Cowboy Casserole

I haven't blogged anything in almost 10 months. Crazy how life gets so busy and things get put aside. I have lots to update, but this recipe will come first.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef 

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons sour cream

1 can (15.25oz) whole kernel corn, drained

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 bag (30 oz) frozen tater tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown and drain ground beef and onion.  Mix together the soup, milk, and sour cream until smooth. Add to meat mix and combine well. Stir in the corn and 1 cup of cheese. 

Grease bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Layer half the tots on the bottom. Pour meat mixture on top. Cover with remaining tots and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

Chili Dog Casserole

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and it looked awesome. I love hot dogs and this was a fun twist on just a normal chili dog. 

1 package of hot dog buns

1 pack hot dogs

1-2 cans chili (personal preference on how much you like)

cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Rip up buns into pieces and place in bottom of 9x13 baking dish.  Cut hot dogs into small pieces and place on top of buns. Cover with chili then cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Meatball Sub Bake

This is the second time I've made this dish. I found the recipe on Pinterest. It looked so yummy I knew my family would like it.

1 can Pillsbury Grands Biscuits

1 bag frozen meatballs

1½ cup to 2 cups spaghetti sauce

1½ cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut up each biscuit into small pieces.  Place on bottom of 9x13 inch baking dish.  Cover with sauce. 

Evenly place meatballs on top of sauce. Cover with cheese. Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. 

Pictures don't do it justice, but it is delicious!  

Salt Dough Handprint Ornaments

The other day I came across this salt dough ornament on Pinterest. I decided to do it with the kids this past weekend. All you need is 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and water.

Mix the flour and salt and then slowly pour in water until it forms a dough.  Flatten it out on a cookie sheet so it's large enough for your child's hand to fit. Press their hand into the dough and slowly lift it out.

I used a straw to make a hole at the top so we can hang it. After you do that, bake it at 150 degrees for 1 hour (my oven only goes down to 170 degrees so I used that).

Remove from oven and let cool completely. You can then leave it how it is and hang it from the tree with a pretty ribbon, or you can paint it. I painted them so the handprints would show a little better.  On the back I also painted 2014 so we'll always remember when we made then. These are something you could do every year or you could even do footprints.  I'm sure grandparents would love them too.

This post also appeared here as a guest blogger post

Easy bookcase upgrade

The other day I decided to get rid of Mason's toy box and get him a bookcase instead. He has built in shelves behind his toy with most of his toys on that so his toy box was practically empty besides the books and toys on top.

Before putting the bookcase together completely I decided to give it a little upgrade. I just found some fabric in my stash that went with his room colors. I laid out the cardboard back piece over the fabric. I stretched it tight and used some box tape to attach it when I wrapped it around the cardboard. Then I nailed the cardboard piece to the bookcase.  Quick easy and fun upgrade to a simple $17 bookcase.

Stove Top Swiss Chicken Casserole

I've mentioned before that I like recipes with stuffing in them. It's like Thanksgiving but without eating more than you should. This casserole dish was a good one to use your left over chicken in after a holiday meal.

shredded chicken

1 pkg Swiss Cheese

1 16 oz. box pasta

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1 box chicken stuffing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook pasta al dente'.  Mix shredded chicken, pasta, and cream of chicken soup together.  In another small bowl, mix stuffing and sour cream together. 

Spread pasta mix on bottom of baking dish.  Spread stuffing mix on top. Cover with swiss cheese slices.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

Queso Taco Pasta Bake

Taking a break from the freezer meal sharing to share this amazing pasta dish. It was one of my new favorite dishes.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup salsa

1 pound lean ground beef

One 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes, mild

1 tablespoon ground cumin

3/4 pound small pasta of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper for about 30 seconds. Whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Continue to whisk until thickened.  Stir in  1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and salsa until well mixed. Set aside

Brown and drain ground beef. Mix in tomatoes and cumin. Mix cheese sauce with beef.

