Beans and franks bake

We had this for dinner the other night and it was almost a hit with everyone, Phillip wasn't too fond of having the corn bread on top. The extra casserole I put in the freezer does not have the corn bread batter on top, we will baking corn bread separately.

I got this recipe from a "Taste of Home" cookbook that you can find at the checkout counter. I love those and used to have a serious addiction to collecting them. I have managed to cut my impulse to buy new cookbooks drastically much to my husband's delight.

Yields: 2 Casseroles (4 servings each) (This casserole fed my family two meals)

• 2 packages (8-1/2 ounces each) corn bread/muffin mix (the recipe doesn't say this, but be sure you have the ingredients needed to mix the corn bread and follow the directions on the package.)
  
• 1 can (28 ounces) baked beans(I did not have baked beans on hand so I just used Pork n' beans, I am glad I did because if I had used baked beans it would have been too sweet for my family)
  
• 4 hot dogs, halved lengthwise and sliced (I used a whole package of hot dogs and just sliced them, we like hot dogs)
  
• ½ pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
  
• 1 cup ketchup
  
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
  
• ½ cup chopped onion
  
• 2 cups(8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  
• The recipe does not call for this…but we like a little bit of mustard in our baked beans, the next time I make this recipe I will either put in a couple of tablespoons of prepared mustard or about 1 teaspoon of dry mustard in the mixture.
  

1. Prepare corn bread batter according to the package; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the beans, hot dogs, bacon, ketchup, brown sugar, and onion. Transfer to two greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Sprinkle with cheese; top with corn batter.
   
2. Cover and freeze one casserole for up to 3 months. Bake the second casserole, uncovered, at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
   
   
   To Use Frozen Casserole: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 15-20 minutes longer or until heated through.
   

Elaine's Sweet and Tangy Loose Beef

I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com. That is one of my favorite recipe websites. It allows you to adjust the ingredient list to suite the serving size you need. I cut the recipe as you see it in half.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Hours Servings: 28

Ingredients:

• 7 pounds beef chuck roast
• 1 cup water
• 3 TBsp white vinegar
• 4 TBsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 4 TBsp Worcestershire
• 3 cups ketchup
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 cloves garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Place the roast into a slow cooker along with the water. Cover, and cook on LOW for 2 to 4 hours, or until beef can be easily shredded with a fork. (I found that after 6 hours my roast was still hard to shred. So either my slow cooker is about to go capoots or my raost was just a rough cut of meat. Next time I think since I am up until 1am anyway, I will just put the roast on low all night long.)
2. Shred the beef, removing fat as you go. REmove 1/2 cup of the broth from the slow cooker, and reserve for later. Add vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Mix in the salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic. Stir so that the meat is well coated.
3. Cover, and continue to cook beef on low for an additional 4 to 6 hours. Add the reserved broth only if necessary to maintain moisture. Serve on toasted buns. The meat can be frozen for future use.

After our dinner I sealed the remaining BBQ beef in Food Saver bags. When we want BBQ beef again we just put a pouch in boiling water, let boil for a few minutes. If you boil frozen it takes a little longer. Cut pouch and serve....easy peasy!

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

I got this recipe from the Taste of Home, Healthy Cooking, Dec/Jan. 2009 issue.

Prep: 20 min. Bake: 20 min. Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast (I used the Tyson Southwestern Chicken strips, and chopped them up a bit)
• 1-1/2 cups picante sauce, divided
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
• 2/3 cup chopped green onions, divided
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 6 flour tortillas (8 inches) (we use whole wheat, we prefer them and can not tell the difference between the white and wheat.)
• 1 TBsp butter, melted
• 1 can your favorite refried beans. The recipe does not call for this, but we find that we like the chimichangas better with the beans. Our preferred refried bean is the Rosarita refried beans with black beans. I only used about 1/3 to 1/2 the can making the chimichangas, so I just heated the rest and served them as a side dish.

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine te chicken, 3/4 cup picante sauce, cheese, 1/4 cup onions, cumin and oregano. If using refried beans, spread a spoonfull down the center of the tortilla. Spoon 1/2 cup mixture down the center of each tortilla. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up. Place seam side down in a 15in. x 10in. x 1in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Brush with butter.
2. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining picante sauce and onions.

