Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole

This is a super simple breakfast casserole.  I love the combination of crescent rolls, cheese, eggs, and sausage!  It's perfect to take to breakfast potlucks (I take it to MOPS!) or for when company comes.  If my sweet hubby liked eggs, we'd have it for dinner on our breakfast for dinner nights! 

Ingredients:
1 package crescent rolls
1 lb mild sausage, browned and drained
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese (a combo with pepper jack is also very good!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*F.  Spray 9X13 pan with cooking spray.  Roll out the crescent rolls in the pan.  Top with an even layer of browned and drained sausage.  Pour in beaten egg.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350*F for 30 minutes until puffy and golden brown. 


By: Kevin and Amanda

Chicken and Bacon Mac & Cheese

Chicken and Bacon Mac & Cheese

This is one of our new favorites!  How could you go wrong with grilled chicken, bacon, and mac & cheese! 

Ingredients: 
6 slices smoky bacon
salt & pepper
1 lb. whole wheat short cut pasta (such as penne or elbow noodles)
Vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons butter
3 rounded tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded provolone
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375*.  Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15-25 minutes.  Chop and reserved.  Switch on the broiler.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook just shy of al dente.  Drain and return to the pot.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a grill pan or cast-iron griddle over medium-high heat.  Drizzle the chicken with vegetable oil, season with salt, pepper, and paprika.  Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning once, until nicely browned.  Transfer to a cutting board and cut into one inch pieces.
While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute.  Whisk in the cider, then the milk.  Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes.  Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir in the cheeses until melted.
Add the chicken, bacon, and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a casserole dish.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Broil until bubbling and browned, about 5 minutes.
Garnish with parsley as desired.


**This recipe has several things going at once and uses about 5 pots/pans but it is soooo worth it!!  Jim wants it every time we have bacon in the house. 

From Rachel Ray Magazine

Baked Ziti

Jim's favorite food (other than chicken nuggets) is Italian: spaghetti, lasagna, chicken parmesan, chicken fettucini alfredo, etc. So we had to try a baked ziti recipe (we used egg noodles instead). It was great! We will definitely be adding this to our main dinner rotations.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
1 bag of Egg Noodles
1 extra large can of tomato sauce (can buy pre-made spaghetti sauce, I usually just use a can of tomato sauce and add Italian seasonings)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, Italian cheese, provolone, parmesan or combination of all
1 1/2 lbs hamburger meat

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*. Brown the meat & drain. Also, cook the noodles and drain. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 casserole dish. Layer half the noodles and then half the meat, half of the sauce and half of the cheese. Then layer the rest of the noodles, the meat, the sauce, and the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes so that it can settle.

Hamburger Casserole

This simple dish is one of Jim's favorites. It's the ultimate in comfort food. Pair with some steamed veggies and dinner is done!
Hamburger Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

2 cans cream of chicken soup 1 1/2 cups water (we use 1 cup water, 1/2 cup milk to make it a bit creamier)

1 cup rice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the hamburger meat, season with salt and pepper. Put soup in casserole dish and add water. Add rice and hamburger meat. We like to sprinkle with a handful of colby jack cheese too! Bake at 375* for 1 hour.

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This dish is similar to a couple that I already make but it is quite good! I think next time, we will use cubed chicken instead of shredded chicken. The shredded chicken gets lost in all the sauce. Also, Jim wants to try it over noodles instead of rice.

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded (or cubed)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 cup of sour cream

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

1 bag frozen broccoli and chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook chicken and shred. Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 2 qt. casserole dish. Cook for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve over rice or noodles.

By: Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour