Nacho Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

3 c. cubed cooked chicken

3 c. crushed tortilla chips

2 c. shredded cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, cook pepper, onion, chili powder, and cumin in hot oil until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and stir in soups and tomatoes. To assemble, sprinkle 1 1/2 c. crushed tortilla chips over bottom of 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish. Top with half of the chicken, half of soup mixture, half of cheese, and half of the crushed chips. Repeat until all layered. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly around edges. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with more tortilla chips. Top to your liking with sour cream, guacamole, olives, tomatoes, or green onions.

Notes: We got this recipe from the Recipes and Remembrances cook book that we have been using a lot recently. (There are lots more recipes to try, too.) I was a little surprised that the chips were still crunchy after baking.

Chinese Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

1-2 lb. ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

1/4 c. soy sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can water

sweet red or green bell peppers, green beans, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, etc. (optional)

1/2 c. rice

6 oz. can or package of Chinese noodles

Directions

Brown ground beef and onions. Drain. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce, soup, water, optional vegetables, and rice. Put in a large casserole dish. Cover and bake in oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, stir, bake 20 minutes more (or until rice is soft). Stir, sprinkle with Chinese noodles. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Variation: For a quicker cook time, cook the rice separately. Cook all the rest of the ingredients except for the noodles in a skillet until hot and bubbly. Add cooked rice to meat mixture or serve meat mixture over rice. Either way, top with noodles.

Notes: Makes about 8 servings. If I make this recipe again, I will cook the rice separately. After baking uncovered for 20 minutes, I increased the temperature to 350 and cooked for 20 minutes more and the rice still wasn't entirely cooked. We found this recipe in the Recipes and Remembrances 2nd Edition cook book mentioned in previous entries.

Mushroom and Sour Cream Meatloaf

Ingredients

2 c. sliced mushrooms

1 c. chopped onions

2 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. sour cream (we used plain, low-fat yogurt)

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

2 lb. ground beef

3/4 c. bread crumbs

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Saute mushrooms and onions in butter. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients, except sour cream mixture. Put half of meat mixture into a loaf pan. Make a shallow trough in center of the meat and fill with sour cream mixture. Seal with remaining meat over top. Seal edges well. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let stand before serving.

Notes: Like most of the recipes we've been trying recently, we got this recipe from my sister, Jill. Brittany ended up cooking this for 20 or 30 minutes longer than the recipe calls for because it wasn't done after an hour.

Chicken Ole

Ingredients

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 c. sour cream

2 Tbsp. grated onion

1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

12 flour tortillas, each torn into 6-8 pieces

3-4 c. cubed, cooked chicken

7 oz. jar salsa

1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Directions

Combine soups, sour cream, onion, and 1 1/2 cups cheese in a bowl. Place one-third of each of the following in layers in the slow cooker: torn tortillas, soup mixture, chicken, and salsa. Repeat layers 2 more times. Cover. Cook on low 4-5 hours. (This recipe does not respond well to cooking on high.) Gently stir. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover. Cook on low another 15-30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and lettuce.

Notes: Tasty. Brittany substituted plain yogurt for the sour cream. Apparently yogurt is healthier.

Relief Society Hash

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

1 finely diced onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 c. frozen hash browns

salt and pepper to taste

1 c. shredded cheese

Directions

Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Mix in cream of mushroom soup, hash browns and salt and pepper and spread into a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Or microwave: mix and put in microwave safe dish. Cook for 15 minutes on 80% power. Stir; sprinkle with cheese and cook on full power for 1-2 minutes more. Serves 4-6.

Notes: If you are wondering what the Relief Society is, click here or here. We got this recipe from my sister, Jill. She suggested using the hash browns that come mixed with onions and peppers. We didn't have that kind, so we just added the peppers.

Kielbasa Bow Tie Skillet

Ingredients

8 oz. uncooked bow tie pasta

1 lb. fully cooked kielbasa or smoked polish sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 jar (4 1/2 oz.) sliced mushrooms, drained

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen snow peas

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté the sausage, mushrooms and garlic in butter. Combine the cornstarch and milk until smooth; gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Drain pasta; add to sausage mixture. Stir in the peas and cheese; cook until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings. Variation: add a package of Fiesta Ranch powder to add more flavor.

