Mexican Casserole

Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a fantastic day so far. :) And a fantastic week!

This is one of those recipes I made SO long ago, I'm really having to remember how we liked it. LOL! I actually made DOUBLE of the recipe, and had this little casserole dish left over for Kenn and me. I put it in the freezer, and baked it off about two weeks after I made the dinner for some friends going through stuff.

What is it? :D It's Mexican Casserole from Plain Chicken.

I'm giving this a YES, PLEASE! I may have actually quadrupled the recipe, now that I'm thinking back on it. It was a MESS of casserole fixin's! :D I like that my photo and her photo look very similar - that always makes me feel better.

It was filling and flavorful without being too spicy. It froze well, and it traveled well when I took it to my friends. (I took it unbaked so they could have it hot whenever they wanted to cook it!) And I KNOW it fed a LOT of people. I made the refried beans I love so much (because they're so easy!) and rice.

OK, I'm outta here! :) Have a wonderful day! BE BLESSED!

Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese Casserole

Happy Friday! :) I know it's a little late, but I'm here. :) I went to see CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER today. Good movie. I think the first was better, but this one will do JUST fine. :D

Anyway! Today, I'm sharing this Cauliflower "Mac" and Cheese Casserole from The Food Network.

This tasted really good, but I wasn't fooling my tastebuds! It definitely wasn't "mac". I ate it all - halved the recipe, ate it all in one day :D - but breaking up the cauliflower was a bit more time-consuming than I'll do again.

So, once again, YOU decide: is this a YES, PLEASE! or a NO, THANK YOU! review? :)

Have a wonderful weekend! BE BLESSED!

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Good Monday Morning!!!!!

Did you have a good weekend?? Man, was I BUSY. Phew! I got a LOT done, though. :)

So! Today's recipe - worry, I didn't get a picture of my last manicure, but it was gross - is for Easy Breakfast Casserole from Recipe.com.

I made this for my hostess club at the end of September; it was brunch time, so I wanted something a bit hearty, but that I wouldn't have to babysit. This sure fit the bill! :)

I wanted to use red pepper instead of green - the color would have been nice - but the only ones I could find were obviously made of red GOLD, so I went with the more inexpensive green. :)

Let's see. Did I change anything else? Hmmm... Yup. :D I used butter instead of the Country Crock, half-and-half for the 2% milk, and diced ham instead of the bacon.

This is a definite YES, PLEASE! It was easy, and very good - who knew I'd like broccoli for breakfast?!?!? :D I'm thinking I'd like to add some spinach, too - just about anything veggie-wise that you like would be simple enough. :)

OK, I'm outta here! As I write this, I have naked nails. I'm going to try and change that for you for next Monday. :) Have a wonderful day!! Be BLESSED!

White Chicken Enchilada Casserole

HAPPY FRIDAY! Welcome to the end of August! Can you believe it?!? We're almost to September, the start of fall, the beginning of the snowball's roll to the end of the year! Time to start working on my Christmas open house... :D

But that's beside the point. :D

Today's review is for White Chicken Enchilada Casserole, from Six Sisters' Stuff.

(Hmmm. I can't decide how big to make the picture. This is probably too big, but the other way was too small!)

Anyway. (Can you tell I'm getting easily distracted today? :D ) This casserole got a YES, PLEASE! from everyone in my family - not an easy task for a recipe. Although I would have liked a little more kick - I thought about only using one of the two cans of green chiles, but I'm glad I didn't!

The filling was creamy, the chips on the bottom were crunchy, and the cheese was gooey. :D It turned out to be really pretty, too, I think. Wish I'd had some guacamole in the house... :D It was really easy to put together, and would make a really simple company dish, too.  Thinking about it, I don't know why you couldn't make up this casserole, perhaps without the cheese, and freeze it; your chips might get a little soggy, but I actually liked it better when that happened with the leftovers - its texture was more like an enchilada, rather than chips and dip. :D

OK, I'm outta here. Kenn and I are going to REST this weekend. I'm really looking forward to it! :) Have a wonderful weekend! Be BLESSED!

Shepherd's Pie

Good Friday Morning!

Can you believe I've been gone for a whole month already? Cooking's been an issue, because I've not had my own tastes and place to please and cook in. But that will change - we just got a place! :) I posted all about it on my new blog.

Anyway! Today's recipe is one I got for shepherd's pie from SimpleRecipes.com.

I more used the method from the recipe than the recipe itself, because I wanted to use up some leftovers. I seasoned and browned up the ground beef, added some leftover corn and frozen veggies, made some packaged brown gravy and poured over top of that hot mess. :D I put it all into a loaf pan, then put the leftover mashed potatoes on top.

