Chicken Dinner Casserole by Missy

Recipe found in HOPE Taste of Mops Cookbook 2007-2008

Ingredients:
14½ oz can green beans (drained)
10¾ oz can cream of chicken soup
2 c. chicken (cooked and cubed)
6 oz box of stuffing mix (and ingredients to prepare)
½ c. – 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
French Fried onions (optional)

Assembly:
Spray 2-quart casserole or deep dish pie pan with cooking spray. Prepare stuffing according to directions. While stuffing is cooking, combine green beans, soup, French fried onions (if desired), and chicken in casserole or pie pan. Combine stuffing and cheese. Place stuffing mixture on top of chicken mixture. Double wrap and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350. Bake approximately 30 minutes (until hot and bubbly). Serves 4-6 adults.

Chipotle Pepper Pork Chops by Debbie

Ingredients:
1 - 2 pounds pork chops
Grill Time Chipotle Pepper marinade packet
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Assembly:
Combine the marinade packet, water, and oil in a dish. Stir well to combine. Add the meat to the marinade in either a zip lock back or a baking dish. Either place your container in the freezer, or cook immediately.

Serving Day:
Defrost meat completely. Grill, broil, or bake the chops until done. Enjoy!
Place the zip lock bag in the freezer

Chicken Chili Casserole by Mags

(Original recipe from www.momsbudget.com)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 brick of cream cheese (4 oz)
• 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 3 cups rice
• 1&1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (I just used 1 bag)
• 4oz. diced green chilies (I used 1/2 lg can which was about 3.5 oz) - Use mild (or choose the spicy for an extra kick!)
• 15 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
• 15 oz. can of black beans (drained)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Preparation:

1. Boil 3-4 chicken breasts and make your Minute Rice. Chop up the chicken into small pieces.
2. Combine sour cream, ricotta, and cream cheese. Add remaining ingredients (including the chicken) except the chips - mix well.
3. Pour into greased 9x13 freezable casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw casserole.
Bake in a 350 oven for 30-45 minutes (depending on how thoroughly it is thawed).
Top with your crushed tortilla chips and serve!

Enjoy!
:) Mags

Debbie's Meatloaf

Ingredients:
1 - 2 pounds ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup oats
1 egg
1 small can of tomato sauce
Salt and pepper

Assembly:
Reserving 1/3 of the can of tomato sauce to use later, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to combine. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Place the combined meat in the baking dish, shaping into a loaf. Top with remaining tomato sauce. Bake in a 400 degree oven 50 to 60 minutes.

Freezing Instructions:
Make your meatloaf as instructed above. Do not bake. Instead, place in a freezer-friendly container.

Serving Day:
When ready to use, thaw the meatloaf completely. Place in a baking dish and following baking instructions above. Enjoy!

Hearty Macaroni Casserole by Jackie

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (7 1/4 oz.) macaroni and cheese dinner mix
1 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 can (14 1/2 oz) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup French Fried Onions

Assembly:
Prepare macaroni and cheese according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook beef, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to prepared macaroni. Stir in tomatoes.

Spoon half of the mixture into greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Top with remaining macaroni mixture. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months.  Place French's Fried Onions into a pint size freezer Ziploc bag.  Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw completely in the refrigerator. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover & sprinkle French's Fried Onions (or 1 cup of cheddar cheese) on top. Bake 10 more minutes, or until heated through.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Polls vs. Comments

Hey All -
With our growth to 8 people, we are going to be deleting the polls and having you just post your comments under the posts for each recipe you try. This will get rid of some of the clutter along the side of the blog (and allow us space for some new widgets... check out the Live Feed widget... tells us where everyone is coming from!), AND allow anyone (even visitors!) who have used a recipe off of our blog to leave their comments on it as well. It should keep things better organized and comments are directly emailed to us when they happen. That's a nice feature!

If you'd prefer your comment be "anonymous," you can choose this option when you are posting a comment. :)

Happy Eating!
:) Mags

Poor Man's Chicken by Jen

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Breasts, thawed
1 (8 oz.) Cream cheese onion & Chive OR 1 (8 oz.) Cream Cheese and chop a bunch of green onion
Garlic powder (optional)
6-12 Bacon Strips

Assembly:
Pound the thawed chicken breasts flat.
Stuffed the chicken breast with cream cheese mixture.
Roll the chicken breast, then wrap with bacon strip or two.
Poke with toothpick.

