Chicken Casserole

Doesn't everyone have a "go to" chicken casserole? I never really have had one myself though. But tonight I made one up.

I had some chicken thigh meat that I needed to use up. So that got me to thinking about the 2 pastas that I had just a small amount left of. Mom and Dad gave me some frozen sweet corn. There is a package of shredded cheese in the freezer that needs to be used up. Make a gravy and put it all together and you have a casserole!

I cheated! No, not on my husband! I used a mix to make a white sauce. Even I keep some of this stuff on hand. I made a quart of it for the casserole.


The 6 chicken thighs were still raw, so I diced that up and fried it in a small amount of bacon grease. It was very tasty just like that.

The pasta was about 2 cups, uncooked. Boiled that up for about 10 minutes. It was spirals and penne.

The corn was some the folks had given me that they froze last summer. I thought we had eaten it all but I found one bag down in the bottom of the chest freezer when I was looking for some butter. There was about 2 cups worth in the bag.

I buy 5 pound blocks of cheddar cheese and shred it myself. That way if I want to melt it in soup, the soup doesn't get grainy. Ron likes it in his omelets too. Anyway I package it in about 2 cup bags for freezing. There was one bag left from an old batch down there with the corn at the bottom of the freezer. I mixed the cheese in with the sauce.

After everything was prepped I mixed it in a big bowl and then dumped it all in a baking dish. It baked in a 300 degree oven for about an hour. Yummy!

Mac & Cheese Bites

Versatility is the name of the game for me. I love a recipe that can handle what ever I want to do to it. This one fits that bill quite nicely.

It is meant to be made in a mini-muffin pan. It also works to make it in a regular muffin pan, or so I found out. It also works to freeze!


Now freezing is something special. I have grand kids. Freezing these in meal size portions for them (the same as snack size for their Dad!) makes it easy for their Mom to get lunch ready.

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 T Butter
2 T Flour
3/4 Cup Milk
1 1/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (shred this yourself, the prepackaged stuff gives it a grainy texture)
4 oz Velveeta, cubed
1 Egg Yolk, beaten
1/4 tsp Paprika (optional)
8 oz Elbow Macaroni, cooked
1/2 tsp Pepper Blend (for adults)(Lawry's makes a good one.)

Spray a muffin pan with vegetable spray. Sprinkle with half of the Parmesan cheese. This makes 12 regular sized 'muffins' or about 4 dozen mini 'muffins' for appetizers.

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. (large because this is the pan you are going to mix everything up in) Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir it after a minute to make sure it cooks evenly. Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until thickened and bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses until melted and smooth. Whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Stir in the cooked and well drained macaroni until evenly coated. Evenly distribute into muffin pan. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes for mini muffin pan or about 18 minutes for regular pan.

They should be bubbly and have some browning on the edge and top. Allow to cool for 5 minutes or so and carefully transfer to a sering platter. (for appetizer) They take about 10 minutes to cool in the pan for wrapping and freezing. Otherwise they won't hold their shape and you have a mess. Or you could serve them right away to the kids to see if they like them.

My own large child, Ron, thought they were great. He ate two of them as soon as I took them out of the pan.

Another Taco Soup

Another Snow Day!!! So how about another Soup? I'm not sure I have done a Taco Soup on here before but there are so many versions of Taco Soup out there that I decided to call this one "Another Taco Soup".

As I type this it is still cooking. I'm also thinking of ways to 'enhance' it. (You know me, can't leave well enough alone!) I still have some cooked bacon in the refrigerator. I may chop up some of that and use it with the garnish. Bacon makes everything taste better. (Chocolate covered bacon comes to mind as maybe not so good, but I'll have to try it just to make sure...)You can use anything else that you like on your tacos on this taco soup. Be creative!

1 lb of lean Hamburger, browned and drained
1 small Onion, chopped and cooked with the hamburger
1 15 oz can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can Whole Kernel Sweet Corn (add the juice too)
1 14 oz can Chicken Broth (or Beef Broth)
1 14.5 oz can Mexican Style Diced Tomatoes (with green chilies)
1 T Taco Seasoning (from a packet and save the rest for the next batch)
1 tsp (or to taste) Chili Powder
Sour cream and shredded cheese for garnish. I also break up some tortilla chips over the top.

This will fit in a 4 quart or larger Crock Pot. After browning the meat and onion, drain off excess fat, then put in the crock pot. Dump on top of that the rest of the ingredients and stir. Cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-6 hours. Garnish with the sour cream and cheese and whatever else you like on your tacos. Enjoy!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

We had this for lunch today. It was very good.

I would call it a medium soup. Not light, because it wasn't 'brothy'. Not a heavy soup, because it wasn't creamy or thick. It was cheesy without being overly so. It was thinner like a broth soup but with a bit of substance. (Am I making any sense at all?)

Just know that it's worth a try.

