Freezable Casseroles

A couple weeks ago I had a spurt of energy and decided to make up some meals to freeze for before/after baby comes. I used what I had on hand and made some new and old casseroles and recipes. I made two meat pies, Good Neighbor Casserole, Judy's Black Bean and Corn Casserole and two hashbrown casseroles (well one recipe, divided in half). I lined some of the pans with tinfoil so that once frozen, could be transferred to a large freezer bag and that way my pans wouldn't be tied up. I haven't exactly had any more bursts of energy, so they've stayed in the pans thus far, but if I ever have the urge to make something and need them - they're super easy to access. I've actually already busted into one of the casseroles as I haven't been able to do any cooking lately and it was absolutely delicious. The 'Good Neighbor Casserole' Recipe I found in my Company's Coming 'Gifts from the Kitchen' Recipe book was fantastic, almost like a make-shift lasagna. I baked everything as directed before freezing, and then to reheat I cooked from frozen for an hour at 375 degrees. The cheese on top was nice and chewy and Mike and I both really loved this dish.

Pictured above: Top Left and Middle Left: Good Neighbor Casserole

Top Right: Judy's Black Bean and Corn Casserole

Bottom Left and Bottom Right: Hashbrown Casserole

(You're probably thinking how can I tell the difference between them when they're all covered in cheese, right?) yummmmm.....

Good Neighbor Casserole

2.5 lbs lean ground beef

large onion, chopped

3 cups spaghetti sauce, your choice (I like to use the garden selects version - has more veggies)

salt & pepper

12 oz broad egg noodles (didn't have so used elbow mac), cooked until tender but firm

8 oz light cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups light sour cream

1 1/4 cups cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

Scramble fry the ground beef and onion until cooked, drain and rinse to get rid of excess fat. Add spaghetti sauce, salt and pepper. Cook for about another 10 min until heated through.

Divide cooked noodles between two greesed 2 quart (2 liter) casserole dishes. Divide meat mixture over each noodles.

Beat cream cheese and sour cream together with your mixer until smooth. Add in the cottage cheese and beat it as smooth as you can get it. Divide and spoon over each meat mixture.

Divide and sprinkle cheddar cheese over cream cheese mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 40 min until hot. Makes 2 casseroles, 6 servings each.

Drumstick Dessert

My mom used to make this every summer to take camping with us! She'd make it ahead and freeze it, then we'd have a special treat for dessert. I haven't had this in years, but after my husband accused me of not liking peanut butter, I decided to make this! (I still have no idea what basis he made his claim on - especially when I eat PB on toast almost everyday). So when Camille was coming over for birthday supper and it was absolutely sweltering in my house and turning my oven on was the last thing I wanted to do (Yes, it's October), I decided this no-bake dessert was perfect.

Drumstick Dessert

Bottom Layer:

1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs

1/4 cup margarine

1/2 cup chopped peanuts (I used almonds)

Middle layer:

an 8oz pkg of cream cheese (I used 95% fat free cream cheese)

tub of cool whip (I used the light kind)

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar (I used a bit less than 1/2 cup, and I used brown sugar).

Topping:

caramel and chocolate sauce

Melt the margarine and mix together the bottom layer, reserving a 1/2 cup for extra topping. I popped this in the freezer while I was mixing up the rest. Mix up all ingredients in the middle layer in your mixer, adding the cool whip last. Spread mixture onto crumb base and top with remaining crumbs, chocolate sauce and caramel topping. Usually this will freeze much quicker if you use the full fat varieties, but otherwise this will take a long time to set using the fat-reduced ones. For best results, freeze over night.

Easy Stuffed Potatoes

This has got to be the quickest and easiest recipe for stuffed potatoes ever! Mike absolutely loves them and would eat them for every meal if he could! You could totally change up the type of cream cheese to change the flavour!

Easy Stuffed Potatoes

4 large baking potatoes

1/2 tub herb and garlic light cream cheese

milk to smooth out

salt and pepper

dill to taste

handful of bacon bits

grated cheese

After washing and cutting off any bad parts on the potato, pop in the microwave and press your potato button! (Best button ever!) If you don't have a potato button, cook on high about 10-12 min or until fork pierces easily. Let the potatoes cool and then slice in half lengthwise. Scoop out the potato, leaving a fairly sturdy shell. Using your mixer, whip together the rest of the ingredients, reserving some grated cheese. Spoon back in to the shells and top with grated cheese. Can top with chives too to make em look pretty! If it's summer, put them on the top rack of the BBQ while you cook the rest of your meal. Or finish under the broiler for a few minutes but watch closely as it will burn quickly!

