of mushroom mixture aside for now.

Next, put the two cans of cream of chicken into a large bowl and again, mix in one “can-ful” of chicken broth with a whisk.  Set this aside also.

If you haven’t already, shred or dice your chicken into another bowl.  Now you should have four bowls of ingredients waiting to be united in casserole goodness.  🙂

Spray or grease a 9×13 baking dish and start with a layer of stuffing mixture… use 1/3 of the mixture here.  Then add a layer of chicken… use 1/2 of the chicken here.  Now add in the cream of mushroom mixture then add another layer of the stuffing mixture… use half of what is left in the bowl.  Then add a layer of chicken, use all that you have left.  Then, add the cream of chicken mixture and then top with the last of the stuffing mixture.

Doesn’t that look amazing?  My mouth is watering just thinking about it…. now pop that baby in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until the edges are bubbling and the top layer of stuffing is golden brown.

Mmmmm mmmm good!  I can’t begin to tell you how good this stuff is.  You just have to make it for yourself…. immediately.  It really is pretty easy to make too.  And this makes enough so that you’ll have leftovers tomorrow!  Hooray!  I’m so glad my mother left me this recipe…. now I’m off to go eat a huge bowl of it!! 😉

God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food! 🙂

<3 Shauna

PS – Shauna can also be found on her personal blog, www.workhomeplay.net.

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