Mexican Chicken Casserole ****

We LOVE this recipe. We've had it at least 100 times since I first got it from Rachel. Okay, maybe only 50, but we really do love it. Any recipe where you can take a bunch of packaged foods and add them together to get something yummy is thumbs up in my book. It's great because I can keep all the stuff around for an quick and easy last-minute meal. I normally get the frozen Tyson grilled chicken strips. It's really good with shredded rotisserie chicken.

MEXICAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1 (10 ¾-oz) can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken soup
1 (10 ¾-oz) can Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can fat-free evaporated milk
1 (4-oz) can diced green chiles
1 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken
1 package plain Doritos
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 (4-oz) can sliced black olives

Mix first four ingredients in order. Crush the bag of Doritos into little pieces; add to mixture. Stir in chicken.
Pour mixture into 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with olives, and then cover with cheese. Bake at 350° for about 30-45 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes with Pecan Praline Streusel

SWEET POTATOES WITH PECAN PRALINE STREUSEL
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

For the potatoes:
6 -8 sweet potatoes
¼ cup butter
1 dash cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 (16 ounce) bag mini marshmallows

For the streusel topping:
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, melted
cinnamon
1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Wash and skin potatoes, chop into large chunks.
Boil potatoes until tender and mash.
Stir in butter, cinnamon, brown sugar and mini marshmallows to taste (about a handful).
Mix in a separate bowl, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and pecans; drizzle melted butter over mixture and stir to moisten, mixture should resemble chunky crumbs.
Pour potato mixture into casserole dish and cover with a thin layer of mini-marshmallows.
Top with pecan mixture.
Bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

Meatloaf Pie *

This one just really didn't work for us at all. The flavor was good, but I ended up having to cook it an extra 30 minutes just to get it completely done. On the advice of everyone to use lean meat, I chose ground turkey. The juice leaked out and stuck to the pan, even though I lined it with foil. Just not a good experience at all. We won't be trying it again.

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar.com

MEATLOAF PIE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar.com)

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 (1.5 oz) packet French onion soup mix
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (or 1 tblspn Tomato sauce & 1 teaspn worcestershire sauce)
2 lbs ground beef (lean)
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg (lightly beaten to glaze)

In a bowl, place bread crumbs, milk, soup mix, barbeque sauce and the dried herbs.
Mix well and leave for 5 minutes.
Add ground beef to the mixture and mix lightly until well combined.
Place 1 sheet of pastry on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper.
Spread filling evenly on top leaving a 4cm ( 1 1/2 inch) border of partry.
Moisten pastry edges with water and place 2nd piece of pastry on top.
Seal the edges with a fork.
Brush top of pastry lightly with beaten egg.
Pick the top of the pastry several times.
Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes until golden.
Serve hot or cold cut into squares.

Beefy Bean Burrito Casserole ****

This one was a winner as usual. We have a hard time finding the beef & cheese burritos, so we almost always end up doing ours with bean & cheese. The sauce in this is so basic, but it really comes out tasting like you've put much more effort into it. Yummy!

BEEFY BEAN BURRITO CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Allrecipes.com)

8 frozen beef and cheese burritos
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken
½ cup sour cream
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped (optional)
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and sliced (optional)
1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
½ cup salsa (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the burritos in a row across the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and chile peppers. Spread evenly over the top of the burritos. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is slightly browned and burritos are heated through. Serve with tomato, avocado, olives and salsa.

Italian Sausage for the Crockpot **

We liked this one, but the Italian sausage really loses its flavoring during the cooking. I really loved the rice mixed with the sauce and spinach, though. I want to try it again in a few weeks using chicken or ground turkey. The boys loved it, though. They even asked for seconds!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE FLORENTINE FOR THE CROCKPOT
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

8-10 sweet Italian sausage
2 onions
2 green peppers (optional) or red peppers (optional)
2 lbs frozen spinach
1 quart spaghetti sauce (I prefer Classico)
grated parmesan cheese

Brown sausages in skillet or on grill.
Peel and slice onions. Put in bottom of 6qt crock pot.
If using peppers, seed and slice vertically. Layer on top of the onions.
Pour frozen spinach into crock pot.
Arrange sausages on top of the spinach.
Pour spaghetti sauce evenly over top of everything.
Cook on high for 2 hours then on low for 3-4 hours. OR, thaw the spinach first and cook on low for 6+ hours.
Serve over pasta, over rice, or with a hearty, crusty, bread. Pass grated Parmesan at the table.
*Note -- If preparing for a party or a potluck you may wish to slice the sausage and make 2 layers of ingredients to better control the portions. This version could have shredded mozzarella incorporated into the layers and on top.

Pork Chops Delite ****

OMG, this dish seriously is "delightful," lol. The entire family oohed and ahhed over it. I doubled the sauce and used 8 smaller boneless chops. When it was done, I took out the chops and added more milk and flour for the gravy. At the end of the meal, dh said, "You HAVE to make this one again." :)

Pork Chops Delite
Rachel--burns_toast

4 pork chops
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup beer
salt/pepper to taste
flour for dredging
1 tbsp. butter/oil

Heat butter/oil in large skillet. Dredge chops in seasoned flour. Cook in skillet until browned on both sides. Mix remaining ingredients, pour over chops. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes.