Chicken Spinach Casserole ***

We all really enjoyed this one.  It's kind of a like a spinach dip almost.  The original recipe said it just made a "casserole dish," so I doubled it.  WAY too much.  I would say to use a 9x13 and keep the recipe as-is.  I was craving spinach, though, and it definitely hit the spot.  I was pressed for time, so I used canned chicken (I rinsed it to remove some of the salt) and canned spinach and skipped the salt.  I prefer "real" chicken, of course, I'd do that again, if I was in a pinch.  Good stuff.  I asked the 9-year-old what he thought, and he said, "Delish!"  :)  I've made my corrections to the recipe below.

CHICKEN SPINACH CASSEROLE
(Amy ~ mama2AbbyNJohn ~ via COOKS.COM)

1 whole cooked chicken (or 2 large b/s breasts)
1 can diced green chilies, drained
1 clove garlic, minced
1 med. onion, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen spinach(or 2 small cans chopped spinach) , thawed and drained
1/2 tsp. salt
12-16 oz sour cream
8 oz. corn or tortilla chips
2 c. grated cheese (your choice)
Paprika

Saute garlic, onions and chilies (until onions are translucent); add cumin - cook 1 minute. Add soup, then defrosted spinach (squeezed dry). Add salt; simmer. Add chicken and sour cream. Heat thoroughly.
Layer chips, chicken mixture and cheese (2 times) in a 9x13 casserole dish and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
This can also be cooked in the microwave on HIGH for approximately 15 minutes.

Crockpot Cheesy Ravioli Casserole ***

Yum, yum, yum!  We had a crockpot ravioli last week that was a total bomb, so I was determined to find something that would work better for us.  Score!  We all loved it.  I'll definitely be making it again.  Also, I didn't start it on time, so I ended up cooking it on high for about 4 hours, and then we still weren't hungry, so it sat on warm for another hour.  It was still wonderful.  I forgot to take a picture, but the photo below is from the Six Sisters' website, where I found the recipe.  Clicking the picture will link to their site.

Photo from Six Sisters' Stuff

CROCKPOT CHEESY RAVIOLI CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Six Sisters' Stuff)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 (26 ounce) jars four cheese pasta sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (25 ounce) packages frozen beef ravioli

Spray crock pot with Pam. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta sauce, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Place 1 cup of sauce in crock pot. Add 1 package of the ravioli, top with 1 cup of the cheese. Top with remaining package of ravioli and 1 cup cheese. Pour remaining sauce over the top. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Chili-Beef Stuffing Bake *

We really didn't care for this one.  The flavor of the stuffing and the salsa were basically just at war with each other.  It would have been much better with a Jiffy topping, or something like that.  I will never, never make it again as-is, though.  Just ick.

CHILI-BEEF STUFFING BAKE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Kraft.com)

1-1/2 cups hot water
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Cornbread Stuffing Mix
1-1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oven to 400ºF. Add water to stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.
BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in beans, tomato sauce and salsa. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with cheese and stuffing.
BAKE 30 min. or until heated through.

Easy Sloppy Joe Pot Pie ****

We all loved this!  Big surprise for me, since I'm normally not a very big fan of sloppy joes.  The bread part was good, but the kids really liked scooping up the extra meat mixture with tortilla chips.  I doubled the entire thing, so that I would have plenty of leftovers for our lunch.  Didn't work out as well as I'd hoped, since there were hardly any leftovers!  :) 
ETA: I don't have an ovenproof skillet, so I cooked the meat and onion in my skillet, added the sloppy joe sauce, and heated to warm. I then poured it in a 9x13 glass baking dish, sprinkled cheese on it, and then spread on the batter topping and baked for 30 minutes.  If not doubling the recipe, it would probably be fine in an 8x8 baking dish.

EASY SLOPPY JOE POT PIE
Cyndy (MyPB&Jelly)

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) original sloppy joe sauce
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Heat oven to 400ºF. Cook beef and onion in ovenproof 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in sloppy joe sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour over beef mixture. Bake about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
*Amy's notes: I doubled the recipe and cooked the meat and onion in my skillet, added the sloppy joe sauce, and heated to warm.  I then poured it in a 9x13 glass baking dish, sprinkled cheese on it, and then spread on the batter topping and baked for 30 minutes.

