Zucchini Beef Casserole

I'm sure most of you now have so much zucchini you don't know how to use it all up and are running out of people to give it to! It is funny how a garden works... during the long winter months we can only dream of having fresh tomatoes and produce from our garden and then during the dog days of summer we can hardly give our produce away because we have so much!   This recipe is fantastic for hot summer days because it uses the mircrowave and it uses up all that zucchini sitting on our kitchen cabinets staring at us! The recipe calls for the hamburger to be raw while cooking it in the microwave, but I do not like the consistency of the meat this way, so I cook the meat and then add it to the dish to microwave.
Zucchini Beef Casserole
1pd ground beef, lean
1tsp garlic powder
11/2C diced zucchini
1(14.5)oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2C instant rice
1/2C water
1/4C chopped onion, optional
1/4C soy sauce
3/4tsp dried basil, optional
Crumble beef into a 2qt microwave safe dish(this is where I precook the meat and then add it). Sprinkle this with garlic powder.  Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes(unless you precook the meat). stir. Heat 1-2 minutes longer, or until cooked and its not pink.Drain if needed.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Cover and microwave on high for 20-25minutes, or until veggies and rice are tender. Stir twice during the cooking time.
This is a great dish and the kids loved it too! I'm sure you could adjust this to a slow cooker as well.

Visit Mandy's Recipe Box for other zucchini recipes

Ham Casserole

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter! What an amazing day we had...went to Sunday school and church and pondered on how our Lord died for us and what an amazing love He has for each of us.  It sure is wonderful to know that when I mess up that God still loves me and one day I will be in Heaven where there is no more pain and no more sadness! I can't wait!  This life down here is hard! Although I have been very blessed with a beautiful family and life.

These are my two awnry, but wonderful, kiddos

Brooke(5), Braedon(11), me and my hubby

Does anyone have a TON of Easter ham leftover??? I DO! And I planned it that way so I could put it in the freezer and make casseroles.  I found a ham recipe on the blog, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms and it reminds me of my hamburger potato casserole here on my blog, but it uses ham.  I also have a recipe called Pasta Ham Dish on this blog that you could use up that leftover ham with!  Does anyone have any yummy ham recipes they like?
Ham Casserole
2pds sliced, cut up ham
1onion, chopped
1C peeled,chopped carrots
3C sliced potatoes
1can cream of mushroom soup
2 1/4tsp flour
1C milk
salt and pepper
Brown ham and onion in a greased pan.  Add flour, soup and milk and heat until it boils. Arrange carrots, potatoes, ham ,onion in bottom of greased 13x9dish.  Pour sauce over top and cover and bake at 350 for 1hour. Uncover and bake 15minutes more.

Cheeseburger Macaroni

This is a twist on a Krafts Food recipe.  My 11yr old son loves this stuff and can't get enough of it. He told me tonight that if he were a king he would request his servants to serve him this every night! I guess I am his servant....although I already knew this!  He would eat this stuff until he popped if I let him, he is in that stage of growing where he can never get enough...just as I sit down from doing dinner dishes he comes to me asking for a snack and I'm like, what?!!! He is gonna be tall I have a feeling, he only has a few inches to go to catch up with ol mom and I'm almost 5'7" but, he is only 11!  Anyways, you can do a lot to this recipe to adapt it to your likings by adding more veggies. Use 100% whole grain noodles to up the fiber,etc. This dish is SO nice because it is a one dish meal, the noodles cook in the same pan! BONUS!  We also like to add a can of diced tomatoes to this!
Cheeseburger Macaroni
1pound ground beef
2 3/4 C water
1/4C ketchup
1tsp onion powder, optional
2C elbow macaroni, uncooked
8oz velveeta, cubed
1can corn, drained, or 1-2C frozen corn
Brown meat and drain.  Add water, ketchup, onion powder;mix well.  Bring to a boil. Stir in macaroni and cover.  Simmer on med-low heat 8-10minutes or until tender. Stir in corn and velveeta and cook until cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.  My family likes to stir in cottage cheese to this dish.

