Baked Spaghetti

Baked Spaghetti
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green pepper
1 T. butter
1 quart tomatoes with liquid (1 28 oz. can diced tomates)
1 can sliced ripe olives, drained
12 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained (about 2 cups dry, broken spaghetti, loosely packed)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese (8 oz)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, sautee onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, olives, oregano and beef. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Place half of the spaghetti in greased 9x13 in. baking dish. Top with half of the vegetable mixture, sprinkle with 1 c. cheese. Repeat layers. Mix the soup and water until smooth; pout over the casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350F for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 12 servings

Ahhh. This is comfort food for me. This is one of my favorite meals that my mom makes. It made me think of her and miss her! (Hi, mom!) Enjoy!!!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1 bag (1 lb) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

1. Heat oven to 400F. In ungreased 2-quart casserole dish, mix vegetables, chicken and soup until blended.
2. Stir remaining ingredients in medium bowl with wire whisk or fork until blended. Pour over chicken mixture.
3. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 6 servings.

This was so easy to put together. I found this recipe on a box of Bisquick and was immediately inspired to try it. AND we already had everything we needed for it so no need to go to the grocery store! Even better. I will be honest, though, and this is probably just my pregnant body speaking, that it lacked a little bit of flavor to me. I felt like the sauce needed to be more than just the soup. Like it needed some sour cream or something to give it a little more flavor. Everyone else seemed to like it just fine, though. So, enjoy!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

6 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
broccoli - fresh
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Parmesan cheese
cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup miracle whip
4 teaspoons lemon juice

Boil chicken in water. Then cook broccoli until tender (crisp).
Spread broccoli over bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cut up (or shred) chicken and place it on top of the broccoli.
Combine soup, milk, mayo and miracle whip. Heat in saucepan until warm. Remove from heat and add cheddar cheese and lemon juice. Stir until cheese melts.

Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake @ 350F for 30 minutes; then uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

I liked this recipe. A good go-to one, I think. I did, however, make a few changes.

1. We didn't have any mayonnaise and I didn't want to buy a whole jar of it just for one recipe. So I substituted with 1 cup of sour cream instead of the mayo and miracle whip.
2. I bought frozen chopped broccoli. I ended up cooking about 5 cups, which I thought was a lot. I would double that. So that would be a big family sized bag of broccoli or maybe 2 heads of fresh broccoli or something.
3. This recipe didn't say how much cheddar cheese to use. I ended up using about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of cheese. Probably didn't need that much, but I like cheese :)
4. We didn't have any lemon juice either. But I did find a whole lemon in the fridge. So I used my Food Network knowledge to juice a lemon. Microwave for about 10 seconds. Roll lemon on counter to release juices. Cut lemon in half width-wise and squeeze. This used the juice of half a lemon. 

Also, I didn't really feel like this was a one dish meal. I still felt hungry and like it needed something else. It was also a little runny so I'm wondering if this isn't supposed to go on top of rice or noodles or something. Or maybe adding more broccoli would fix that problem. I'm not sure. Enjoy!

Beef Taco Skillet

This is a great recipe from Campbellkitchen.com! Budget friendly.
Beef Taco Skillet

1 pound ground beef

1 can Tomato Soup

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

• Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat.  Pour off any fat.
• Stir the soup, picante sauce, water and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil.   Reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Stir the beef mixture.  Top with the cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Shells

Broccoli & Cheese Stuffed Shells

1 container (15 ounces) ricotta cheese

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

18 jumbo shell-shaped pasta, cooked and drained

1 jar (24 ounces) Prego® Chunky Garden Combination Italian Sauce

• Stir the ricotta cheese, broccoli, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and black pepper in a medium bowl. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture into each shell.
• Spread 1 cup of the sauce in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch shallow baking dish. Place the filled shells on the sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 400°F. for 25 minutes or until it's hot and bubbling. Makes 6 servings.

This would be great served with some garlic bread. I was also just thinking how good this would be with frozen chopped spinach instead of broccoli. Yummy too!

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Brown Gravy with Onions 12 ounces sliced roasted or deli roast beef 4 long hard rolls, split or 8 slices of bread Heat the gravy in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat to a boil.  Add the beef to the skillet.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Divide the beef mixture among the rolls. Makes 4 servings

Mmmm. This tasted so good to me. And it was so so easy. I had a hard time finding Campbell's brown gravy (which isn't with the other Campbell's soups. It's by the gravy mixes and taco seasonings) so I used Campbell's French Onion Soup instead and it tasted great too. I had to double this recipe and bought 2 lbs of sliced roast beef at the deli counter and it was twelve bucks. Ouch. Maybe it would be cheaper to do a roast? And let it cook in a crock pot with the soup all day.

I toasted the hoagie buns under the broiler for about a minute and we ate ours open-faced with a fork. I separated the meat from the soup so we could pour the soup over our sandwiches. Then topped them with a piece of Provolone cheese. Delicious!

Chicken Lasagna

Chicken Lasagna

2 cups cooked, cubed (or shredded) chicken
2 cans creamed soup (chicken or mushroom)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 4oz. can olives, sliced
1 bunch (about 3) green onions, chopped
8 oz lasagna noodles, cooked
4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Layer ingredients in a 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350*F for 40 minutes.