Chili Sauce Chicken ***

Wow.  This sauce was amazing!  It's kind of strange, because it almost has a Chinese five-spice flavor to it.  That's a good thing in my book, since I love me some five spice.  We used boneless skinless thighs with no problem.  Both kids cleaned their plates and asked for seconds.  Definitely a keeper for us!

CHILI SAUCE CHICKEN
(Andrew&Elliott’s Mom ~ Nicci ~ via tasteofhome.com)

1 bottle (12 ounces) chili sauce
1/3 cup white wine or chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil
10 to 12 garlic cloves, minced
4-1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 bone-in chicken thighs (4 ounces each)

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first seven ingredients. Remove 1/3 cup for basting; cover and refrigerate. Add chicken to bag; seal and turn to coat. Chill for at least 2 hours. Drain and discard marinade from chicken. Grill, covered, skin side down, over medium heat for 20 minutes. Baste with half the reserved marinade. Turn; grill 10 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 180°, basting frequently with reserved marinade. Yield: 8 servings.

Oven-Fried Okra ***

I love the coating on this.  True, it's drier than true fried okra, but the flavor more than makes up for that, in my opinion.  The 6-year-old ate every bite, and the 8-year-old (who claims to detest okra) ate about half of his and said it wasn't too bad.  Dh and I both liked it.  It's a nice change to our normal veggie sides, so I'll definitely make it again.

OVEN-FRIED OKRA
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Cookin' Cowgirl)

16 oz bag frozen sliced okra, thawed {about 3 1/2 cups}
1 tsp Cajun or creole seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 C yellow corn meal
Canola oil spray
1 gallon zip lock bag

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Turn the zip-lock bag inside out and spray with canola oil spray.
Pour the okra in the bag along with the Cajun seasoning and garlic salt. Seal bag and shake vigorously. Let rest for 10 minutes so the juices extract from the okra.
Add the cornmeal to the bag and shake up again. Let rest 10 more minutes. Give the bag one more good shake. Pour okra over a strainer or colander {either over the sink or over a bowl} so the extra cornmeal will fall off. Spread the okra over a foil covered baking sheet and spread out evenly. Spray okra with canola oil spray.
Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, flip okra over, lightly spray again and return to oven for 20 more minutes.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Corn in the Crockpot ***

So, I took my mom's advice and tried this with the green beans.  We.  Loved.  It.  My kids ate the green beans with no complaints or bribery!  I used two cans of drained green beans.  My only complaint is that it had a bit too much liquid with those.  I'm not really sure how to fix that yet, though.  I'm still thinking on it.  At the time, I just ladled the extra out.  I know that it would be fine if I cut it down to just one can of green beans, but I liked having quite a bit in there.  Maybe I'll try draining them in a colander and then patting them dry, to get a little more of the liquid out.  Anyway, I'll be making this with the green beans from now on, because it's just yummers.  :)

STUFFED PORK CHOPS WITH CORN IN THE CROCKPOT
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Fix-It-and-Forget-It)

6-oz pkg stuffing mix for pork
5 to 6 boneless pork chops
14-oz can whole-kernel corn (or green beans)
10¾-oz can cream of mushroom soup

Prepare stuffing mix according to package directions. Place pork chops in slow cooker and spoon prepared stuffing mix over chops.
Spoon corn over stuffing. Pour soup over all without adding water to dilute soup.
Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours.
*Amy's notes: I've also subbed two cans of green beans for the corn.

Previous Posts:
1/27/11 ~ This turned out much better than I thought it would. To be honest, when it was done, it still looked kind of soupy, and my first thought was that I was going to have to trash it and quickly find something else to throw together for dinner. I made everyone try it first, and it was absolutely delicious! I've mentioned before that I occasionally get a craving for StoveTop, so that's what made me try it in the first place. As always, I used the cornbread dressing one instead of the stuffing (texture issue for me). I also used 6 boneless pork loin chops. They were a little thicker than the thin chops and not as thick as the thick ones. We ate every bit of this, with only a little left for dh to take for his lunch the next day, and the kids were making their "yummy" noises the entire time we ate. This one is so easy to throw together and so yummy that I'm definitely putting it down for my rushed nights. I was telling my mom about it, and she wants to try it with green beans instead of the corn. That sounds really good, so I'm thinking I may have to try that one soon too. :)