I served Mexican Rice as a side dish with this.

Red Rice and Sausage

I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com in January of 2006. Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of this one.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 2 Hours Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups long grain white rice
• 4 cups water
• 3 slices turkey bacon
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) package smoked turkey sausage, halved and sliced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, drained
• 1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• dried Italian seasoning to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the rice and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until rice is tender and the water has been absorbed. Set aside. (I use my Pampered Chef microwave rice cooker)
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C)
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon, and brown on each side. Add the onion, garlic, and green pepper to the skillet, and cook until soft, stirring frequently. Mix in the sausage, and cook until hot, then pour in the tomatoes. Cook just until heated through. Stir in the cooked rice and spaghetti sauce. Season with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Transfer to a large casserole dish, and cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
4. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, then remove the lid and cooked for an additional 15 minutes.
   

Mushroom Bolognese

Serves: 6 Prep: 7 min. Cook: About 10 min.

Even Miss M loved this recipe...but then again she loved pasta. I got this recipe from an Eating Light magazine, I know this issue is from around 2005, but I don't recall the specific issue.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. rigatoni pasta
• 10 baby carrots (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1-1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1 pkg (5 ounces) shiitake mushrooms
• 1-1/4 lb ground turkey (optional) (Hero doesn't do ground poultry, so I used ground beef and it was yumm-o)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used beef broth)
• 1 medium yellow squash, qartered lengthwise, sliced
• 1 jar (26 oz.) marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water as package directs.
2. Meanwhile put carrots and onion in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add carrots, onion and mushrooms; cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, 4 minutes or until almost tender.
4. Add turkey, if using and cook, breaking up clumps, 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in wine and squash; boil 1 minute.
5. Stir in marinara sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes or until squash is tender. Pour over drained pasta; toss to mix.
   

Spanish Chicken

I got this from a Taste of Home check-out counter cook book...sensing a pattern here? I must confess, my name is Lynn and I am a check-out counter cookbook addict.

As always any changes, hints, and opinions are in red.

Yields: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves...this is what the recipe calls for, and it is what we like in this house...but I bet it would work with your favorite chicken part just as well
• 2 TBsp canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 can, 14.5oz diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
• 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (we didn't have any so I just left this out and used 1 cup of chicken stock instead of the water.)
• 1 to 3 tsp chilli powder...I used 1 1/2 tsp when I made this, I think we would like it with more
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cumin...we would like it better with a tad bit more cumin, next time I think I will use 1/4 tsp
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup picante sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese...i didn't have any of this either, so I just used a cheddar/jack blend
• 1 can (2.25oz) sliced ripe olives, drained....I forgot to add these...oops

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onions, green pepper, and garlic until tender. Add garlic when onion is almost cooked, you don't want to burn it, it will taste bitter. Stir in the tomatoes, water, rice, bouillon, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. I added the seasonings to the onions, peppers and garlic first to "toast" them, then added the rest of the ingredients...a trick I learned watching the "naked chef" in the UK. NO, he was not really naked!
2. Pour into a greased 11x7x2in. baking dish, top with chicken. Cover and bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until rice is tender. Uncover; spoon picante sauce over chicken and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Garnish with olives.
   

Italian-Style Shepherd's Pie

Unforturnately this recipe and a few more to follow don't have an y corresponding pictures. I will try to do better in the future at remembering to get pictures before I am doing dishes and dinner is all done. Sometimes I get so caught up in hurrying up and feeding my family, that I forget to take pictures.

I got this recipe from a Betty Crocker check out stand cookbook. As in the past I will note any changes I made to the original recipe in red.

