Casserole
I am sure you are all wondering who Great Grandma Cotten is? She is my good friend Leanne’s (who I work with) great grandmother. Leanne and I were talking at work one day and wondering what to make for dinner. I was at loss this particular day and Leanne suggested meatloaf and her great grandmother’s spaghetti and cheese. Needless to say that’s what was for dinner! Everyone was VERY happy at dinner time! My favorite part is that I made both the meatloaf and the spaghetti and cheese ahead of time and when I was ready to make dinner, I put them both in the oven at the same time and 45 minutes later dinner was done,… and so delicious! I used my meatloaf recipe from this site and here is great grandma Cotten’s spaghetti* and cheese.
INGREDIENTS
1 16 ounce package of spaghetti, cooked
1 16 ounce package of sharp cheese, sliced
1 stick of butter, sliced
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers
Milk -enough to cover the bottom of the casserole dish
*NOTE – I used elbow pasta because that is what I had on hand. I suggest using the spaghetti as the elbow pasta was a little dry. I have made it using the spaghetti and it really makes a difference.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta until al dante. Drain pasta. Using a large round casserole dish pour enough milk in the bottom of the dish to just over the surface. Put the drained pasta in the dish and add the slices of butter and cheese throughout the spaghetti. Crush the Ritz crackers and top the spaghetti with all of the cracker crumbs.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Thank you Leanne!
Enjoy,
I love manicotti or ANY Italian pasta dish really. I mean who doesn’t… right? Comforting and filling and can also be made ahead! Nothing better… add a side salad and dinner is done! I made these for dinner over the weekend and they were delicious and even better the next day for lunch! I found this recipe in Southern Living Magazine and really liked the ease of this dish. I did have extra filling left over so next time I will make a few more shells! I used sweet italian sausage, but use whatever you like.
INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package of manicotti shells (I recommend a few more than
that as I had left over filling)
1 – 16 ounce package sweet Italian sausage (ground)
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 26 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 8 ounce container of chive and onion cream cheese
6 cups of mozzarella
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
Fresh ground pepper
DIRECTIONS
Follow package directions for the manicotti shells and drain. Cook sausage, onion and garlic in a large pot over medium high heat, stirring often and crumbling the sausage until no longer pink. Stir in pasta sauce and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, 4 cups of mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and add a large pinch of ground pepper. Mix until blended. Cut a slit lengthwise in each manicotti shell. Spoon about 1 cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Spoon cheese mixture into each of the manicotti shells, gently pressing the sides together and placing them seam size down in the prepared dish. Spoon remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered for 50 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Enjoy,
This is pure COMFORT on a dish and cannot get any easier! I baked some chicken the night before I made this dish. To make it even easier the next time, I think I will be picking up a rotisserie chicken from my grocery store. I brought this to work and shared some with a co-worker and she loved it so much she went home to make it for her family!
INGREDIENTS
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 12 ounce container of french onion dip
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces egg noodles
1 container french fried onions (I used the large can, why you ask? Well they are very easy to snack on while cooking and before you know it, they may be gone! …just sayin!)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with non stick spray and set aside.
Cook egg noodles according to package ( mine took six minutes). Combine cream of chicken soup, french onion dip, cheese and chicken in a large bowl mixing well. When the noodles are done cooking , drain and add to chicken mixture and mix well. Put this into your prepared pan and top with the french fried onions. Bake for 25 minutes watching the last five minutes as the french fried onions can burn. If they start to get dark, cover with foil the last few minutes!
Enjoy,
This recipe comes from www.plainchicken.com
This dish is packed with flavor. This has just a handful of ingredients that you can change up to your families spice level and add more veggies Perhaps some bell peppers, change up the cheese to various combinations, cheddar, Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend as I have used…change the salsa to a green salsa , so many possibilities with the dish! We really enjoyed it and I loved that is was quick and easy after a long day at work!!!
INGREDIENTS
12 ounces spiral pasta
1 pound ground beef or hot Jimmy Dean sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1 (16 ounce ) jar salsa
4 cups Mexican cheese blend
2 Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 jalapeño sliced, optional
1/4 cup cilantro optional ( I left this out as Mr. MCYM does not like it)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a three quart baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking heat a large skillet over medium heat add your ground meat and onion breaking up the meat as you cook. Cook until meat is browned and onions are tender, drain any excess fat from the skillet. Stir in your salsa and tomatoes. Combine well. Add your beef and salsa mixture to the pasta. Combine well and pour into your prepared baking dish. Top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve warm with a side salad and a crusty bread.
Enjoy,
This was so simple and delicious! Best of all I assembled the casserole earlier in the day and put it in the oven when we were ready to eat. I love being able to do that as it always seems like everyone needs something when I am trying to get dinner going. Like phone is ringing, animals voicing their need to be fed, teenagers in and out..it never ends. This made my evening a little easier. We will be having this again for sure!
INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
Hot red pepper flakes to taste
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup Marinara sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 (5 ounce) package garlic flavored croutons (crushed)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In an 8×8 pan add the olive oil, minced garlic and red pepper flakes spreading it around covering the bottom of the dish. Dice your chicken breasts and add them to the dish. (I use my kitchen shears and this is done in very little time, you could keep the breasts whole as well). Pour the sauce on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with basil and half of the cheeses. Top with as much of the croutons as you like, (we like the crunch so I added most of the bag!), then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 40 -45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, check at about 30 minutes as my casserole got a little more brown than I would have liked so you may want to cover with tin foil for the last 15 minutes or so.
Enjoy!
Slightly adapted from food.com
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