Marsala Chicken & Mushroom Casserole!

I found this recipe on Rachael Ray's website. My family loved it, so it is definitely a keeper!

To be honest, I haven't really made many of Rachael Ray's recipes. I feel that some of them have too many ingredients or ingredients that I don't want to buy to use only one time.

Fortunately, I had everything on hand for this recipe but in true Cindi fashion, I changed it up a bit. Her recipe includes rice. My daughter is not a rice fan so I substituted cooked linguine. Click here to go to the original recipe which includes the rice.

Okay, I just realized the picture doesn't look that appetizing but trust me, the flavor is delish!

Marsala Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons butter 
15 ounces sliced mushrooms 
1 1/2 tablespoons flour 
1 1/2 cups Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups heavy cream 
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper 
3/4 lb. (pre-cooked weight) cooked linguine
2 cups coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken 
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
~Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat until just melted. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir in for 1 minute. Stir in the Marsala and cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes or so. Stir in the parsley, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. 
~In a greased 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole, spread the linguine in an even layer; top with the chicken. Pour the mushroom gravy on top. Cover snugly with foil and bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Discard the foil, sprinkle the Parmesan on top and bake for 5 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole!

I found this recipe online about 7 or so years ago. It's from the Strutton Inn Bed and Breakfast in Custer, South Dakota. I'm so glad I printed it out and didn't lose the recipe because the link I have bookmarked doesn't work anymore.

Anyway. I needed a way to make a quick breakfast on Thanksgiving and Christmas mornings before we start our travels to my parents' and Curtis's parents' homes. Although I did make it the other night for dinner and everyone was so excited. I guess I need to make it more often instead of just on the holidays.

This recipe is perfect because I make it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning before anyone gets up. It's easy to put together and there isn't any prep in the morning so there is less clean up too!

Farmer's Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup cooked ham or Canadian bacon, diced
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 eggs, beaten
1 12oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:
~Grease a 2 quart square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish.
~Sprinkle with cheese, ham, and green onion.
~In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over ingredients in the baking dish. (At this point, you can cover the dish and refrigerate over night or several hours.)
~Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. ***If the casserole was made ahead and chilled, you will need to bake it for 55-60 minutes.
~Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Notes:
~Instead of ham, try with ground pork sausage that's already been browned and drained.
~Try substituting pepper jack cheese for the cheddar.
~Can substitute 1 cup frozen egg product for eggs.
~Can use evaporated skim milk instead of regular for a lighter recipe.

Stop back tomorrow and see what I serve with this casserole!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham!

Yum! This is the ultimate comfort food!

I try not to make it too often because it's not that great for the hips or the arteries!

The recipe below is my got to scalloped potatoes & ham recipe. I have another one for the slow cooker but this one is way more delicious!

I do have to admit here that don't always follow the recipe exactly. I like mine saucy so I end up putting in more milk and cheese to the roux. The picture below is when it came out really saucy but it was perfect after I let it sit a while. Also, if your family likes onions, feel free to chop up a medium one and throw it in with the potatoes and ham.

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 cups milk
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
5 cups potatoes, washed & sliced
3 cups ham, cooked and diced

Directions:
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
~Put sliced potatoes and diced ham in a large bowl and set aside.
~In a large sauce pan, melt butter over low to medium heat. Then whisk the flour in and continue to whisk and cook for about 1-2 minutes. It will be dry but it's important for you to cook off the raw flour taste and allow the butter and starch granules to mix.
~Remove from the heat and slowly mix in the milk.
~Return the pan back to the heat and cook until it's a thick and bubbly white sauce.
~Remove from heat and add in the pepper and cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.
~Add white/cheese sauce to potatoes and ham and mix well.
~Put into a well greased 9 x 13 baking dish and cover with foil.
~Bake covered for 30 minutes.
~Uncover and bake for 1 hour more.
~After you remove it from the oven, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

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Chicken Divan!

The other day on Rachael Ray, she made a chicken divan noodle something or other dish. It made me think about a Chicken Divan recipe I used to make. I had copied it down years ago from Live with Regis & Kathie Lee. Do you all remember when Kathie Lee Gifford was his co-host? Oh come on...it's only been about 8 years!

Anyway. I dug out my recipe and quickly remembered what I didn't like about it. It makes a ton! The recipe calls for 4 boxes of 10 oz. weight broccoli. That's 40 ounces of broccoli! Way too much for my little family.

Yes, I could just cut the recipe in half but I decided to go to the web and see what other variations I could find. As always, I found a few and used a little bit of this one and a little bit of that one to come up with my own. I hope you like it!

Chicken Divan

Ingredients:

16 oz. chicken breast, boiled, cooled and cut into slices

2 (10 oz. ea.) packages of frozen broccoli

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/2 plain bread crumbs

1 tsp. chopped dried parsley

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan, cook broccoli in boiling water until tender but still crisp..

2. In a greased casserole dish (mine was about 10 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches), layer broccoli in a single layer on the bottom.

3. Layer the prepared chicken evenly over the broccoli.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice and curry powder. mix well and pour evenly over chicken layer. Using a spatula, push the mixture down into the chicken a little.

5. Sprinkle the casserole with cheddar cheese.

6. Mix butter and bread crumbs together. Sprinkle on top.

7. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for color.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 -40 minutes until heated through and lightly browned.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!

Pizza Pasta!

I literally threw this together for dinner the other night. I had planned on pasta but wanted something a little different so I started looking around the kitchen.

I had browned off a pound of Bob Evans's roll sausage to make my breakfast casserole for New Year's Day but only used half of it. I threw the other half in the freezer for later. Well. This was my later and the perfect time to use it up! Hmm, pasta, sauce, sausage...see where I was going with this? Yup! Pizza Pasta!

Here's the best I could do for writing a recipe. I didn't measure anything out because I didn't think I was going to post it. So these are all an approximation of what I used. It worked for my family of three with little leftovers. If you have a bigger family, you'll want to make more and just use the method and not the measurements. Use your judgement, it isn't brain surgery!

Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 cups rotini pasta (corkscrews)
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.)pasta sauce with mushrooms
1/2 roll sausage, browned and drained
12 slices pepperoni, cut into 4
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
grated Parmesan cheese
dried or fresh chopped parsley

Other optional add-ins: sliced mushrooms, diced green peppers, diced onions, sliced black olives or any other toppings you like on your pizza would be good too.

Directions:
1. Cook rotini in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well.
2. In a sauce pan, heat pasta sauce over medium heat. Add in sausage, pepperoni and any other optional ingredients.
3. After pasta is cooked and sauce is heated through, combine together and put in an appropriate sized baking dish.
4. Top evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese then sprinkle lightly with grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for color.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until heated through and cheese is golden and bubbly.
6. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen!