Potatoes Stacy Ala April, Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole

I've adapted this cheesy potato casserole from a recipe given to me by my friend Stacy Gaither-Tabor when I first moved to Texas. I began making these as a potato side dish for holiday meals, but I also find it's great along side ham steaks and eggs for breakfast. I used sharp white cheddar for the casserole in the photo.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole

1/2 cup butter

1 onion chopped

1 can cream of mushroom soup, condensed (not ready to eat)

Small Sour Cream, all natural or regular NOT reduced fat

1 pkg frozen hash brown potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups shredded cheese, I like sharp cheddar

Melt the butter in a large skillet & add the onion, cook until soft, allow to cool slightly.

In a very large, giant bowl whisk together, soup, and sour cream. Mix in the butter & onions. Dump the hash-brown potatoes on top, try to break up any large clumps. Sprinkle salt & pepper over the potatoes, try not to dump it all on one spot so that it will be more evenly distributed when you mix.  Use a large spoon to begin mixing just the potatoes at first, when you feel the salt & pepper are mixed fairly well, begin to stir everything the soup mixture & the potatoes together.  Sprinkle in shredded cheese as you mix until it is all incorporated.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray & spread the potatoes evenly in the dish, use a light hand do not pack the potatoes down tightly.  Cover with foil & back at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until heated through (about 30 minutes) then remove the foil & allow the top to brown for an additional 10 minutes.

Note: if the potatoes are fully frozen or your casserole was made ahead and thoroughly chilled through you may need to extend the baking time accordingly.

Serves 6-8

Make-Ahead Migas Breakfast Casserole

Now that Ethan is in high school the bus picks him up before the sun. In the interest of smoother running mornings I've been trying to utilize a lot of breakfast casseroles that can be baked Sunday night & re-heated throughout the week.

I wanted to come up with a casserole take on our favorite variety of migas inspired scrambled eggs. I knew I would need to solve the dry eggs issue in a casserole that was intended to be reheated in the microwave each morning. I remembered that my Aunt Virginia (a caterer) once told me the key to keeping eggs from drying out on a buffet was cream cheese. I've now made this casserole twice & it seems to be the current favorite.

Please be advised if you use a lower fat milk you may have issues with the casserole getting watery on you. The half & half is there in order to create an emulsion. For an explanation of why achieving emulsion is important in egg dishes please see Perfect Scrambled Eggs Made Easy.

For serving I cut a square, re-heat it in the microwave, then top it with taco sauce & sour cream.

Make Ahead Migas Breakfast Casserole

Chunky Filling Items
10 corn tortillas cut into pieces & fried
Ham I like to use a lot
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 can ortega chilis
2 cups of shredded cheese, I like cheddar, jack or a combination of the two

Egg Mixture
1 8 oz package cream cheese softened
8 eggs added 1 at a time
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups half & half or whipping cream
2 green onions (optional)
a handful of fresh cilantro (optional)

Remove cream cheese from refrigerator so that it can begin to soften.

Cut 10 corn tortillas into strips. Fry the strips in batches, in oil for about 2 minutes flipping them over half way through (they'll fry best if you wait to fry until your oil is between 350 and 375 degrees fahrenheit.) Drain fried tortilla strips on paper towels. To skip this step you could substitute tortilla chips but they will be much saltier, and I suspect greasier and containing more preservatives. Or you could use un-fried tortillas, but they will soften & disintegrate in the casserole giving a very different texture.

For breakfast ham I have used several different types depending on what was available at my market at the time. Sometimes I can find small sliced boneless hams that have been shrink wrapped, these are very easy to work with. Last night I had a ready-to-eat picnic ham, it was difficult to work with because of the fat cap & trimming around the bone. I wouldn't go that route again. Sometimes ham steaks are available in my meat department they are also quite easy to work with. Failing the above I get ham from the service deli. I have them slice it on the thickest setting & I get 2-3 slices depending on the size of the ham. The ham from the deli is the easiest option, but depending on the season other hams may be a better price. 

Place ham slices in a large skillet and heat them up, allowing them to brown a little bit on each side. Browning the ham seems to activate the flavors of the ham. Try an experiment & eat a piece of ham before browning, then eat a piece that has been browned. HUGE flavor difference! 
Remove the ham to a cutting board, stack & cut into bite-size pieces.


Add a bit of olive oil or butter to the skillet you used for the ham & saute the onion & bell pepper until soft. I like to use a bamboo paddle or wooden spoon and scrape up the brown left in the bottom of the pan from the ham. Ham flavored veggies is a good thing. When the veggies are soft, mix in 1 small can of mild Ortega chiles. I didn't add chiles to my 1st casserole & I felt it really needed this specific flavor.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray. You can mix all the chunky filling ingredients with the cheese in a bowl & dump into the casserole dish. Or save yourself the washing of a bowl & add each ingredient to the casserole dish as you prep them, then take a pair of tongs & mix them right in the casserole dish.