1 lb Lean Ground Beef
2 14 oz cans Chicken or Beef Broth
1 T Dried Onion (or 1/2 a small onion cooked with the beef)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (or 2 small cloves, minced)
1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped (or jarred roasted red pepper)
2 Potatoes, Peeled (or not) and cubed
1 Cup Milk
12 oz Velveeta, cubed
6-8 slices of Bacon cooked crisp and crumbled (or use the Real Bacon Bits that go on salads)

Use a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. (Crock Pot) Brown the meat and onion on the stove and drain the fat. Put into the cooker with the broth, garlic, pepper and potatoes. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or high 2-3 hours. In the mean time cook the bacon and crumble. Cut up the Velveeta and measure the milk. About a half hour before you are ready to eat add the Velveeta and milk. Stir to combine. Stir every five minutes till cheese is melted. Serve in bowls and top with the bacon crumbles. Enjoy!

I made this on a day that I didn't go to work because of one of the blizzards we have had so far this winter. One blizzard per week for the last 3 weeks is more than any of us need. Where is Global Warming now?

Cottage Bread

You know those puffy soft loaves of Cottage Bread in the grocery store? The ones with the dusting of flour on top? The bread itself is so soft that you are afraid you might hurt it just taking it out of the package? Well, I found a recipe that comes as close to it as I think I will ever get. Factory made bread might be a bit softer, but this tastes absolutely wonderful!

1 cup Cottage Cheese
1 Egg

Blend those two in a blender until smooth. I have a magic bullet that my kids gave me for Christmas one year. It works great for this. Put that mixture in the pan of your bread machine. Then add in order:

1/2 Cup Water
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 T Sugar
2 T Butter, melted
3 1/2 Cups Bread Flour
1 scant T Instant Yeast

Turn the bread machine on to the dough cycle. When its completed, turn out on a floured surface and knead a few times to deflate. Shape into a loaf and put in a prepared (sprayed with vegetable spray) bread pan. Allow to rise just to the rim of the pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool and enjoy!

Now for my 'twist' on this bread. You can use brown sugar for the sugar. The loaf isn't bright white, but has a bit more flavor. I also add 1 T wheat germ and/or flax meal. Of course when you do that it has flecks in it. My grandson said it had ants in it. And of course it isn't bright white either. Who cares? It's better for you and has more flavor. But make it how you like it. That's what matters.

Oatmeal Cookie Mix for the Freezer

I like to make up freezer meals when I can. Having a casserole in the freezer that can be cooked and served without all the mess is wonderful! But you can do that with a lot of things including cookie dough. This recipe can be made ahead to whatever stage you want, frozen, then baked when needed. How cool is that? So here it is:

3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar (I prefer dark)
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 Cups Shortening (7 oz)
6 Cups Quick Cooking Oats (old fashioned works too)

I use a large stainless steel mixing bowl to combine the flour, sugars, salt, soda and powder. You can also add 1 tsp Cinnamon at this point if you would like. Just remember it's in there in case you want to add other flavorings later.

Measure out the shortening and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry blender. You can do it by hand but that gets kind of messy. When that is well blended add in the oats and stir to combine.



At this point you can freeze this mixture in 4, 1 quart bags. Be sure to label the bags with what is in it and what needs to be done with it. (I'm good at forgetting to do that and then have bags of 'something' in the freezer that I can't remember what they are or what to do with them.) I write on the bag with a black Sharpie; the Date, Oatmeal Cookie, 2 Eggs, 2 tsp Vanilla. That is all I need. If you need more instruction that that, write what you need. Like, Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. That always helps.

When you are ready to mix them up, just empty the bag from the freezer into a mixing bowl. Add 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla and combine. It is a very thick dough. Fold in any extras by hand. Portion and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.



But if you want to take it a step further, you can mix up the dough and freeze it that way. You can freeze it in 4 lumps. Just be sure to thaw completely before shaping into cookies. Or my favorite, freeze it in individual cookie balls. That way you can take out as many as you want to bake. Only need a few? Take out a few. Need a whole bunch? Take out a whole bunch! (Grandmas always need to have cookies on hand.) Let them sit out on the counter while the oven is preheating. When the oven is ready, so is the dough.



I mentioned Cinnamon earlier, but what about raisins? Or nuts? You can incorporate those at anytime before putting it in the freezer. Dried fruits and nuts go in the freezer quite nicely. Keep the add-ins to about 1 cup total per batch.(4 batches) Too much more than that and the cookies don't hold together as well. Chocolate chips are a good add-in. Or dried cranberries, or sunflower seeds... Experiment with the flavors your family likes. For the Christmas season the grocery store here, Wood's Supermarket, gets a bunch of flavored chips; Mint Chocolate Chips, Cinnamon Chips, Cherry Chips, etc. Andes mints puts out a bagged version of it's mints that are just pieces. They are good in the scones.

I use a 1 oz scoop to make most of my cookies. That's how I make my dough balls to go in the freezer. If I have done everything right the cookies all come out the same size and shape. That's nice for portion control and figuring out the cost per cookie.

Basics to remember:

1. 4 Cups Mix + 2 Eggs + 1 tsp Vanilla = 3 dozen cookies (before add-ins)

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

3. Keeps in the freezer for about 6 months. (If you don't forget you have it, you'll use it up pretty quickly.)

4. Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

To all my friends and family, I wish you a happy and successful new year ahead. May all of you be blessed with happiness, health, love and comfort as you take your journey into the coming year. Remember, "Happiness is the journey, not the destination."