Chicken Bake

This is a dish that I have tweeked until I found the right combo for my family. So feel free to use the veggie you like and you could change the cheese for a different taste and it would be great for leftover turkey instead of chicken.  Kids love this casserole and it's easy to sneak in the veggies without them knowing they are hidden within the stuffing!  Stuffing and cheese make anything better! Shoot, if I was a kid again, I'd eat my veggies if they had stuffing and cheese on them, maybe even that darn canned stringy spinach stuff my parents use to make me eat, yuck! That stuff shouldn't even be edible!  That is punishment, making your children eat canned spinach! OK.....I have a confession to make....I use to have to sit at the dinner table until my canned spinach was gone from my plate, which meant that I was still sitting there at bedtime! (my parents were very consistent and meant what they said!and I was very stubborn!)Well, after sitting there for hours each time we had canned spinach, I realized it was cutting into my play time and I did NOT like that! So, the schemer in me thought of an evil plan!(I didn't want to be this way, my parents brought this out in me!) I would only drink half of my milk during supper and then when my family would get up from the table and go into the other room, I would put my untouched spinach into the milk and hope that it stayed hidden! Mom would check my plate and see the spinach gone and I was FREE to go!  I know, terrible right?!  I don't think I ever told my parents about this "scheme" until I had my first child 11 years ago and the tables turned and I thought how my little one may do these terrible things to me! Thank goodness prepackaged fresh spinach came along, that stuff tastes totally different then that canned stuff.....besides, I would never make my children eat canned spinach! Anyways, just a heads up if you are a parent that makes your child sit there until their food is gone....check their milk!  And I forgive you mom and dad for making me eat that stuff!

Chicken(or turkey)Bake
Preheat the oven to 400. Prepare a package of stovetop chicken stuffing according to package directions and set aside.  Mix 2C of cooked and shredded chicken with a bag of frozen broccoli(or your choice of veggie) and place in a greased 13x9 dish. I have also used a 9x9 and it worked great.  Stir together a can of cream of chicken soup with 1/2Cmilk until smooth.  Add a small can of water chestnuts(optional), bag of cooked wild rice(or your choice of flavor) I use the 90second Uncle Bens rice in the microwave. Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken/veggie layer.  Top with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese and then top with the prepared stuffing. Bake for 25-30minutes

Penne and Smoked Sausage

Does anyone else just LOVE the magazines Simple and Delicious and Taste of Home? I have been following these magazines for years and get many wonderful recipes from them.  The recipe today is from one of them(can't remember which one).  Enjoy!
Penne and Smoked Sausage
2C uncooked penne pasta (I use Smart Taste, it is healthy pasta)
1pd fully cooked kielbasa, (I use lite, or turkey sausage)
11/2C milk
1can cream of celery soup(I used cream of mushroom)
11/2C cheddar french-fried onions,divided
1C shredded mozzarella, divided
1C frozen peas
I had fresh mushrooms so I added them also
Cook pasta and drain.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown sausage for 5minutes(add mushrooms and raw onion here if you want them). In a large bowl, combine milk and soup and stir til smooth. Stir in 1/2C french fried onions, 1/2C cheese, peas and sausage. Drain pasta and stir into sausage mixture.  Transfer to a greased 13x9 dish.

Cover and bake at 375 for 25min or until bubbly.  Sprinkle with remaining onions and cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes more, or until cheese is melted.

Bierock Casserole

Who wants to take bets? My 5 yr old daughter has an appt to get her ears peirced today and I'm not thinking it's gonna happen! This is a tom boy were talking about, who could almost care less with what she wears and does not play with dolls, who loves dirt and mud and bugs and when it's time to get a shot at the dr.s office it takes 4 people to hold her down and about 20minutes of struggling with her before the shot can even be given. So you wanna make a bet now? LOL  I hope she does go through with it and it was her idea.  She saw a couple girls at preschool with earrings and her cousins too, so she thinks she wants them now.  She will be so "pretty" this summer while digging in the mud with her sparkly earrings! She does take after her mom in this department...I will be right next to her digging in the mud! Hey, a girls gotta be pretty while in the mud, right?! I will post a picture tomorrow if she goes through with it!  On with the recipe....do you like bierox, or is it bierocks? My mom taught me how to make them and they are wonderful and so easy to freeze for later.  They do take some time to make, but they are worth it. And there are many variations to what you can add to your meat.  I came across this recipe for bierock casserole a few years ago and it is really good. It's not quite the same as an individual bierock, but it is much quicker and really good.  It uses crescent rolls, and you can put the layer on the top or on the bottom, or if you like more bread, then put a layer on top and bottom.  Enjoy!