Prep Time: 20 Min. Start to Finish: 50 Min.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb beef boneless sirloin, trimmed of fat, cut into 1-inch cubes. DO NOT use stew meat, this does not cook long enough to make the meat tender.
• 1 cup sliced onions (about 1 medium)
• 2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 jar (14oz) tomato pasta sauce (any variety) (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 package (7.2oz size) Betty Crocker roasted garlic mashed potatoes (1 pouch) Phillip doesn't like instant potatoes, so I used a package of Ore-Ida steam in a bag potatoes that I had in the freezer. I think they were a garlic mashed type flavor. It was more than the recipe called for, but I used the whole bag. Followed the directions on the package to make the mashed potatoes and then used them in the recipe as directed.
• 1 cup hot water (this is for the potatoes that I didn't use)
• 2/3 cup milk (for the potatoes I didn't use)
• 2 TBsp butter or margarine (for the potatoes I didn't use)
• 2 TBsp shredded fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375F. Spray 2 quart casserole or 11x7 inch glass baking dish ith cooking spray. Heat 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, onions, and carrots to skillet; sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently until beef is brown.
2. Stir in mushromms and pasta sauce. Heat to boiling. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Spread in casserole.
3. Make potatoes as directed on package for 4 servings, using 1 pouch Potatoes and Seasoning, water, milk, and butter. Spoon into 8 mounds around the edge of hot beef mixture. Sprinkle cheese over all. I had more potatoes than needed, so I just layered them in one layer on top of my meat mixture.
4. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and potatoes are light golden brown. 4 servings (1 1/2 cups each)

Mexican Lasagna

I got this recipe from www.sparkpeople.com, you can find the recipe here. This is another of our favorite meals that we enjoy eating and freezing.

As in the past, I will notate the changes we make to the recipe in RED.

1 lb. ground turkey (I use lean ground beef because Phillip doesn't like ground poultry.) 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced (Today I used 5 cloves, but we LOVE garlic in this house) 2 onions, chopped 2 10 oz. cans black beans, drained and slightly mashed (my cans of beans were larger, but that's okay because we like this recipe with more beans, I think the cans I had were 14.5oz) (in the past I have used one can of black beans and one can of Rosarita Black Bean refried beans, and it turned out great) 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 cups tomato sauce (my can of tomato sauce was 15oz, I figured that was close enough) 1 10 oz. can stewed tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I never seem to have stewed tomatoes in the house when I need them, so I just used diced.) 6 medium whole wheat tortillas (I cut my tortillas in half to enable me to put them in the pan with the cut edges along the side of the pan, therefore getting better coverage) 1 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese (along with garlic, we LOVE cheese, so I use way more than this, about double if not more)

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 F.

2. Saute 1 onion, 1 garlic clove on high heat while breaking up meat. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Stir in black beans. Set saute pan aside.

3. Heat oil in another saute pan over medium heat. Saute remaining onion, until soft. Add remaining garlic, chili powder and cumin, saute for 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and tomatoes with juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer partially covered for 20 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. Transfer all but 1/2 c (I usually set aside 3/4 cup) sauce to meat and beans; Mix well.

4. Dip half the tortillas, one at a time, in the hot tomato sauce. Lay tortillas in the bottom of an 8.5 x 11 casserole dish.


Spread half meat and bean mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle half the cheese over meat and beans.

5. Add another layer of tortillas and meat & beans mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 35 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes. (Today I made the lasagna in the morning, stopping at the I would bake. Instead I put the lasagna in the refrigerator and will bake for about 45 minutes before serving.)

Serves 6.

Freezer tip: We like to eat on this for two nights, and then freeze the rest. What I do is cut the lasagna into thirds. After the baked lasagna has been in the fridge overnight and before I reheat it I put 1/3 of the lasagna on a sheet of tin foil that I placed on a cookie sheet. Removing the lasagna from the pan works much better if you use two spatulas. I then wrap the lasagna in the tin foil I set it on and place the cookie sheet with the lasagna in the freezer. Usually I let it freeze overnight. The next morning I take the cookie sheet with the frozen lasagna on it out of the freezer and vacuum seal it using my food saver. When I want to eat it, I take it out of the freezer and set it on the counter for about 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I carefully remove the lasagna from the vacuum sealer bag and the tin foil. Then I place it in a small pan coated with cooking spray. Top the pan with tin foil and put the pan in the refrigerator to finish dethawing.

Hope you enjoy!

Lasagna

Tonight we are having Lasagna. I am sure everyone has their own special recipe, this is mine.