Now for the egg mixture. You need to incorporate the cream cheese throughout the eggs, you want to form an emulsion, mix them evenly, not chunks or bits. There are 2 ways to accomplish this.
1) Cream the cheese in a mixer & when it is soft add the eggs 1 at a time mixing until creamed into the cheese (1st photo is after all eggs are added), then add salt, and slowly pour in the half & half or cream while the mixer is running.
OR

2) If you have a really good blender like a Blendtec or a Vitamix, you can mix up everything in your blender.
I have made this casserole both ways & both work.
Because I DO have a blendtec blender and I know it will blend evenly I also add 2 green onions cut in half to the blender jar. They gave great flavor. Last night I used the creaming mixture method but I wanted to incorporate some leftover cilantro I had in the fridge so I blended my half & half with the cilantro before adding it to the egg mixture. The cilantro was very subtle but if you have some handy, go ahead & add it.

Pour the egg mixture over the chunky filling ingredients in the casserole dish. I take a pair of tongs & lift up bits of the filling from the bottom in order to allow the egg mixture to flow in and around the ingredients so that I don't end up with chunky stuff on the bottom & eggs on the top.

You could top the casserole with additional 1/2 cup of cheese if desired I don't find it necessary.

Cover with foil Bake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 1hour 10 min. Remove foil & continue baking for 10 more minutes.

If serving hot allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting & serving. Or allow to cool, cover with foil & store in the refrigerator for future use.

Creamy Chicken Linguine Casserole

This recipe is from Cooking with Paula Deen July/Aug 2011. The recipe is actually called Chicken Tetrazzini, but I tell you I have had a lot of unpleasant dishes called Tetrazzini so I'm giving it a more descriptive name. I've made this twice now, my family gave it a thumbs up and requested a repeat.


Creamy Chicken Linguine Casserole

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (or 1 family sized large can)
1 (5 oz) tub of shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup water (or boil the pasta in chicken broth & use 1/2 cup of that)
1 cup frozen green peas (I use about 1 1/2 cups, I like green peas in creamy dishes)
12 oz linguine, cooked & kept warm (finally a recipe that CALLS for the cheater 12 oz package) I like to break the noodles in half before adding them to the cooking water, this will make them easier to mix, later.
3/4 cup coarsely crushed round buttery crackers (Ritz Crackers 1 1/2 sleeves crush in a zip loc bag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray (to avoid getting the counter messy with overspray, open your dishwasher, set the dish on the open door & spray, it will get cleaned up next time you run your dishwasher).

Add butter and onions to a large non-stick skillet, sauté over medium heat until soft, add the garlic on top and stir around for a few minutes. Push the onions & garlic mixture to the side of the pan and add the chicken pieces to the center. Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes moving the chicken around as needed, until the chicken is cooked through.

Remove pan from heat, stir in mushroom soup, sour cream, 1/2 cup of water (or chicken broth) and cheese. Stir until combined then add the frozen peas. Now mix in the linguine and pour into prepared casserole mix. Top with crushed crackers.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Cooking with Paula Deen July/Aug 2011

Ortega Chicken Casserole

Ethan often asks me, "When are you going to make casserole, again?" He loves them. He doesn't generally specify which casserole, just that it's time for me to make one, again. This casserole is another that I got from my Mother, it's full of canned soup & chicken, but I still crave it. I had a bit of a panic yesterday when I went into my recipe box and this card had been lost. Luckily I had made a recipe box full of recipes for my friend, Heather, some 11 years ago and found an old computer file.
Note: this is a retro recipe, very mild, good for littles who won't eat anything spicy, it is a lot of soup! In the future I think I will try updating it by using less soup and mixing it with red or green enchilada sauce. I do like the corn tortilla mixed into the casserole & the crispness of the tortillas on top, although they would dish up better if cut into squares.


Ortega Chicken Casserole

2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup, condensed
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup, condensed
1 can Ortega chilies, cut up (I use mild)
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed, or shredded (be sure to use the full 4 breasts of chicken or it will be too saucy)
1 medium onion, chopped
10 corn tortillas, cut into strips, or squares
1 cup cheddar or jack cheese, grated

In a large bowl mix soups, chilies, chicken and onion. Pour one layer of mixture into bottom of a casserole dish.  Top with a layer of tortillas and repeat, sprinkle top layer of tortillas with cheese.

Casserole can be frozen at this point if desired.

Bake 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Broccoli Casserole

This is a recipe out of Paula Deen and friends. It is one of Ethan's favorite things to eat and I made it tonight because he informed me that he was tired of meat, he wanted to eat Broccoli Casserole. Everybody does seem to like this one.

Paula states that you need to use a metal spoon to mix this up because it's really stiff. To this I say "Pish" just add the ingredients in the order I describe and it goes together fluffy and light.

