Tuna Noodle Casserole

Always a favorite of mine growing up, this is my mom's recipe and I haven't changed a thing!

Ingredients:

• 2 small cans of albacore tuna
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 - 3/4 bag of egg noodles
• 3/4 - 1 cup miracle whip
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Saute vegetables in butter or olive oil until starting to soften and onions turning translucent.  

Cook egg noodles according to package, then drain,  Heat soup and milk in medium sauce pan then add in the miracle whip and shredded cheddar until cheese is melted.  Take off the heat and stir in tuna.  

Mix everything together and pour into casserole dish.  Top with more cheese if desired.  

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and edges get golden brown.

Sam's Chicken Enchiladas

My friend Samantha gets requests for these from all her friends who have tasted them before, they are SO GOOD!  I had to have the recipe to make them myself!  I personally like these because unlike the ones you get at a Mexican restaurant, they only have a white creamy sauce on them, not the red enchilada sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups light sour cream
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 small can of diced green chilies, drained
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 can black beans (drained), or refried or pinto if you prefer
• 2 cups cheddar or taco cheese
• 2-3 good sized boneless chicken breasts or 6-7 boneless tenderloins
• 7-8 large flour tortillas, or any tortillas you prefer

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and put chicken in to cook for 20 minutes.  When cooked, use a fork to shred the chicken.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix together the cream soup and 1 cup sour cream.  Spread a few spoonfuls of that mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 dish as your base.  

Into your bowl of the sour cream and soup mixture, pour your chilies, diced onion, black beans, shredded chicken and 1 cup of the cheese.

Mix all together.

Start filling tortillas with the mixture, rolling each up and placing seam side down in dish. 

 Top the enchiladas with remaining mixture (plus leftover 1/2 cup sour cream) and bake for 30 minutes.  

Top with the remaining 1 cup cheese and put back in oven for 5 minutes to melt.

Variations:  You can add corn, diced tomatoes, or avocado to the mixture.  Another thing I want to try next time is the kraft queso shredded cheese in these, I think that would be the ultimate cheesiness!

The Hub gets super duper excited when I make these!!! 

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Coconut Rice

This is a go-to meal for many of the women in my family, even for company.  I always always have these ingredients on hand for a quick dinner idea.  It's super easy and delicious, so you'll see why!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Boneless Chicken tenderloins or 4-6 boneless breasts
• 12 oz. Thousand Island dressing (I use fat free)
• 12 oz. Apricot Preserves (sometimes I use apricot pineapple)
• 1 pkt. dry Onion Soup Mix
• 1 cup Jasmine or Basmati Rice
• Light Coconut Milk (14.5 oz can)
• a little extra water to round out your 2nd cup of liquid for rice

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.  Mix together the thousand island, apricot preserves, and onion soup mix.  

Place chicken on the bottom of dish.

Pour mixture over chicken.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or so, or until chicken is cooked through.

While that cooks make your rice the same way you normally would, 1 cup rice, 2 cups liquid, using the coconut milk instead of all water.   

Serve chicken and sauce over the rice.  It's delicious!!

Mom's Baked Ziti

Always a favorite I make for company!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz box of ziti or similar pasta
• 2 jars of tomato sauce (24 oz each), any variety you like
• 1  15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• grated parmesan for top

Cook pasta as directed on box, drain.

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix beaten egg, ricotta cheese, 1 jar of sauce plus 1/4 of the second jar, and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella and the drained pasta in a large bowl.

Pour some of the remaining sauce in the bottom of dish, spread the ziti mixture on top.

Top with the rest of the sauce, and the remaining mozzarella, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake covered for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Sorry I forgot to take an after baking picture so just imagine the cheese all melted and bubbling!

Cheesy Cauliflower Pasta & Turkey

I'm having trouble naming this one, but I guess cheesy cauliflower pasta & turkey says it all!  This is almost like a homemade hamburger helper deal (which by the way I've never had in my life, but almost everyone knows what it is as a comparison).  It's easy and really yummy and filling for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• mrs dash onion & herb (or any spices you want to add would work)
• 1/4 c tomato sauce
• 1 1/4 c dry whole wheat pasta
• 24 oz bag (about 6 c) frozen cauliflower and low fat cheese sauce (like Green Giant)
• 2 wedges laughing cow light swiss
• sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese to serve

Brown turkey with onion and spices in saute pan.













Add tomato sauce, stir.  Cook cauliflower in microwave half the time it says on bag.  Cook pasta until just al dente, don't overcook!
Mix everything together in dutch oven or large pasta pot (I used the same pot I'd made the pasta in to have less pots to wash).  Cook on low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring several times to make sure everything is cooking evenly, and so you don't burn anything to the bottom of pot.  Stir in laughing cow wedges until melted.







(ALTERNATIVE METHOD: Instead of heating on stove, you can mix everything together and pour into a 9x13 or similar casserole dish and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes).  When you have a few minutes left for casserole to bake, cut up laughing cow cheese wedges and disperse throughout casserole, put back in oven for them to melt.





Sprinkle with shredded cheese to serve.

Nutritional Facts:

PER SERVING (1/8th of recipe, about 1 cup): 179 calories, 5.75g fat, 512mg sodium, 19g carbs, 2g fiber, 3.5g sugars, 12.5g protein









Adapted from Hungry Girl

Mexican Quinoa Casserole

If you've never had quinoa before, you're missing out.  It's actually the seed from a grain-like crop, and it's similar to brown rice, but looks more like couscous.  What's great is it has a lot of protein and fiber, which makes it super filling. It's easy to cook, exactly like rice, and it's very versatile, making it great for dishes of all kinds.

This recipe makes a hearty 9x13 casserole and will go a long way.  Great to bring to a party or dinner at someone's house too.  It's really easy with only a little prep work.  And you can definitely make it up ahead of time and bake when you are ready to eat it.

Mexican Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed for 2 minutes under cold water (otherwise can be bitter tasting)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 TBS plus 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped or minced
• 2 small zucchinis, cubed
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilis
• 1 can yellow corn, drained
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• juice of one small lime
• salt to taste
• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar, monterey jack, or mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat, then add the quinoa and stir for about 1 minute while the quinoa dries out a bit.  Add the chicken stock, stir and bring to a boil.  After coming to a boil, turn down to low and simmer covered for 18 minutes. 

While the quinoa cooks, get a large skillet and heat 2 TBS olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes.  Add onions and green bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 min, then add garlic and zucchini and cook 4 more min.

When quinoa is cooked, take off heat and let sit about 5 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork.

Take skillet off heat as well and if your skillet is large enough to use, start adding in all the other ingredients (except shredded cheese), including quinoa and mix everything together.  Otherwise use a large bowl to do this.  When well mixed, pour into your casserole dish and bake at 375 for 30 min.  

Take out of the oven and top with cheese, then bake 10 minutes more or until melted and bubbling.

If desired, top with a little sour cream to serve.

Nutritional facts:  10 servings.  243 calories, 10 g fat, 5 g sugar, 444 g sodium, 5 g figer, 10 g protein.