Serving Day:
Bake thawed chicken breasts at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Garlic Herb Chicken by Debbie

Ingredients:
Lowry's Garlic Herb Marinade
6 chicken breasts

Preparation:
Prick the chicken breasts with a fork and place in ziploc gallon freezer bag.
Pour 1 bottle of marinade in the bag.
Seal and freeze.

On cooking day:
Thaw the chicken.
You can grill, bake, stir fry - anything. Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken Tortellini by Mags

Ingredients:

• 1-2 family size packages of Buitini Tortellini (I used 1 package of 3-cheese and 1 package of herb chicken) - usually found in your Pasta Aisle in a refrigerated case. 1 package is plenty for a family of 4.
• 1-2 packets of Knorr (or other brand - I used Kroger's Private Selection) Pesto Sauce - you find this with other gravy/sauce dry packets. 1 package per pack of tortellini.
• 1 bag of shredded Parmesan cheese.
• olive oil
• water
• Optional - precooked chicken breast, cut-up into smaller pieces.

Preparation:
Cook your tortellini according to package directions. Drain. Put in large bowl.
Cook your pesto mix, mixing in olive oil and water, according to packet directions.
Toss with tortellini in the big bowl.
Toss in cooked chicken chunks if you want.

Same-Day Dinner:
Eat right away while everything is still hot - sprinkling on the Parmesan cheese.

To Freeze & Eat Later:
Wait until pasta cools. Poor into 1 gallon freezer bag and freeze flat.
On Eating Day - Thaw. Pour into 9"x13" pan, sprinkle Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 20-30 minutes until heated through. Uncover and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

Enjoy!
♥Mags

Allergy Note: Often Pesto sauce contains pine nuts, but the Knorr packets and the Private Selection packets DO NOT so you can serve this safely to peanut-allergy people! :)

Julie C.'s Taco Soup by Jackie

Ingredients:
1lb. ground beef (browned with minced onion and drained)
2 pkg. taco seasoning (I only used one, but my husband thinks it needs 2.)
1 large can tomato sauce
1 can corn, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans water

Assembly:
Add taco seasoning to browned meat. Mix all ingredients in large pot. Freeze in gallon size ziplock bags.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Place in large pot. Simmer until warm. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

Pork Chop Potato Bake - by Tish

Serves 6

Ingredients:
6 Bone-in (or boneless, your choice) pork chops, or you could use boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Season salt of your choice (sprinkle over meat prior to bread crumbs)
Seasoned breadcrumbs (enough to coat meat)
Oil (I use olive oil) for browning the meat
1 can cream of celery soup (I use the 98% fat free variety)
1/2 cup of milk (any kind, I use skim)
1/2 cup sour cream (I use fat-free)
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2 bag of frozen hash browns (THAWED and drained of as much water as possible)
1 cup of shredded cheese, divided (I use cheddar, co-jack, or Colby)
1 small can of Durkee French Fried onion rings (optional)

Assembly:
Season meat with seasoning salt and lightly bread the pieces. Brown the meat in oil and DRAIN WELL.
In large mixing bowl, combine soup, milk, sour cream, pepper and pinch of salt. Stir in THAWED and DRAINED hash browns, 1/2 of the cheese and 1/2 can of onions rings, if using them. Spoon mixture into lightly greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Place browned, DRAINED meat on top of mixture.

To Eat On Assembly Day:
Cover with aluminum foil (pole a few holes in foil first) and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 45-55 min, or till meat is done. Remove from oven and remove foil. Sprinkle rest of cheese and onion rings on top and return to the oven, UNcovered just till cheese melts. This is great warmed up and freezes well (Just don't put the last of the cheese or onion rings on the top. Wait to do that when you actually cook it.)

Serving Day:
Thaw it completely first (if you see any excess water/moisture just blot with paper towel and then cook as above.) Follow directions above for baking. Enjoy!

I've made this dish for LOTS of new moms and generally everyone likes it - even kids.