Bierock Casserole
1 bag of prepackaged coleslaw
11/2pd ground beef
1can cream mushroom
1-2C shredded cheddar cheese
1or 2 cans crescent rolls
Brown beef and add onion if desired.  Mix in the bag of coleslaw(I don't use the whole bag, but use how much you like) Place a lid on the beef/coleslaw mixture and place on med-low to let the coleslaw steam and get soft. Once it has softened add the cream of mushroom soup and stir well.  I often add a few Tbsp of mustard at this point and I also boil about 1/4C water and add a beef bouillon cube and melt and add this to the mixture.  You can leave this step out if you want, I just think it adds more flavor.  Grease a 13x9 and place the mixture in the dish and top with shredded cheese and then place the crescent rolls on top, pressing seals together.  In my picture, you see I put the layer of crescent rolls on the bottom of the pan and it worked just as well. I think it would also be good to put a layer on the top and the bottom.  Bake at 400 for around 15-20min.

Note: instead of using a bag of coleslaw you can also use a bag of prepackaged broccoli slaw, it is located near the bagged coleslaw

Hamburger Casserole

I don't know what else this casserole is called, except EXTREME comfort food! This is one of the first recipes I got from my mother-n-law when I got married almost 12 years ago and it is my favorite go to recipe. My MIL has the best collection of recipes and is a wonderful cook. I want this casserole whenever I had a baby, or a surgery, or just didn't feel well...it is bland, but flavorful and very good for you. Kids love it and can't get enough of it...so that makes this a real winner! I have changed it just a bit, but only to make it healthier. This recipe is one that we have to have cottage cheese with and mix it in before eating, makes it so much better...for some reason. I hope your family enjoys this for years to come like mine has....and it makes a ton too! I could see putting this is in the crockpot before church and coming home to it being done, I haven't tried that, but if you put it on high it should work(atleast with my beast of a crockpot!).

Hamburger Casserole

1-2pds cooked ground beef

3 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin

4-5large carrots, sliced

1C brown rice, uncooked

1can diced tomatoes, don't drain

1/2can hot water

Cook beef and drain and place in a 2qt dish. Layer sliced potatoes on top of beef. Layer carrots on top of this and then layer the uncooked rice. Dump the can of diced tomatoes on top and carefully spread around to cover the rice. Take the 1/2can hot water and pour over any rice that didn't get wet and take a knife and run around the pan, letting the water run down into the food. This will also help to steam, or cook, the food. Place foil on top and bake at 325 for two hours. Sometimes liquid will remain at the bottom, just use a slotted spoon. The original recipe calls for white rice and also to add chopped raw onion on top of the beef. YUMMY!

Kielbasa Casserole

This is a dish that I got from a Taste of Home cookbook years ago that my hubby has to have atleast once a month. I have altered the recipe to our family's likings. The kids mostly just pick out the sausage and eat it, but I have found that adding cottage cheese to their plates(I know this is extremely strange!) they mix it in with the casserole and it helps them to eat this better. I think it tones down the distinct sauerkraut taste. At our house we add cottage cheese to most casseroles and soups....this all started from my husband and his family. I thought that was so strange when we first married, but then I tried it with several meals and it actually made it better! Now, my son won't eat anything without it. I guess it's a good way to get your calcium!

Kielbasa Casserole

2C elbow macaroni, cook and drain

1 can diced tomatoes, don't drain

1 can sauerkraut, drain

1pd kielbasa, I use turkey sausage

2C cheese

*Cook and drain the pasta. Cut up sausage into bite size pieces. Spray a 2qt dish with Pam and heat oven to 350. After draining the pasta, add the sausage, sauerkraut, and diced tomatoes to the pan and stir well. Put in a 2qt dish and add cheese to the top. Bake for 30-35min or until bubbly.

Before adding the cheese

Reuben Casserole

A bonus recipe today! My mom just called and told me I had to put this on my blog..my three nieces,SIL and mom just had tried it for supper the night before and everyone loved it. I have not yet tried it, but have seen a similar recipe and wanted to make it. Of course, we love reubens, so I'm sure it is much quicker to make as a casserole and you probably have to like sauerkraut! Mom said she had never tried reubens with the russian dressing, but she gave it a try and it was good. Hope you enjoy it!
Reuben Casserole
6 slices rye bread, cubed
1(16oz)can sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
1pd deli sliced corned beef, cut up...or leftover corned beef
3/4C russian style salad dressing
2C shredded swiss cheese
Preheat oven to 400. Spray 13x9 and layer meat on bottom and then sauerkraut, russian dressing then swiss cheese and then cubed rye bread. Bake 20 min or so until bread is toasted and casserole is heated through.