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1/2 pound of your favorite Italian sausage (Before Meghan we used Hot, now with her eating what we are eating we use Mild)
• Your favorite Spaghetti sauce
• One can of petite diced tomatoes
• Small palm full of your favorite Italian Seasoning blend, mine happens to be Pampered Chef's
  

In my skillet I brown the meats together. If you buy the sausage in the casing(links) you will need to take them out of the casing before cooking. Just split the casing down the side with a paring knife and then you can turn the sausage out no problem.

*I like my lasagna chunky and full of yummy vegetables like carrots, zuchinni, onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms. However my husband doesn't like chunky, so sometimes I take all of my favorite veges and pulse them in the food processor until they are small bits, then I add that to the sauce. Just remember that it doesn't take much of each vege you add since you are making them small. Tonight I am not doing that because I am feeling LAZY.

Once I have my meat mixture browned and drained of the fat I add my spaghetti sauce. I buy the stuff in the cans because to me it tastes just as good as the stuff in the jars, is cheap, and I can doctor it up to suit my taste buds. Then I add the can of petite diced tomatoes, I use those because as I mentioned my husband isn't into the chunky. Finally I add a small palm full of my favorite Italian Seasoning. Turning the heat as low as it can go I leave that to simmer while I move on to my Ricotta cheese mixture.

• 1 15oz. tub of Ricotta Cheese
• 1 egg
• palm full each of grated Parmesean and Romano cheese
• small palm full of Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning

Combine the five ingredients above in a bowl. Set aside.

• Your favorite 9x13 pan
• cooking spray
• Lasagna noodles
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Shredded Parmesean Blend

*If you have a package of Italian 5 Cheese blend, you can use that instead of the other cheeses.

Spray your pan with your cooking spray. When I am spraying a baking dish with cooking spray I put the dish on the inside of my dishwasher to spray that way any spray over gets washed away with the next load. Just make sure the dishwasher is empty of has dirty dishes in it, you don't want to spray your clean dishes with cooking spray.

My precious daughter, Miss M helping mommy

Layer about 1/4 of the meat mixture in the bottom of your pan. Now here is the cool part, I haven't cooked my noodles since long before those no cook noodles became the rage. I use regular noodles, or whole wheat in our case, and just make my lasagna in the morning to allow my noodles time to absorb some liquid. My pan allows me to lay 4 noodles across the pan lengthwise.
Laddle just enough of the meat and sauce to cover your noodles. Dot the meat and sauce with about 1/2 of the ricotta cheese mixture. I use my fork to spread out the ricotta cheese out a bit.


Sprinkle the top of the ricotta cheese mixture with about a handful of the shredded cheeses. If you like cheesy, use more, if you don't use less.

Do another layer of noodles, meat sauce, ricotta cheese mixture and the shredded cheeses. Then top off with the last layer of noodles and the remaining meat sauce. I like to sprinkle the top of my lasagna with a lot of the shredded cheeses.


I started this lasagna at about 10am, and by noon it was done and ready to hang out in the refrigerator until time to bake it. Usually it doesn't take me that long, but with referring a toddler and a puppy....well you get the idea.

When it came time to bake the lasagna I took it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before I wanted to bake it to let it start coming up to room temperature....I know, I know the food police are going to be busting down my door any minute now.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your tin foil covered lasagna in the oven once the oven reaches temperature. Bake for 45 minutes with the foil on, then remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

My husband likes this much better the second evening....must be a pasta thing. To reheat, bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until warmed through.

Freezer tip: We like to eat on this for two nights, and then freeze the rest. What I do is cut the lasagna into thirds. After the baked lasagna has been in the fridge overnight and before I reheat it I put 1/3 of the lasagna on a sheet of tin foil that I placed on a cookie sheet. Removing the lasagna from the pan works much better if you use two spatulas. I then wrap the lasagna in the tin foil I set it on and place the cookie sheet with the lasagna in the freezer. Usually I let it freeze overnight. The next morning I take the cookie sheet with the frozen lasagna on it out of the freezer and vacuum seal it using my food saver. When I want to eat it, I take it out of the freezer and set it on the counter for about 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I carefully remove the lasagna from the vacuum sealer bag and the tin foil. Then I place it in a small pan coated with cooking spray. Top the pan with tin foil and put the pan in the refrigerator to finish dethawing.

Hope you enjoy!