Notes: Another recipe from the Prairie 4th Ward's Recipes and Remembrances cook book. We used sugar snap peas instead of snow peas; they were cheaper and I like them more anyway. We both enjoyed this recipe. It's only the 2nd kielbasa recipe we've tried (the other is here) and it always nice to have more than one option.

Chicken/Beef Surprise

Ingredients

2 pkg. beef lunch meat, chopped

4 chicken breasts, cut in half

8 slices of bacon

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 pt. sour cream (1 cup)

milk

Directions

Spread chopped lunch meat in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Wrap bacon around chicken and place on lunch meat. Mix soup and sour cream with a little bit of milk and pour over chicken. Bake, covered, at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice.

Notes: We got this recipe from the Prairie 4th Ward's Recipes and Remembrances 2nd Edition cook book. Jill recommended we try it. I believe her comments about the recipe were something along the lines of: "Usually I am wary of a recipe that has 'surprise' in the title, but this was actually really good." We used leftover roast beef instead of sandwich meat. The recipe is very similar to the Continental Chicken recipe I posted a few years ago, which uses dried beef instead of sandwich meat and is cooked in a crock pot. Both are very tasty.

Hawaiian Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 slices canned pineapple (save 2 Tbsp. of juice)

1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. molasses

1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 1/2 Tbsp. oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced horizontally, rinsed and patted dry

salt to taste

4 rolls, grilled if desired

lettuce leaves, optional

Directions

Lay the pineapple slices on paper towels, blot dry, set aside. In a small bowl, blend reserved pineapple juice, soy sauce, honey, molasses, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, and ginger. Set a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add oil when hot. Add chicken breasts and salt very lightly. Fry chicken 4-5 minutes per side, until just done. Add sauce and fry for another minute or so, spooning the sauce over the chicken, coating both sides. Remove chicken and add pineapples slices. Cook about 30 seconds and remove from heat. Assemble sandwich. Spoon sauce over chicken and pineapple.

Notes: We got this recipe from my sister, Jill. We only halved 2 chicken breasts and had enough for 4 sandwiches. We also used toasted sesame seed buns instead of rolls. I really liked this recipe. Brittany wasn't feeling well and told me she was only going to have half a sandwich, but she must have liked it, too, because she ended up eating the whole thing.

Crumb Coated Ranch Chicken

Ingredients
2/3 c. ranch salad dressing
2 c. coarsely crushed cornflakes
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp. garlic powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Directions
Pour salad dressing into a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine the cornflake crumbs, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Dip chicken in dressing, then coat with crumb mixture. Place in a greased shallow baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until juices run clear.

Notes: This recipe comes from the Prairie 4th Ward's Recipes & Remembrances 2nd Edition cook book which we recently received as a gift from my sister-in-law, Jill. It was contributed to the cook book by Jeana Haight. We didn't have any corn flakes, so we used corn Chex instead. I think corn flakes would have been better, but it was still tasty and quick to prepare.

Pork Chops and Wild Rice

Ingredients

4 thick sliced pork chops

2 apples

1 cup brown rice

1 onion, diced

1 t. parsley

1 stalk celery, with leaves, diced

1 t. salt

1 C. hot water

1/2 t. chili powder

Directions

Combine everything but pork chops and apples in crock pot. Stir well. Core the apples and slice each one, making four rings. Place on top of the rice. Brown the chops on each side. Place on top of the apples. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Notes: I found this recipe here. From the way the recipe is written, we didn't know if each apple was supposed to be sliced into 4 slices or if there were supposed to be 4 slices total, one for each pork chop. We made it with 4 slices/halves total. If we make this again, we will probably try it the other way. Also, the recipe doesn't specify what type of apple to use. I would be interested in trying different apples since the apples we used had a fairly mild flavor. A tart or sweet apple might be interesting.