My favorite Casserole recipes

[amomof4]

I thought this would be an interesting thread to get started. Casseroles seem to be relatively easy on the budget. So, give us your favorite recipe and maybe we can get a good collection of recipes going. I'll post one a little latter.

[Tree0164]

Hamburger goo

Ingredients
1 LB Ground beef
1 cup sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh) can omit
1 cans of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk
1 diced onion
16 oz of cooked spaghetti
1 cup cheddar cheese

Directions
Brown hamburger in fry pan drain excess fat, return to pan
Add in mushrooms, onion and the cans of cream of mushroom soup
Cook for 10 minutes, stirring until mixed

Place beef mixture on the bottom of 9 x 13-casserole dish
Sprinkle cheddar cheese across top of beef
Place cooked spaghetti on top of beef mixture
Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese on top of spaghetti

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees!

Serves 6-8
I will often get two smaller casserole dishes and freeze one for a later meal. This dinner freezes extremely well! Or double the recipe for larger families and have one dinner ready for a couple of weeks later!!

[Tree0164]

Mexican Lasagna
Ingredients

2 cooked chicken breast cut up into 1-inch cubes (can omit the chicken altogether if going meatless)
8 burrito size flour or corn tortillas
1 15 oz can of black beans
1 jar of salsa
1 can diced tomatos or use fresh tomatos
1 cup of onions
1 green pepper diced (can omit if don't have on hand)
1 red pepper diced (can omit if don't have on hand)
2 cups cheddar cheese


Directions
Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan with salsa
Place two tortillas over the salsa
Layer some beans, cheese, onions, pepper, salsa and chicken over the tortilla
Repeat and keep layering
Keep enough cheese aside to cover the top layer.
Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

Serves 6-8

Want to make it lower fat, substitute low fat cheese. For the low fat cheese to melt better spray the top layer of cheese with PAM.

This recipe is great for leftovers! We usually have it twice for dinner and will bring it for lunch one day.

This recipe also freezes well. I have often made two of these and will freeze the second one.

[Tree0164]

Hot Dog Casserole

This was given to me by my sister in law and it so easy to do.

1 box of cooked macaroni
4 or 5 cooked hot dogs (I have also used up leftover ham)
1 can of tomato soup
1 can of water
Ketchup and mustard to taste
1 onion diced up
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I have also used stuffing mix if I have no bread crumbs around)

Diced up hot dogs and mixed them in with the macaroni, onion tomato soup
and water in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Squirt some ketchup and mustard in the pan and just continue to mix up.

Bake 30 minutes at 350

The kids love this! I love it because it easy to do.

[Momtwo]

Here is a casserole that my grandmother made me when I was a little girl.
I will warn you, it is not low fat! We make it only about 4 times a year when I am craving it.

1 lb. bacon diced
Macaroni
1 onion, diced
Jar of spaghetti sauce

Cook bacon and onion in frypan till bacon is cooked. Drain bacon and onion in a small strainer. Put back in frypan. Meanwhile cook macaroni in a pot. Drain the macaroni and add to the bacon and onion in
the frypan; add the sauce and warm thru till hot! This is delicious!

[amomof4]