Stuffed Sausage Peppers by Wendy

Ingredients:
6 large Bell Peppers, tops cut off, seeded
1-16 oz. Turkey Sausage, or 12oz. hot Italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 cups instant rice
1 tbsp dried basil
1 cup Shredded Med. Cheddar Cheese, divided

Assembly:
1. Place peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Fill the dish with 1/2 inch of water, cover and microwave on High until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the water and transfer the peppers to a roasting pan.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wood spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and rice; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice absorbs the remaining liquid, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir basil and half the cheese into the rice mixture. Divide the filling among the peppers, then top with the remaining cheese. Let cool then place in freezer.

Serving Day:
To eat after making: Broil until cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

When frozen: Thaw in fridge before cooking. Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

To make ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

Mexican Dinner Dip by Mags

Mexican Dinner Dip - by Mags

This works well as a dinner or as an appetizer for a party!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning
• 1 bag shredded cheddar
• 1 can refried beans
• sour cream
• large bag of your favorite taco chips
• Optional: chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce
• Optional: substitute taco shells for the taco chips

Procedure:

1. You can use a 9x13" pan for a shallow dip or a round Corning Ware dip for a thicker dip - either works fine!
2. Grease your pan.
3. Spread out the refried beans to be the bottom layer.
4. Brown and drain the ground beef. Add in taco seasoning and water according to taco pkg. directions.
5. Spread out the ground beef on top of your refried beans.
6. Spread out whole bag of cheddar cheese on top of beef.

To Bake Immediately: Bake for 20 minutes at 350 until heated through and cheese is melted.

To Freeze for later: cover with a couple layers of foil and freeze. On cooking day, thaw first, then bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until cooked through. You might to keep it covered until the last 10 minutes so your cheese doesn't burn.

Scoup out big spoonfuls as desired add globs of sour cream as you like, and use your taco chips to dip!

You can also add chopped tomatoes, onions, or shredded lettuce to make taco salads. You could scoop up the mixture into taco shells for a fancy taco as well!

This is one of my favorites from growing up - my younger brother was in to cooking in junior high - this was his recipe! Enjoy!

Chicken Stuffed Shells by Jackie

Ingredients:
1 box Stove Top stuffing (chicken flavor)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
Parmesan cheese
1 12oz. box jumbo shells

Assembly:
Cook shells as directed on box. Prepare stuffing as directed. Mix stuffing, chicken and mayonnaise well. Stuff mixture into shells. Mix 2 cans soup and 1 can water. Pour a little on bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan. Place shells in pan. Pour rest of soup on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Wrap well and freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw. Bake covered 40 to 60 minutes at 350°. Or bake from frozen for 2 hours.

Chili by Missy

Heat these ingredients in soup pan and let simmer:
1 can Del Monte diced zesty chili tomatoes
2 cans chili beans (do not drain)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 quart tomato juice
1 tbsp chili powder


Combine the following ingredients in your skillet and cook thoroughly:
I used 1/2 lb. of the following meats:

• hamburger
• turkey
• venison

1/2 onion

1 4oz can diced green chilies

1 tbsp chili powder

Extra Notes: My family enjoys chili that's spicy. For this recipe I toned down the use of chili powder so your family can enjoy a more mild meal OR you may heat this in your pan and spice-it-up-a-bit to your liking! I also sent a home canned jar of tomato juice to add when you choose to eat this meal (it wouldn't all fit in the freezer container). I have also stretched this meal by adding cooked elbow macaroni/pasta spirals which the kids really like. Enjoy!!

Chicken Breasts by Tish

Servings:
6

Ingredients:
1C. sour cream – low fat or regular
2T. lemon juice
2t. Worcestershire sauce
1t. celery salt
1t. paprika
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1t. salt
6 chicken breasts - boneless, skinless
1C. bread crumbs
1/2 C.butter or margarine, melted and divided


Assembly Directions:
In a large bowl, combine sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, paprika, garlic, and salt. Add breasts, coat each piece well. Cover the bowl with a lid, plastic wrap, or foil and refrigerate 8 hours or over night. (Editor’s note: I dipped each piece of chicken in the sour cream mixture and placed them in a plastic food storage bag. I poured in the excess sauce, removed the excess air, sealed the bag and marinated them in the refrigerator.) The next day, remove the breasts and roll them in the bread crumbs. Arrange the chicken pieces in a shallow pan. Spoon half of the melted butter over the chicken pieces.