Easy Appetizer Pizza

This is a super quick and easy recipe that is always a crowd pleaser and disappears before your eyes. For the pizza dough, I either use frozen pizza dough or pizza dough mix - both are easy, but the mix is quickest as you don't have to let it thaw out. I find that thin crust works best. Topping it with kraft salad dressing- I've used Roasted red pepper and parmesan before and also Italian - and finishing with shredded cheese makes this deliciously simple. For the grated cheese- the pre-shredded four cheese Italian blend gives great flavor!

Easy Appetizer Pizza

1 prepared pizza dough, rolled out to fit a pizza pan

Roasted Red Pepper and Parmesan Salad dressing

1 cup or more grated cheese

handful of real bacon bits

Spread about 1/3 of a cup of the dressing on the pizza dough and top with bacon bits and grated cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min, depending on crust thickness. Let sit for about 5-10 min, slice into thin strips and serve.

Shepherd's Pie

I absolutely LOVE Shepherd's Pie. I always wondered why my mom never made it when we were growing up, but she did! We just called it something different! I think we just called it something super original like casserole or even hamburger casserole! I found a really easy way of making it too... by using a spice mix! Club house actually has a delicious mix of pre-blended spices called, you guessed it, Shepherd's Pie. I have made it from scratch as well, which I prefer, but using a spice mix is so quick and easy with no thinking involved that I definitely had to mention it. I've been looking through cookbooks trying to find the perfect recipe but ended up combining about 5 or so different recipes to make my own:

Shepherd's Pie

1-1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

large chopped onion

a couple garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup water

2 cups beef broth

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp rosemary

2 TBSP ketchup

2 tsps Worcestershire sauce

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups frozen or canned veggies such as peas, carrots, corn, etc.

4 cups leftover mashed potatoes.

1 cup grated cheese

Brown beef and onion. (I strain and rinse with hot water after it's fully cooked, then return to the pan). Add garlic. Mix flour with water, then stir in to the beef, then add the rest of the ingredients except potatoes and cheese. Simmer for about 15-20 min until everything is nice and thick. Remove the bay leaf and pour into a 9x13, top with mashed potatoes, sprinkle cheese on top and bake for 30 min in 400 degree oven. I turn it on broil for an extra 3 or so minutes until everything is nice and browned on top. *Watch closely as burns quickly!!*

More Dips!

So I've been making the same dips over and over so I decided to try some new ones. Wasn't too sure how they'd go over as Mike and I are both hot ooey gooey cheesey dip lovers and these were well.. cold. They turned out not too bad at all actually, with most people giving great reviews of them.

BLT II Dip

This dip is just as it sounds - a BLT made into a dip. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com and you can follow the link to the recipe here. I used premade real bacon bits instead of frying up my own and the low fat versions of the sour cream and mayo. I added in half a packet of some ranch powder as suggested in the comments section on allrecipes.com and topped with some finely chopped lettuce around the outside for decoration and topped it with some fresh chopped tomato and more bacon bits. I think the trick with this recipe is letting it sit over night so the flavors can all blend together. My dip sat for about 4 hours and next time I'd let it sit longer, even though everyone could easily identify the dip as BLT dip by taste.

Seven Layer Taco Dip

I also found this dip on allrecipes.com and you can find the link to the recipe here. This dip was super easy but I think it would be better warm. I actually made this into a 6 layer dip as I omitted the olives on top, but still think it turned out pretty good. I mixed a half package of taco seasoning into the refried beans and into the sour cream and cream cheese mixture. This is a very hearty dip that is quite filling. You can adjust the spice up or down a few notches by the amount of taco seasoning you add and you could also add jalapeño peppers. Next time, I'd either totally omit the shredded lettuce or add it after baking it for 20-3o minutes to get everything nice and ooey gooey and cheesey.
Both dips were really easy to make and I think I'd make the taco dip again before I made the BLT dip. It's getting colder out and I think hot dips are where it's at for winter! The BLT dip would be more appropriate for summer and you could use fresh veggies to dip into it. Let me know what you think of them if you make any of them!

Velveeta Mac and Cheese

For some reason when I was at Co-op the other day, I just HAD to buy some velveeta cheese. Now in the past, the thought of velveeta cheese has kinda grossed me out and I would much prefer the real cheese version vs the processed kind. However, I don't try and understand my pregnancy whims, I just try and deal with them! So since it was on sale, I decided to buy it, not having a clue what I'd do with it. Since lately people have been tempting me with mac and cheese, and I needed some good comfort food, I found a recipe for mac and cheese using velveeta. It actually turned out quite creamy and delicious, I must say. I got the recipe off of the kraft website and here is the link to Velveeta Down Home Mac and Cheese.