Chicken & Rice Casserole
· 1/4 cup margarine (1/2 a stick)
· 1/3 cup flour
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 teaspoon pepper
· 1 cup strong chicken broth (make with 2 bouillon cubes)
· 1-1/2 cups milk
· 2 cups cooked rice (leftovers are great)
· 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken or turkey
· 4 oz can mushrooms, drained
· 1 cup frozen peas
· 2 oz jar pimiento (optional)
· 1/4 cup slivered almonds (optional)
First you need to make a white sauce. Use a 3-quart saucepan to make it because you will use the sauce pan to combine all of the ingredients later. So, melt the margarine in the saucepan over medium heat. When it is melted, stir in the flour. Whisk it until it is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add the chicken broth and the milk. I use real chicken broth if I have it, other wise I just add a cup of water, and a couple of bouillon cubes. Stir this as you cook it over medium heat. A whisk works really good for preventing any lumps. When the sauce is thick and boiling, allow it to boil for a full minute. Remove it from the heat. Add the rice, chicken, mushrooms, peas and pimiento, if you are using it. Stir it all up really good. Turn the mixture into a well oiled 2-1/2 quart casserole. Sprinkle the almonds or other nuts on top. Bake at 350° for about 40 minutes. It should be hot and bubbly throughout. If desired, sprinkle with chopped parsley, fresh or dried, right before serving. Makes about 6 servings.
This is a company casserole. It is so good that I save it for special days. Perfect in the spring for mother's day, or around Easter time. It is good at church pot lucks too. I do not often add pimento to the dish, but the one time I did it sure did look pretty. Often pimento can be bought in 8 oz jars for about $1.25. If you buy one that large, use half of it in this recipe. The other half can go into another casserole, or into gelatin salads, or even scrambled eggs. The 2 oz jars cost as much as the 8 oz jars, so you might as well get your money's worth. The almonds or nuts could be replaced with cracker crumbs and small dots of margarine, if you wanted something crunchy on top, without the cost of nuts.


I got this from hillbillyhousewife.com. When I made it, I left out the optional ingredients. It was cheap to make & tasted good too.

[akaivyleaf]

I just did shepards pie:
2 pounds ground beef
1 Liptons Onion Soup Mix
Cheese
Instant mashed potatoes
Canned corn
pre made pie crusts (2)

Ground the hamburger, season as you would a burger, drain excess fat and return to pan. Add packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix and 1 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer until mixed well. Add a can of corn (drained) and stir until the corn is warm.

At the same time, make up the instant mashed potatoes according to the box, make enough for 4 servings.

Shred cheese

now make your pie... Ground beef mixture first into the pie shell, cover completely with shredded cheese and then top with a layer of mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees until the mashed potatoes are brown and a tad crusty.

Let cool for about 15 minutes before cutting.

Delicious.

[amomof4]

Lasagna Casserole

1/2 Italian sausage
1/2 hamburger
1 lb noodles (I sometimes use elbow macaroni), cooked
1 can Hunts Garlic & Onion spaghetti sauce (the $0.99 stuff)
l can tomato sauce (I used a quart)
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 16 oz container of cottage cheese
1 or 2 T Italian seasoning

Fry sausage & hamburger together. Combine all the ingredients & cook in crockpot.

Tonight I am trying something different. I am adding some bell peppers & dehydrated onions. I am also adding the noodles uncooked with a little extra water. We'll see how it goes. I am also planning to freeze some of it for a future meal.

[flowergirl]

Originally Posted by amomof4

Lasagna Casserole

1/2 Italian sausage
1/2 hamburger
1 lb noodles (I sometimes use elbow macaroni), cooked
1 can Hunts Garlic & Onion spaghetti sauce (the $0.99 stuff)
l can tomato sauce (I used a quart)
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1 16 oz container of cottage cheese
1 or 2 T Italian seasoning

Fry sausage & hamburger together. Combine all the ingredients & cook in crockpot.

Tonight I am trying something different. I am adding some bell peppers & dehydrated onions. I am also adding the noodles uncooked with a little extra water. We'll see how it goes. I am also planning to freeze some of it for a future meal.

How long do you cook it in your crockpot? I just bought mine and I have only done chicken in it, so far...Thank-you.

[amomof4]

I didn't really time it, but most probably it 8-9 hours on low or 4 hours on high. I would recommend that you try it first on a day that you'll be home most of the time so that you can keep an eye on it. Because if you use uncooked noodles, you may have to add a little water to it. And, I not sure if uncooked lasagna noodles will work as they may stick together. If you use cooked noodles, it would probably be 4 hours on low.

But just think of how much easier & cheaper it is to use uncooked macaroni noodles! You don't have an extra pan to wash & deal with, and you don't need to spend the money to heat a pan full of noodles.

I don't have much expierence with crockpots, as I have just begun to use mine.

[flowergirl]

Thank-you very much. I'll try it this week for sure. Yes, you're right. It's great to not have another pan to wash after, when you put all in the crockpot. I'm trying to find ways to reduce my time in the kitchen...especially washing dishes...