Broccoli Casserole

Two eggs
One cup mayonnaise
One 10 3/4 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (original recipe is best)
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
Two 10-ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
2 cups crushed Ritz or cheese crackers (I used one sleeve of Ritz use 2 sleeves if you like a taller layer of crackers - those golden, buttery cracker crumbs are quite tasty!)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a very large bowl beat the two eggs, then add mayo, soup and cheese and mix thoroughly, then mix in the broccoli. Spread broccoli mixture into a 9"x13" baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (Pam.)

Place Ritz crackers in a 1 gallon zipper bag, squeeze out excess air and seal. Crush crackers, you can roll with a rolling pin, bash with a skillet, or just push down on the bag a few times with the baking dish. Melt the butter, pour into the cracker crumbs, re-seal bag and shake a few times to distribute butter. Spread buttered crumbs onto the top of the casserole and bake until set and browned, about 35 minutes in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

serves 8-10

Creamy Artichoke and Garlic Chicken

I made up a new recipe for dinner last night. Inspiration struck after the Super Bowl. I had made my friend, Heather's, Hot Artichoke Dip. I had leftover ingredients, and the dip is so good - but if I made it during the week I would end up eating it all myself which is not something I wanted to do. Soooooo I tweaked it slightly and made it into a main dish. The result was easy and delicious. My 10 year old complained that there wasn't more. I give you...

Creamy Artichoke and Garlic Chicken
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 Tablespoons Tastefully Simple - Garlic Garlic Seasoning (optional)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 can (water packed) artichokes hearts, drained & chopped into small pieces
1/2 onion chopped fine (I used my Pampered Chef food chopper)
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - one for each person.

Combine the cream cheese and Garlic Garlic seasoning - you can do this step several hours ahead and leave the bowl, covered, on your kitchen counter for the cream cheese to continue to soften. If you don't have garlic garlic Seasoning you can skip this step, the original artichoke dip recipe did not include any garlic.

When you are ready to cook, add the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts and onion to the cream cheese mixture and combine well.

Place Chicken Pieces in the bottom of an oven-safe baking dish and cover with the artichoke mixture. Place in a preheated 350 F oven and bake until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve with rice and a vegetable.



Cooks Notes:
1) I always use Neufatchel Cheese in recipes that call for cream cheese. It has less fat, tastes and performs the SAME - I promise.
2) On the other side of the coin - do NOT used reduced fat mayonnaise in this recipe, something funny happens to reduced fat mayonnaise in hot recipes, they can separate and they don't set up... save the reduced fat stuff for chilled recipes.
3) Tastefully Simple is a line of specialty foods and mixes sold by consultants at craft shows and home parties. http://www.tastefullysimple.com/Cultures/en-US/
4) I added 1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of Chicken Base to the rice cooking water to give additional flavor.

Baked Pasta Florentine

When Mom died I brought home a set of 2 Paula Deen cookbooks that I had given her. I brought home a lot of Mom's cookbooks on that trip... but for some reason these had special significance and I had put them in a "special place" and never looked at them. I just wasn't ready yet.

So on New Years Day.... with nearly two years gone by... I started reading...
Tell me I'm not the only one who reads cookbooks!
I haven't been cooking like I usually do, so, with the holidays over I was ready to get back into the thick of it. I have a 10 year old who loves spinach, so this dish seemed a great place to start. It's from The Lady & Son's Too! cookbook by Paula Deen.
This recipe is bubbling away in the oven and I just can't wait to dig in. I will give this one warning - you'll need two big pots... one to simmer the meat sauce in, and a second to cook your pasta, and combine a bunch of ingredients with the pasta after it is cooked... so be forewarned....

Baked Pasta Florentine

One 10 oz package frozen, chopped spinach
2 tablespoon, plus 1/2 cup vegetable oil (yes 1/2 cup!)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
One 15 1/2 oz jar pasta sauce with mushrooms
One 8 oz. can tomato sauce
One 6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
8 oz. seashell macaroni
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs, well beaten

Cook the spinach according to package directions; drain , reserving the liquid and adding enough water to measure 1 cup; set aside. In a large, heavy pot, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic in the oil, stirring well to crumble the beef. Drain off the fat. Stir the spinach liquid, pasta sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and pepper into the meat mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes, then cover and set aside. Cook the macaroni according to package directions; drain and return the macaroni to the pot. Add the spinach, cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, and the 1/2 cup of oil; stir gently to mix well. As soon as the eggs hit the hot pasta and the hot pot they are going to begin to cook, and the cheese is also going to begin to melt. I recommend putting the oil, pasta and breadcrumbs in first, leaving the cheese and eggs until last so you can quickly stir it up. Spread the mixture evenly in a lightly greased 9"x13" baking dish. Top with the meat sauce and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serves 8.

