Casserole Archives - Yearning to Create

Western Surprise (Rice and Wiener Dish)

I invented a recipe!!! Well, sort of. It’s a combination of something my mom used to make called Western Surprise, and something I found online. And it actually turned out pretty good. Probably still need to tweak the recipe a bit so don’t blame me if you make it and it doesn’t work!

My family loves to eat rice. After spending two years in Korea and eating rice every day, you’d think my guy would be tired of it, but no. And with a gluten free daughter, rice dishes work well for us.

Hope you can read my writing – I just didn’t feel like retyping it!

I guess the first line should say “1 package wieners – thinly sliced” – I don’t think you can find a package of thinly sliced wieners!

The part I like best about this is the “throw it in a pot and let it do it’s thing”. I’m so lazy in the kitchen!

And they all liked it!!! (That orange thing looks like a piece of carrot – don’t think I put any carrots in, but you could throw in anything else you wish. Just remember, if it’s dried, you may need to add a little more water to allow for reconstitution.)

There’s my Mac in pony tails for the first time – kicking back enjoying her lunch, dog waiting for crumbs to fall and sick sister on the couch in the background. A typical day!

Hamburger Casserole

Here’s a casserole that our family enjoys. This dish is called Hamburger Casserole – very original name I must say!

I know you’re wondering why I’m making two.

Well, the smaller dish contains gluten free noodles for my Jo.

And the larger dish contains the cheaper noodles for the rest of the family.

I’ll give you the exact recipe – which I never follow. I just throw things in and hope for the best. I think I used too many noodles this time – not that the little kids would complain. They’d be happy with only noodles to eat!

Hamburger Casserole

2 cups cooked small egg noodles – spread in bottom of casserole dish

1 lb. ground beef – scramble fry until brown, drain grease

– add the following five ingredients and simmer gently for 15 minutes

1 cup chopped onion

1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or minced garlic clove)

2 – 7 1/2 oz. cans of Tomato sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

– pour meat mixture over noodles in casserole dish

1 cup sour cream – spread over meat, smoothing level

1 cup cottage cheese – spread over sour cream layer

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese – layer over top to cover completely

– bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

From this picture you’ll notice three things:

1) Cheddar cheese works just fine too!

2) I cook it for more than 30 minutes – we like the cheese crusty!

3) I actually have a set of matching dishes! (and they even have lids)

okay, and bonus item . . .

4) I need to clean my stove!

Hamburger Casserole has a mild lasagna flavour.

Darn – it doesn’t look like there are going to be any leftovers! Jo’s the lucky one – she gets another meal from her dish.

It passed the two-year-old test – she likes it!

And there’s the faithful Lacie, waiting and hoping for a crumb to fall to the floor. Sorry Lace – we like it too much!

Bev’s Chicken Casserole

Well, I’m not sure who Bev is, but we sure love her Chicken Casserole!

First step is to find a little cutie who is working on a YW Personal Progress goal who is willing to help you in the kitchen!

She’s chopping the tomatoes, onions and green onions. (I was going to do the onion but she insisted she wanted to – because she wanted to cry! She claimed she’s never cried cutting an onion before and wanted another chance to experience it. Well, she experienced it!!! I think I’ll be cutting the onion next time!)

Here’s what to do:

– put your chicken pieces in a casserole dish and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

– Mix together one can of Tomato soup and one can of Cream of Mushroom soup

– then you add in your chopped veggies (tomato, onion and green onion)

– stir that all together and spoon over your chicken.

– Cover and bake at 350 degrees for two hours or until tender.Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

You will be amazed at how easy and delicious it is!

Beef and Corn Bake

This is probably our very favourite casserole – think I’ve made this one more in our 22+ years of marriage than anything else. I love it because

1) it’s really delicious and

2) it’s really simple to assemble (which means more time for crafting!).

I’ll share the exact recipe, but I never measure anymore!

Beef Corn Bake

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 medium chopped Onion

1/4 cup cooking oil (I’ve never used the oil)

– Cook all together in fry pan until meat is brown. Put in large casserole dish. Add:

12 ounce can Kernel Corn (drained)

2 – 10 ounce cans Tomato Soup

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1 Tbsp Ketchup (I use more – like 1/4 cup!)

2 cups cooked Noodles (I’ve used Egg Noodles and Chow Mein Noodles)

Mix it all up together and then sprinkle grated Cheddar Cheese on top.

Bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and cook some more until the cheese is done the way you like it.

We like our cheese crusty!

This is a wonderful casserole for transporting too – it’s solid and won’t spill in your car, unless you’re a really crazy driver!!!

My two-year old even loves it! I kept trying to snap a picture of her eating it, but every time I missed the actual food-entering-mouth moment. And she just kept glaring at me for flashing lights in her face over and over and over!

Finally, I got excited because I got a picture of food entering her mouth. But alas, when I did an actual preview of the shot,

it was . . .

. . . a large slice of cucumber that was going in, and not the casserole!

But you can see that her plate is getting emptier.

Here’s a good tip I’ve learned over the years: when your young’un decides they’re too old for bibs and keeps ripping them off, dress them in clothes that co-ordinate with the colour of your meals. Camouflage those spills – it makes laundry so much easier!!!

So . . . back to the Beef Corn Bake – I know your meals are already planned for this week, but make it next week! Your family will thank you!!!

Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Casserole

I made up a recipe – shocking, I know!!! My family loves it – and I can prove it: Kat, my seven-year-old picky eater, just looked over my shoulder to see what I was blogging about and said, “That stuff? Make it again!!!”

We often have leftover cooked chicken (ya know, from those barbecued chickens at the grocery store) and I was looking for a new way to use it up. I wanted some sort of rice recipe that I could toss everything in a pot and let the oven work its magic. So I started searching online for recipes, but all I could find were recipes where the rice was precooked – and I didn’t want that. So I kind of copied some ingredients from a few different recipes, and then got inventing.

Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Casserole

2 cups rice

2 cups water

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Combine all this in your casserole dish and mix it up well. You can adjust your rice/water amount as desired – just use equal portions of both.

For this version, I tossed in:

1 bundle of broccoli

1 onion

Cubed cooked chicken.

(I know I don’t need to mention that everything should be chopped up, and no precooking is required – except the chicken!)

Mix everything up together. Cook it covered at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Check the rice after about 45 minutes to see if it’s cooked. If your rice is done and the mixture is too runny, cook it for a bit longer without the lid. Sprinkle cheese on at the end if you desire and cook until it’s melted.

In my clean-out-the-fridge version, I threw in leftover cooked vegetables, raw cauliflower, and even leftover smoked pork picnic instead of chicken – that was good! Can’t wait til I have zucchini around to throw in, just to annoy my family!

I’ve made it a few times now and it’s always good. The first time I put it on the table, it got more than a few skeptical, curious, turned-up-noses looks from my youngest kids. So I was pleasantly surprised to hear Kat exclaim in a shocked voice, “This doesn’t taste bad at all!”