Pizza Casserole

Saw this on Instagram and tried it out tonight on the pickiest eaters in town and 2/3 actually ate it! Decided I needed to get the recipe down (with the changes in cooking time) before I forget.

Brunch with Babs' Pizza Casserole

16 oz elbow macaroni
3 cups boiling water
24 oz marinara sauce
1-1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
5 oz. pepperoni, divided.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Pour macaroni, 4 oz pepperoni, water and marinara sauce into a 9x13 casserole dish. Stir it up and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Pasta should be al dente at this point. Remove from oven and top with the rest of the pepperoni and the cheese. Return to the oven and cook another 10 minutes. Let it sit for 5 minutes and then serve.

"Millionaire Spaghetti" Squash Casserole

I adapted the delicious Millionaire Spaghetti deal into a spaghetti squash recipe and it was incredible.

Millionaire Spaghetti Squash
(Adapted from here) 

1 ginormous Spaghetti Squash or 2-3 small ones.  
1/2 large yellow onion , Chopped 
1/2 Red pepper, diced  
4-6 Cloves Garlic , Minced 
1 Pound Ground turkey or italian sausage 
3 teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning , divided 
1 24 Ounce Jar spaghetti sauce 
8 Ounces Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese 
8 Ounces Cream Cheese, Room Temperature 
1/4 Cup Sour Cream 
3 Cups Mozzarella , Shredded-Divided 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Split spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Brush with oil then place cut-side down on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender. Remove and allow to cool enough to handle. Lower oven temp to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, peppers and garlic and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add meat and 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning to skillet, and cook until no pink remains. Drain well. Add jar of spaghetti sauce to skillet. Set aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Set aside.

4. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Use a fork to scrape the strands of spaghetti squash into a bowl--drain well if necessary. Put half the spaghetti squash into the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Top with a very small amount of the meat sauce mixture and stir. Resettle the spaghetti squash evenly and then top with the cheese mixture. Cover the cheese mixture with the remaining spaghetti squash, and then cover the entire dish with the meat sauce. 

5. Top with remaining mozzarella and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until heated through. 

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Casserole

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Casserole
(Adapted from here)

1 large spaghetti squash

1 tbsp veg oil, plus a little extra to rub on the squash

1 cup diced onion

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp taco seasoning mix

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 can (10-14 oz) red enchilada sauce 

1 1/2 cups shredded leftover roast chicken

1 can (4 oz) Pickled Jalapeño Slices, diced (optional)

1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup shredded colby jack cheese.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Cut spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Rub oil on the cut sides of each half. Place the squash halves face down on a foil-lined half sheet pan. 

Bake in the preheated oven 40 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees.

Using a fork, separate the strands of squash from the skin and place cooked squash into a square greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with salt.

In a medium saucepan, sauté onion and garlic with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. When translucent, add taco seasoning and stir in tomato paste. Stir in the enchilada sauce and let simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. 

Mix 1 1/2 cups of the sauce with the shredded chicken, chopped jalapeños (if using), bell pepper, corn and black beans. Spoon filling over the squash. Pour the rest of the sauce over the casserole, and place in the 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. 

Remove the casserole and top it with the cheese.

Turn on broiler and broil 3-4 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top, if desired.  

Serves 4, easily. 

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
(Adapted slightly from here) 

1 cup quinoa
10 oz. can of enchilada sauce
4.5 oz can of green chilies
1/2 c. frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. cilantro
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Salt and Pepper, to taste
3/4 c. cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 c. mozzarella cheese, grated
1 Avocado, diced (optional)
1 Roma tomato, diced (optional)

1. In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa for about 15 minutes; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 2 quart baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, enchilada sauce, green chilies, corn, black beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
4. Spread quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 15 minutes.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.

Ziti Pizza Bake

Here's another Six Sisters recipe, and it's a good one!

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 medium onion (optional), diced -- (I think I'll leave it out next time, it was too crunchy)

1 green bell pepper, diced -- (I left this out because I have a picky husband)

8 oz sliced pepperoni

4 oz (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese

8 oz (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese

12 oz Rigatoni noodles, cooked                 

15 oz pizza sauce

26 oz Spaghetti sauce

1. Brown meat, onion and pepper in frying pan.

2. Drain grease and add pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce

3. Combine all ingredients in a large crock pot (spray with non-stick spray first).

4. Cook on HIGH for 30 minutes and then LOW for 2 or 3 hours until the cheese melts.

Note:  This makes a lot of food, so I usually freeze half before cooking it.  Later it can be thawed and cooked in the slow cooker as directed above.

My note: I divided this into three parts and froze all three. One of the parts I put in a ziploc bag and two other parts I put in casserole tin thingies. I just made one of them in the casserole tin, I baked it at 350 for 20 minutes covered with foil and then 10 more minutes uncovered. It was soooo yummy! (and probably not going to be tagged with the "healthy" tag...)

(My guess is that the recipe all together would probably feed 9 or 10 people)

Chow Mein Noodle Casserole

This is just...fantastic. And easy. And delicious. And I'll stop now and give you the recipe.

Chow Mein Noodle Casserole
(Adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 onion, diced small
2 stalks of celery, diced small
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup slivered almonds (I only had a small handful left so that's what I used)
2-3 cups cooked rice
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
Chow mein noodles


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the ground beef for 5 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, and celery and saute for 5 more minutes. 

In a separate medium bowl, combine the almonds, rice, soup, water and soy sauce. Mix together well and add to the beef mixture. Place this into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.  

Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with chow mein noodles to top each individual serving and enjoy!

Easy-Peasy Tuna Casserole

This is the meal you fix when you need to feel like you're being the domestic housewife ("Look, I'm cooking!") but don't actually want to do REAL cooking. Its not the most amazing tuna casserole I've ever turned out, but its definitely the fastest and it doesn't taste like circa 1987 Cafeteria fare. So I'm keeping the recipe to pull out now and again.

Easy-Peasy Tuna Casserole
(BARELY adapted from Allrecipes.com)
1 box of Macaroni & Cheese dinner
1 can of tuna, drained
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of milk
3 heaping tablespoons of breadcrumbs
1/8 c. butter

Make the macaroni & cheese according to package directions (i.e. boil, drain, add milk, butter and cheesy powder). Add the tuna, soup and 1/2 cup of milk. Pour it all into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Melt the butter and mix with the bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the casserole. Bake for approximately 20-minutes in a 350 degree oven. 

Serve with steamed veggies and a green salad. Ooooh...so "fancy."

Enchilada Casserole

On Sunday all the sibs were tasked with bringing enchiladas to the monthly FHE at Mom&Dad's.  I dislike the slow rolling of individual enchiladas so I brought an enchilada casserole that proved to be quite a hit. And so...I share it here.

Beef (?) Enchilada Casserole
(Found at this link)

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
1 can (10 ounce size) enchilada sauce
1 cup salsa
6 flour tortillas (10-inch size)
2 cups fresh or canned whole kernel corn 
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (we eyeballed this for sure)

Brown the ground beef/turkey; drain. Stir in enchilada sauce and salsa; set aside.

Place two tortillas, overlapping as necessary, in the bottom of greased 13x9x2 pan or baking dish. Cover with 1/3 of the meat mixture; top with 1 cup corn; sprinkle with enough cheese to lightly cover the layer. Repeat layers once, then top w/remaining tortillas, meat and cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Broccoli Chicken Rice Casserole

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
3 cups frozen or fresh broccoli, cooked
3 cups rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup miracle whip dressing
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Layer broccoli, rice, chicken in a 9x13 baking dish. Mix cream soup, miracle whip and milk together and pour over top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.