Cook pasta al dente'. Drain and mix with cheese beef mixture.  

Pour into baking dish. Top with remaining 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Golden Chicken & Noodles

The crock pot freezer meals I made a few weeks ago are running out. =(  I have another list of some that I want to try, but it will probably be a few more weeks before I get them all prepared.  Today's recipe is golden chicken & noodles. I made this the other day, but we ended up going shopping and just ate dinner out so I threw it into the fridge and just warmed it up the next night. It was delicious.

4-5 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

 10 3/4 oz can broccoli cheese soup

1 Cup milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp basil

1 tsp pepper

Extra Wide Egg Noodles (used on day of serving)

On cooking day, just dump bag into crock pot and cook on low for 5-7 hours.

Cook pasta al dente' and mix in before serving. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Ready for another crock pot freezer meal? This recipe was delicious. The broccoli was in smaller pieces so it was easily hidden from the kiddos and I so we ate it with no complaining.

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts

1 (16 oz) bag frozen broccoli florets

2 (16 oz) jars Alfredo sauce
pasta (on cooking day, do not freeze)

To freezer, just put all ingredients (except pasta) in a gallon freezer bag. 

On cooking day, thaw for 24 hours ahead of time.  Pour into crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Cook pasta al dente and mix in before serving. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Bean Tater Tot Casserole

Here's another crock pot freezer meal that I prepared last week.  This recipe says its for 2 meals, but I only made one with it. We each had 2 helpings and then Mike had some for work the next day.

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 lb string beans, fresh or frozen

1 10 3/4 can cream of potato soup

1 cup shredded cheese

21 oz bag frozen tater tots

Split all ingredients in half and place in 2 bags. Lay flat and freeze. Day of cooking grab from freezer, pour all contents into crock pot and cook on high 2-3 hrs or low 4-6 hours.

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Tortilla Soup

I'm back sharing my second recipe from my crock pot freezer meals I prepared last week.  This recipe was pretty good, but it was more of a chili consistency than soup. Either way it was good.

1 lb ground turkey

1 can crushed tomatoes

8 oz frozen corn

1 can black beans

1 can pinto beans

taco seasoning (on cooking day)

To freeze, just mix all ingredients and pour into gallon freezer bag.

On cooking day, add one cup water, taco seasoning to taste and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until turkey is completely cooked. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Creamy Ranch Pork Chops & Potatoes

On Friday I posted about part two of crock pot freezer meals. Here's the first recipe we tried out. It was really good. Let me know what you think if you try it out.

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops

3-4 medium potatoes, chopped in large pieces (I sliced mine)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 packet ranch powder mix

1/2 cup milk

To freeze, just mix all ingredients together and pour into a gallon size freezer bag. 

On cooking day, just thaw for 24 hours before putting in crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. 

Crock Pot Freezer Meals- Part 2

I'm back for part 2 of Crock Pot Freezer meal recipes. I did part one last year and it was amazing. It was so nice to just grab a bag from the freezer and toss it in the crock pot and continue with the rest of my day.

This time around I gathered 5 recipes to try out. I try to find recipes that have similar ingredients so it cuts down on my grocery spending. Then I just space them out when eating them so we're not eating chicken 6 days in a row.  Here's what I made-

Creamy Ranch Pork Chops & Potatoes

Tortilla Soup

Bean Tater Tot Casserole

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

Golden Chicken & Noodles

*Edit* Since I was using my crock pot almost every day for a week, I bought these Reynold's Slow Cooker Liners.   It was so nice to just put the leftovers away, grab the liner, toss it in the trash and not have to wash the crock pot every night. 

Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole

Here's another recipe that is inexpensive, quick to throw together and the kids will also like it.

1 lb ground beef

1 can sloppy joe sauce

16 oz frozen tater tots

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brown ground beef and drain. Mix in sloppy joe sauce and simmer. 

Pour the meat into the bottom of a baking dish. Top with cheese.  Spread tots in a single layer on top.  Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tots are browned.