To Make And Eat Now:
This recipe can be assembled, then refrigerated for up to 48 hours. Set the chicken out at room temperature for one hour before baking. Bake at 350ºF. for 45 minutes, then spoon the remaining melted butter over the chicken and bake 10-15 minutes longer until tender and brown.

Freezing Directions:
This recipe can be frozen in a serving dish as stated above, or you can open freeze the chicken on a baking sheet then put the frozen pieces in a freezer bag or rigid freezer container. If you like, package the remaining butter in a small plastic bag so that you know you have it on hand with the recipe. The butter packet can be inserted in a freezer bag or rigid container along with the chicken parts.

Serving After Thawing Directions: Thaw coated chicken completely. Bake the chicken at 350ºF for 45 minutes, then spoon the remaining melted butter over the chicken. Bake 10-15 minutes longer until tender and brown.

Cheesy Beef Spirals by Jen

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
2 pounds ground beef
2 small onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce
1 jar (4-1/2 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 pound process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Assembly:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the beef, onions and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and mushrooms; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Place 1/2 cup of meat sauce in a greased shallow 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Drain pasta; place half over sauce. Top with half of the remaining meat sauce; spread with sour cream. Top with American cheese and remaining pasta and meat sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Serving Day:
Cover and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

Jumbo Stuffed Shells - by Tish

Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) package of jumbo shells
1 1/2 pounds of ground Italian sausage (mild or hot) [you can sub. ground beef, turkey, or chicken if desired]
2 egg whites [I also added 1 whole egg to help bring the mixture together better]
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese [I actually used 1/2 cup]
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 T. chopped parsley
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (any variety)

Assembly:
Cook shells according to package directions. Do NOT overcook since you will be re-heating them later after they are filled and will become rubbery. Drain and set aside. Spritz with olive oil to keep them from sticking together.
In a large skillet, cook sausage (or ground meat of you choice) till done. Drain well and combine with eggs, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley, basil, oregano, salt and pepper (I also added minced garlic). Mix thoroughly.
Fill cooked shells with meat mixture.
Pour 1/3 to 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce in bottom of 2-quart baking dish or foil pan. Place shells on top. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Cover with heavy duty freezer foil and Freeze.

Serving Day:
Thaw for 24 hours in refrigerator. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then remove and cover with shredded mozzarella cheese and continue baking 10 minutes longer.

Serves 8

Chicken Lasagna Roll-Ups by Jen

Prep Time:10 min
Total Time:40 min
Makes:6-9 servings

Ingredients:
6 lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Italian Style Chicken Breast Strips or (12oz.) Canned Chicken
1 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 t. minced garlic (optional)
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Assembly:
PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Cook noodles as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain well
MIX chicken, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg and seasoning; spread 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each noodle. Roll up tightly; place, seam sides down, in 9-inch square baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over roll-ups; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

BAKE 30 minutes or until heated through.

Honey Teriyaki Pork Chops with Sesame by Mags

Honey Teriyaki Pork Chops with Sesame

I'm thinking "Why RE-invent the wheel?!" - there's an entire aisle in my local Kroger devoted to sauces and marinades so I'm trying them!

Ingredients:
4-9 pork chops (depends on how big they are)
1-2 bottles of KC Masterpiece 30-min. Marinade: Honey Teriyaki with Sesame

Procedure:
Poke holes in your fresh pork chops with a fork.
Drop in a Zip-loc freezer bag.
Pour in your marinade.
Freeze it for later OR bake it after 30-minutes.

If frozen, on Baking Day:
Thaw out baggie.
Spray your glass dish with cooking spray (this stuff is sticky!)
Lay out pork chops and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes - it really depends on how thick your chops are!
For added flavor, baste with additional marinade during cooking.

Alternatives:
You can baste your vegetables as well - so you could drop in cubed potatoes, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc. around your pork chops and bake it all together!

I love rice - so you can also whip a box of Rice-a-Roni to go with it!

Enjoy!
Mags