Baked Potato Casserole

This is a recipe I got from Kathryn.  It is spicy and delicious.  It also warms up well.  It also makes enough for a small army (I got 8 servings out of it) so you might want to reduce things.

Some notes on the sausage: You want about six brats worth of meat.  I have no idea how much that is, I just eyeballed it.  For the sausage, I used half kielbasa and half hardwood smoked and it was great.  I meant to do all kielbasa, but the hardwood smoked was hiding in the wrong place and I grabbed two.  Also, I used turkey sausage to make it more healthy.

Some notes on the potatoes: to get my eight servings, I actually used 5 pounds of potatoes.  The individual potatoes were really small, so I just grabbed a five pound bag and used them all.  It is a ton of potatoes.

• 6 brats or sausages
• 8 potatoes
• ⅓ cup Olive Oil
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 TBS fresh Ground Pepper
• 1 TBS Paprika
• 2 TBS Garlic Powder
• 6 TBS Hot Sauce (this is a little more than 1/3 cup, which is what I did instead of measuring it out and I used Franks) 
• 
  
• For the Topping
• 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I wished that I had done more cheese) 
• 1 cup crumbled Bacon (it takes an entire package of bacon to get this)
• 1 cup diced Green Onion 

1. Preheat oven 450 degrees
2. In a large bowl mix Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder & Hot Sauce
3. Cube the potatoes & add to the bowl
4. Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray
5. Add potatoes to the bowl and toss in the sauce. Remove the potatoes from the bowl and put them in the pan. Try to leave some of the sauce because you will use it later.
6. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes, stir every 15 minutes
7. Slice the sausages into bite sized pieces and add it to the bowl that had the potatoes with the left over sauce and stir it around .
8. Mix together cheese, bacon & green onion in a small separate bowl
9. Once potatoes are done, add the uncooked sausage.
10. Cover with the cheese mixture topping.
11. Bake for 15 minutes or until the sausage is cooked.

Enchilada Pasta Casserole

I liked this.  It is a casserole, so my expectations were not super high...and at the end of the day, it is still a casserole.  But, we enjoyed it and I will make it again.

I made it into 2 8x8s so I could freeze one (on the second one, line with foil, pour it in, freeze it and then you can have your dish back)

I forgot the cumin by accident when I made this.

This is off of a newish blog I have been checking out http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/08/29/enchilada-pasta-casserole/

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce (I used the red sauce)

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles

12 ounces egg noodles

Salt & pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large pot, bring water to boil and cook egg noodles according to package instructions.
3. In the meantime, in a very large skillet, brown your ground beef then drain the fat. Then add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Add in the cream cheese until melted and combined.
5. In a large bowl, combine sour cream, enchilada sauce, half the cheddar cheese, half the monterey jack cheese, corn kernels, and diced green chiles. Stir to combine.
6. Pour mixture over the beef and let simmer for 2-3 minutes.
7. In the meantime, drain your pasta. After you've drained it, add the pasta to the beef mixture. Make sure everything is coated in the sauce.
8. In a large casserole dish, pour in the pasta mixture and top with the remaining cheese.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.
10. Serve hot. Keep in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

This is good.  My friends who I made it for thought it was wonderful, fantastic and great.  I thought it was fine.  The next day I thought it was good.  I really think that Eric would appreciate it.  And for the hot sauce I used Franks.

Oh, and I halved it and baked it in an 8x8 and it fed 4-5 people.  The cooking time was about 30 minutes. I think.  So the recipe you see below is the full recipe, just to make that clear.

From: http://tidymom.net/2012/buffalo-chicken-mac-n-cheese/

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter (divided) salt
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (divided)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 2 cups milk (I used 2%)
• 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 pound yellow sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3.5 cups)
• 8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.
3. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the milk and cream, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.
5. Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top.
6. Put the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni and bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Pizza Casserole

This is really good and really fast and really easy.  I like all of those options.  The recipe was originally made so that you made two casseroles, one for now one to freeze.  I halved it because I didn't know if I would like it and I didn't really have room in my freezer.  It made me have to throw out some stuff though.  So I would suggest making the two and freezing one.  


Adapted from: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pizza-Casserole-6

Ingredients

• 3 cups uncooked spiral pasta
• 2 pounds italian sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 jar (14 ounces) pizza sauce
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 packages (3-1/2 ounces) sliced pepperoni
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook Italian sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, pizza sauce, tomato paste, sugar and seasonings.  Taste this before moving on.  I remember I added more spices other to make it interesting enough, but I can't remember how much or which ones because I made this like 2 months ago.  If it isn't exciting enough, try Italian seasoning and basil. Drain pasta; stir into meat sauce.
• Divide half of the mixture between two greased 11-in. x 7-in. or 9x13 in baking dishes (I used 9 x 13); sprinkle each with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Top each with pepperoni and Parmesan cheese.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (8 servings each).

This was really good rewarmed too.  And it was fast to prepare.