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Tag Archives: Casserole

Cheesy Beef & Zucchini Bake

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It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared a recipe on this here blog. That’s not to say I haven’t been cooking or baking, just not sharing recipes with photos. Lately, I’ve even been on a bit of a cooking creationist mode. I thought this creation turned out quite tasty, but unfortunately I was the only one in my household who liked it. I gave most of the leftovers to my sister since she doesn’t have the picky eaters like I do and I still ate it myself for lunch twice. Sarah said they all enjoyed it, so I am posting the recipe here for her and anyone else who wants to give it a try. If you make it, let me know what you think.

Cheesy Beef & Zucchini Bake

Cheesy Beef & Zucchini Bake

Source: me

Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces wide egg noodles
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 small zucchini, chopped in 1/4″-1/2″ cubes
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary herb seasoning mix (this is a Pampered Chef product, but any Italian blend would likely work nicely)
  • 1 cup spaghetti sauce
  • 1 10.75-oz. can cheddar cheese soup
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded colby jack cheese, divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 13×9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile in skillet over medium-high heat, brown beef, stirring to separate meat. Add garlic and zucchini and cook until crisp tender, remove from heat. Add seasoning, spaghetti sauce, and soup. Stir in pasta and 1 cup of cheese. (At this point, I think I added 1/2 cup of milk, but it’s not in my notes. Keep this in mind if the sauce seems too thick.) Spread evenly in prepared pan, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Have a springy day!

Chicken ‘n’ Chips

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I made this for dinner Tuesday night and James really enjoyed it. It is somewhat of a cross between two dishes that are in our regular meal rotation and it will be entering our regular meal rotation. I changed it up slightly to fit what I had on hand.

Chicken 'n' Chips

Chicken ‘n’ Chips

Source: Taste of Home: The Busy Family Cookbook

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons taco sauce – I used salsa
  • 1/4 cup chopped green chilies – I used half a 4-ounce can of chopped green chilies
  • 3 cups cubed cooked chicken – I used frozen grilled chicken strips, chopped
  • 12 slices process American cheese
  • 4 cups broken tortilla chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, combine the soup, sour cream, taco sauce and chilies. In an ungreased shallow 2-qt. baking dish (I used a square baking dish), layer half of the chicken, soup mixture, cheese and tortilla chips. Repeat layers.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Mexican Food and Baby Cakes

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One of my co-workers and his wife are expecting a baby girl in mid-May, so last week we threw them a baby shower at lunch. It was a potluck Mexican-food themed lunch with everyone pitching in some money for a gift basket that I put together. As this is their third child, the gift basket contained primarily consumables such items as diapers, baby shampoo and Boudreaux’s Butt Paste®, which I’ve been told is really good stuff. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.

White Cake with Creamy Vanilla Frosting

White Cake with Creamy Vanilla Frosting

I baked the White Cake and Creamy Vanilla Frosting from Betty Crocker’s New Cake Decorating. Overall, the cake was good and the icing was tasty, but I had to add additional milk to make it more spreadable. I also need to practice my cake decorating skills.

For the lunch, I made a Chile Relleno Bake, a recipe my mother sent me.

Chile Relleno Bake

Chile Relleno Bake

Chile Relleno Bake

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground chuck
  • 1 pound ground sausage
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 5 4-oz. cans whole chilies, drained (I only used 3 cans)
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
  • 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
  • ⅓ cup yellow cornmeal
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon hot sauce
  • sour cream, optional
  • chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13×9-inch baking dish.

In a large skillet, combine ground chuck, ground sausage, onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned and crumbly. Drain well. Stir in salsa.

Cut chilies in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place half of chilies evenly over bottom of baking dish. Spoon half of meat mixture over chilies. Sprinkle evenly with half of cheese. Place remaining chilies in an even layer over cheese. Spoon remaining meat mixture over chilies. Top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle cornmeal evenly over cheese.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour until smooth. Whisk in milk, salt, and hot sauce. Pour over cornmeal. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until set. Let cool 10 minutes. Cut into squares to serve. Garnish with sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro, if desired.

Servings: 8-10