Chicken Tamale Pie

Chicken Tamale Pie

Ingredients

⅓ cup milk

1 egg

1½ tablespoon taco seasoning, divided

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 (14¾ ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

¾ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Onion and bell pepper, chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°. In a mixing bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients, using only tablespoon of the taco seasoning, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a round pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes. While the corn mixture is baking, toss the cooked, shredded chicken in the remaining 1 tablespoon taco seasoning. When the corn mixture is done, top with shredded chicken. Pour enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle with cheese. Top with chopped onions and peppers. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream.

Italian Meatball Sub Casserole

Italian Meatball Sub Casserole

Ingredients

1 (16 oz.) loaf french bread
12 oz. light cream cheese, softened
1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb frozen meatballs, thawed (or you can use homemade meatballs, see my recipe below*)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Slice french bread into one-inch slices, place on a cookie sheet, and broil until slightly golden.

Remove from oven and place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
Mix together cream cheese and Italian seasoning.  Spread over french bread.
Sprinkle meatballs over cream cheese mixture.  Pour spaghetti sauce evenly over meatballs.  Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 20- 25 minutes, until bubbly and cheese is melted.

*I used frozen meatballs, because I have a two month old baby, so my cooking time is limited, but I think this would have been way better with homemade meatballs. I have a great homemade meatball recipe, so I will share it:

Ingredients

1.5 lbs. ground beef or chuck

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp. minced onions

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Directions

Mix above ingredients in a large bowl with hands. Roll into small balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil, and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and place on paper towels to absorb any excess grease.

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole

I'm back! After spending the end of my pregnancy on bed rest, therefore, no cooking, then having a baby, I have had very little time to do much, cooking, much less experiment with new recipes, take pictures, etc. But, he is two months old now, and I am getting back into the swing of things, or at least trying to. So, here is a new recipe I managed to to try the other day...

Cheesy Chicken Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup milk
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 ½ cups cooked egg noddles

Salt & pepper to taste
¼ cup Ritz cracker crumbs

Directions:
In a large skillet, saute onions and celery in butter until tender. Add in soup and mozzarella cheese, then gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat until cheese melts. Stir in chicken, noodles, salt, and pepper. Transfer this mixture to a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350° oven for 35 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheddar cheese and bake 5 more minutes.

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Bake

I found this recipe a few days ago on Pinterest, and I decided to try it out using my own Alfredo sauce recipe instead of the kind from a jar. I also varied the amounts of some other ingredients. This is what I came up with.

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Bake

Ingredients

2 cups half and half

2 sticks butter or margarine

8 oz. softened cream cheese

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. Pepper

3 cups small pasta shells, cooked according to package directions

2 cups cooked/ shredded chicken

3 cups steamed broccoli

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add half and half, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir until smooth, then bring to soft boil and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let thicken. Once sauce has thickened a bit, stir in cooked pasta shells, chicken, and broccoli. Pour this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Chicken Stuffing Bake

This is a recipe my mom made that I really like from when I was younger. I never actually got her exact recipe, but I took the basics of her recipe and created this one. It's pretty quick and easy, and very flavorful and good.

Chicken Stuffing Bake

Ingredients

1 box chicken flavored Stove Top stuffing mix

½ cup water

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

½ cup milk

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Directions

Pour stuffing mix into a bowl, then moisten with the water. Set aside. Mix together cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, and seasonings. Spread this mixture across the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Lay chicken breasts on top of the spread out mixture. Top with stuffing mix. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Beef Enchiladas

Beef Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder

2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped
12 medium tortillas 
2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese

Desired toppings

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat oil, then add tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Stir in water. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until hot. Do not boil. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef, then drain. Add the onion and green pepper and cook until the onion is translucent (3 to 5 minutes). Moisten with half of the sauce. (The other half of the sauce will be used to top the enchiladas). Preheat oven to 400°F Begin filling tortillas with the beef mixture. As each one is filled, roll it tightly and place seam-side down in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining sauce, then cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until cheese is bubbling, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then serve.

I topped mine with lettuce, sour cream, and tomatoes, but you can serve as is or choose whatever toppings you like.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

This is a recipe that I found recently online and made only a few small adaptations to. These were easy and really good. They were both cheaper and better tasting than the frozen kind, but not that difficult. They could also be made with beef instead of chicken. Freezing them before baking would also make an easy meal later on.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Ingredients

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup salsa
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
3-4 sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
12 small tortillas
Cooking spray

Sour cream and/or salsa for dipping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with foil, sprayed with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients but the tortillas. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds until they are soft enough to roll
Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla. Roll the tortillas as tightly as you can.
Place the rolled tortillas seam side down on the baking sheet. Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other.
Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Serve with salsa and/or sour cream for dipping.