It was a hit with the two guys I was cooking for. :D It was not something I'm dying to eat again. But it was filling, and Kenn's friend loves food like this. :D So take those YES, PLEASE!es and NO, THANK YOU!s for what they're worth. :D

"Raspberry" Blintz Casserole

Good Friday Morning! How are you today? Have you had a great week? Got fantastic plans for this weekend? Going to try something new?!? :D

Here's one of the things we tried this week: Raspberry Blintz Casserole from Recipe.com.

First, those of you who are observant will notice that this is definitely NOT raspberry! :D Although the recipe calls for using them, Kenn couldn't find ANY in the frozen section. And so I used what I had - blueberries we'd purchased and frozen earlier this year.

Now, then. The casserole itself is the recipe I used - and I halved it. I think I've mentioned how we try not to have too much hanging around at one time? Yeah. :) This fell in that category - and if Kenn didn't like it, I didn't want to have to figure out what to do with all that casserole. So I baked it in a two-quart casserole dish - which I *think* is a 7"x11", but I'm too lazy to go measure it. :D

Anyway. The casserole gets a YES, PLEASE! My dad got a taste, and decided he needed to have it sometime soon. :D It uses orange, instead of lemon, which gives it a stronger but sweeter taste.

I cannot recommend that you make the raspberry sauce, however; there are NO measurements whatsoever on it. So please come up with another sauce recipe before you try this casserole! I can tell you what I did - and I should have doubled the sauce!

I used a glass measuring cup and thawed 1 cup of berries, then gave them a whirl in the food processor (since it's already out for the casserole recipe!). I heated them in a saucepan, and added 1 heaping teaspoon of corn starch before they got warm - it mixes in MUCH better if your ingredients are cold! I added about 2 tablespoons of additional orange juice I had left from squeezing my orange for the casserole. I should have added about that much water, too, so it wouldn't thicken up quite so much when it sat. :)

That's it! Pretty easy, and it was yummy. I liked the edges of this one better than the middle, just because there was some texture variation there. :) It's very soft, light, and yummy!

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Let me know what YOU try new! Be BLESSED!!!!

Eggs Benedict Casserole

Good Monday Morning!

Did you have a good weekend? GOODNESS, yesterday was BUSY. I was wiped OUT when we finally got home, but I persevered and put this casserole in the fridge for today's breakfast.

And I'm glad I did. It's a definite YES, PLEASE!

It's Eggs Benedict Casserole, once again from the TASTE OF HOME website.

 I cut the recipe in half, and cooked it in a 7"x11" casserole dish; even if Mom and Dad decided to join us, that was six servings and plenty for us. Mom took a taste, but they decided to stick with their regular healthy breakfast. :D

Although, for me, this is about as healthy as it is good! One serving, according to the website's nutritional information, has only 16 grams of carbs - half of my maximum for breakfast! Hooray! :D

Putting the casserole together the night before makes this an easy, elegant breakfast - Kenn stirred the Hollandaise for me, so I didn't have to do everything. Add some fresh fruit, and this is a wonderful guest breakfast! I think it'll get served in Oregon if we have guests. :D

When I asked Kenn if he wanted me to freeze the rest - which it would, beautifully! - or leave it out, he said it was good and he'd eat some more tomorrow morning. :D It's definitely a winner! Hooray!!!!!

OK, I'm outta here. :D We're putting away Christmas stuff today, and I really, REALLY need to stamp. :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Copycat Recipe for Cracker Barrel's Hash Brown Casserole

Good morning! How was your weekend? Did you make anything new? Or did you make as little as possible, to not add any more heat to your world? MAN, has it been hot! :) I'm SO grateful for air conditioning!

I did make the Meatball Bubbles again, for a friend's family with three little ones. I haven't heard how they liked them, but they sure turned out wonderfully again. I would DEFINITELY have eaten them! :D

ANYWAY. You can find the recipe for this at Budget Savvy Diva; she's got a great blog! I follow her on FaceBook, too. :D

I made this recipe on the beach, when we had the house in February. I don't remember what main dish I served it with. Hmmm. Let me go see if I can find it.... No, I found which day I made it, but not what I served it with. :D I DO know we ate it for two different meals.

I didn't tweak a thing on it! :D It's DEFINITELY a YES, PLEASE! rating; really simple to make, gooey cheesy goodness. I actually think it was better the second time; I warmed it up in the oven, not in the microwave, because I had plenty of time. I don't eat the Cracker Barrel version enough to say whether it's a true copycat recipe or not - my favorite things at Cracker Barrel are all carb-heavy, so I try not to eat them all together. :D But it is a wonderful side dish, full of comfort and flavor. And it makes a LOT.

Have you found something you'd like me to try? Or have you found a recipe that's wonderful, and you think I should try, too? Let me know! I'd love to! :) And let me know if you try anything I've reviewed! I'd love to know your thoughts.

Have a wonderful day! Be blessed!