I used sharp cheddar cheese because I just wrote "sharp cheese" on my grocery list... when assembling the recipe I realize she probably meant something more along the lines of Parmesan or Romano cheese, and the finished dish does need the saltiness of one of those in with the spinach

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan, I think every family has a casserole like this, one for which everyone seems to have the recipe. It turns up at a lot of church potlucks and family reunions and you are always glad to find it familiar and comforting. This recipe comes from my mother who got it from her Aunt, Cay Hedges. I like to keep track of the origin of recipes and the year I started making them. Recipes can become family traditions, passed from generation to generation. Years in the future it can be interesting to see where they came from and how long they have been in the family.
Mom topped this casserole with cheese only, I discovered the bread crumb option when I copied the recipe for my own recipe box when I got married. Putting the bread crumbs over the top of the cheese creates a crunchy and flavorful topping which I always include. Tonight I multiplied the recipe by 1 1/2 and divided it between 2 9x9" square dishes and put one in the freezer for a future dinner. Preparing Casseroles for the freezer.

Chicken Divan

3 cups cooked chicken
1 can condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can condensed Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 box frozen chopped broccoli
8 oz jar of sliced mushrooms
6 oz grated cheese
1 cup of seasoned bread crumbs (optional)

Cut chicken into pieces. I usually like using shredded chicken for casseroles, but in this dish I think it is better to cut the chicken into pieces.
Cook broccoli according to package directions and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together mayonnaise, soups, curry powder and lemon juice. I like to use a whisk to mix them together and because I love curry, I use extra curry powder. While many of them are fine for salads and cold dishes, I don't recommend reduced fat mayonnaise or reduced fat soups for cooking, they just don't bake up with the same consistency.

Mix in broccoli, mushrooms and chicken. Place into a 9x13 or 3 qt. casserole dish. Top with cheese (use your own discretion about how much depending on the size of your baking dish.) Sprinkle seasoned breadcrumbs over the top of the cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for one hour.

What's For Dinner: Dinner Experiment Pasta Bake

It's the great dinner experiment. I bought ingredients to make manicotti and I had the idea to try adding pesto to the usual ricotta filling, but I can not locate my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator -which is what I use to fill manicotti. (Did I loan it to you? If I did please let me know where my baby is. LOL!) So I was trying to figure out what else I could make with the perishable ingredients for the manicotti. I thought I could make lasagna, but I hate layering those wriggly noodles and hoping they don't break or stick together before I can get everything assembled. And besides that I didn't have enough mozzarella for a lasagna. Then inspiration struck I remembered a baked spaghetti dish called "Bird's Nest Pie" that Becki Smith made. This is a kind of a hybrid of Bird's Nest Pie and a lasagna without the wriggly noodle handling.

OK it's after dinner now and I thought it turned out really well. I like the
Campanelle a lot, it's shape traps and holds onto those tasty bits and the
frilled edge is reminiscent of lasagna. (It's 3 days later and Ethan has had THREE dinners of this pasta and tonight at bedtime he said he hoped there was still enough for tomorrow.)

Meat Sauce:
Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey (couldn't find ground chicken at
the market)
2 cans Spaghetti sauce

Pasta Layer
3 Eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
a little less than 1 Pound Campanelle Pasta (spiral tube with a frill)
1 tub low fat cottage cheese

Cheese Layer
1 Egg
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 tub prepared basil pesto
Mozzarella (less than 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350 and put a large pot of water on to boil.

1) In a deep skillet, cook ground turkey, breaking up into pieces with a spoon. When meat is cooked, pour in 1 can spaghetti sauce, cover, bring up to a bubble then turn off. If 2 cans will fit put them both in together. My pan wasn't big enough so I had to add more sauce to the pan after I had ladled out the bottom layer of the casserole.

2) In a medium bowl beat 1 egg, add 1 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, mix together. Dump in one tub prepared basil pesto, stir to combine, set aside.

3) Cook Pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks... Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl, beat in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. When pasta is cooked, drain in colander. While pasta is hot quickly mix into egg and cheese mixture, the heat of the pasta will begin to cook the egg and it will coat the pasta keeping it moist. Stir in tub of cottage cheese.

4) Assembly
Spray a 9x13 (or larger as it was overflowing my dish) baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 or 2 ladles of meat sauce into bottom of dish and spread to cover. Layer a little less than half of the pasta on top of the sauce and spread to cover. Spread all of the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Top with remaining Pasta mixture, top with remaining meat sauce.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in 350 oven until bubbling and 160 degrees in the center (food safety guidelines say eggs need to cook to 160 degrees to be safe) about 60 minutes (more if ingredients were not already hot going into the oven.) Remove foil, sprinkle with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and return to oven until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. I'd use a spoon to serve this, I don't think it's going to come out in squares.

Whadya think? Sound good?