Chili Tots Casserole ***

This one actually surprised me.  Dh loves Frito Pies, and while I like them, they are just too salty for me.  I found this recipe, in the hopes that dh and the kids would like it, and we could find a decent compromise for the Frito Pies.  It worked!  I love that meat is added to this.  Of course, if you had a chili with lots of beans, it would accomplish the same goal, but the meat keeps it from being "too much" on the chili side, for lack of a better explanation.  There's not the usual chili overkill that some recipes with canned chili have.  The best part was that it was so easy, dh threw it together in no time flat, without leaving me a zillion dirty dishes in the sink.  :)
I subbed ground turkey, as usual, and I actually used 1 1/2 lbs, since that's what I had handy.  I also had dh just use one 9x13 instead of two 8x8 pans.  I didn't make the extra one to freeze.  I love that I normally have most of the ingredients on hand, so this can be thrown together at the last minute.  Keeper for us!

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

CHILI TOTS CASSEROLE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ Recipezaar)

1 lb ground beef (optional)
2 (15 ounce) cans chili without beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (32 ounce) bag tater tots

Cook the beef and drain.
Stir in the chili and heat through.
Pour into two 8" sprayed square baking dishes.
Sprinkle with the cheese and top with the tater tots.
Cover and freeze one casserole for up to three months.
Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
To use the frozen casserole: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hrs or until heated through.

Sauteed Zucchini **

This was just so-so for us.  DS2 is a butter-holic.  He would eat butter from the tub if I'd let him (don't worry - I don't, lol).  He loved this.  He had 3 helpings of it.  The rest of us just couldn't get into it, though.  The butter flavor was just too over-powering, in my opinion.  I did use dried garlic, instead of fresh, and I'm sure that made a difference.  I liked the combo of the lemon juice and garlic, though.  I think I may try this again, using olive oil instead of the butter, and see if that works for us.  It wasn't bad by any means, and anything that can get either of my kids to eat 3 helpings of veggies deserves a second chance in my book.  :)

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

SAUTEED ZUCCHINI
Michelle (MMmom)

4 medium zucchini
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp lemon juice (I didn't measure, and probably used more)
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse zucchini and cut into bite sized chunks. In a hot pan, melt the butter, then add zucchini and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and lemon juice and sauté for 2 minutes more. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, serve. Other vegetables can be used…yellow crook neck squash and carrots work really well.

Spaghetti & Meatballs for Dummies ***

This was a recipe I came up with last summer.  I spent hours pouring over the different recipes on the 'Net, but I couldn't find one that worked for us.  I ended up combining aspects of all of them, and the result was a keeper for us.  This is beyond simple.  Dh made it tonight, and even he couldn't mess it up. :)  It was just as good as usual.  It really is like those "Dummies" books, because it's just about impossible to mess it up.  I normally just add browned ground turkey to my spaghetti, so this is not all that different.  The kids just get a lot more excited when there are meatballs in it.  Overall, it's 8 thumbs up for us.  :)

SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS FOR DUMMIES
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1-1/2 lbs ground turkey
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
2 jars Ragu Mama's Special Garden Pasta Sauce
1 box (13 oz) whole wheat thin spaghetti

Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, and egg; shape into 32 meatballs. You can freeze half if you don't like too many meatballs in the sauce.
Bring sauce to a boil in saucepan. Stir in uncooked meatballs.
Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce ***

Another winner for us.  I just love this sauce.  It's actually very similar in taste to the Beefy Bean Burrito Casserole sauce, which I adore.  This one uses homemade ingredients instead of the cream soup, which is always a bonus.  I think next time, though, I'm going to actually shred the chicken.  I made the mistake of just dicing it, and the pieces were just a little too chewy.  Shredding it would spread it more evenly in the tortillas.  Overall, we were all crazy about the dish.  I served it with the Quick Spanish Rice.  This was really simple for as good as it tasted. 

WHITE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH GREEN CHILE SOUR CREAM SAUCE
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ via Home Cooking with Sonya)

8-10 soft taco size flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese, divided
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 7-ounce can diced green chilies
Cilantro for garnish, if desired

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix together 1 cup of the cheese and the chicken. Place an equal amount of the mixture into each tortilla, roll up and place seam side down into a 9 x 13-inch pan.
In a skillet or saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in sour cream and green chilies. Pour over the top of the enchiladas; sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.

Veggie-Tastic Ravioli ***

We all really liked this.  It was inspired by a recipe that someone posted onto BBC from Taste of Home.  I redid it to make it work for us, and because it became something completely different, I gave it a new name.  The kids ate all their veggies, which just blew my mind.  I personally loved the veggies with the spaghetti sauce.  We will be making this very often.

VEGGIE-TASTIC RAVIOLI
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy ~ inspired by ToH's Ravioli Primavera)

25 oz frozen cheese or beef ravioli
¼ cup olive oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic
16 oz frozen mixed vegetables (I prefer zucchini, corn, etc.)
¼ cup chicken broth
28 oz spaghetti sauce
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese
Cook ravioli according to package directions.  Drain when fully cooked, and return to pot.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook garlic in oil for 1 minute (if garlic is dried, heat only briefly, so as not to brown).
Add frozen veggies; cook for 4 minutes.  Add chicken broth; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and spaghetti sauce; cook for 1 minute.  Mix into ravioli and sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese.  Serve while hot for best results.

Chicken Club Pasta Salad ***

Dh and I both loved this one.  The kids were kind of so-so on it.  They liked the noodles, but they didn't care much for the rest of it.  I expected that, though.  They're not fond of any pasta salad that involves anything other than noodles, Ranch dressing, and Parmesan, lol.  The best part of it was that DS2 asked for a bit of avocado as I was cutting them up, and he ended up having me cut up an entire avocado just for him to eat!  Pretty dang cool, if you ask me.  :)
Back to the salad, though.  I used the "real bacon pieces" that are in the salad dressing aisle (by the bacon bits), just because that's what I had on hand.  I love how many veggies are thrown into this thing.  I did end up using quite a bit more dressing that it called for, though.  It was just still too dry after the directed amount.  I used the tri-color pasta, so I don't know if that made a difference.  It was great, though.  It kind of tastes like a pasta made from chicken salad, so it's pretty obvious that I would love it, lol.

CHICKEN CLUB PASTA SALAD
Sandy~Bettyinthekitchen

8 oz corkscrew or spiral pasta
¼ cup mayonnaise
¾ cup Italian dressing
2 cups chopped cooked rotisserie chicken
1 cup cubed Muenster or Monterey Jack cheese
12 strips crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
1 avocado, cubed
1 cup each chopped celery and green bell pepper
8 oz cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Cook and drain the pasta according to the package directions and rinse it with cold water. In a large bowl, pour a small a mount of the Italian dressing into the mayonnaise and whisk to incorporate, then whisk in the remaining dressing. Stir in the pasta and the remaining ingredients.

Mexican Chicken Casserole ****

I really don't even need to write another review for this one.  As always, one of our favorite meals - especially for how easy and idiot-proof it is.  :)

Photo courtesy of Recipezaar

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.