Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Tater Tot Bake

I made this for dinner. There wasn't any left. I was a lot disappointed as I wanted to plunder some for lunch the next day. :( On the bright side - the family loved it. So that's all that matters! My teammate was Chef Buggsy Mate from the deep woods of northern Wisconsin. She was one of my teammates for the Oct 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. The original recipe calls for making this in a crockpot. I decided to change it to do in the oven. I really love how it turned out. It was perfect!

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Tater Tot Bake
1 (32 oz) bag tater tots (I added some extra cuz we like our tots!)
1 (3 0z) jar bacon bits (or use real bacon)
5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 1/2 cups combined monterey jack AND colby AND cheddar cheese - any combination will work
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Grease a 9x13 pan with vegetable spray. Layer 1/2 tater tots on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the jar of bacon bits. Sprinkle 1/3 of the combined cheeses over the bacon and tots. Add all the chicken as the next layer. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Top chicken with another 1/3 of cheese. Sprinkle with another 1/4 of the jar of bacon bits. Top with remainder of tater tots. Top with final 1/3 of cheese. Pour milk over the top. Bake uncovered, for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Pizza Casserole

Pizza Casserole
Who doesn't like pizza? Okay - I know there are people who do - but I am not acquainted with any of them. I like this casserole because of the possibilities. I got it from Taste of Home and the boys loved it so much they took it to school the next day for lunch!

3 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (8 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (why not use fresh ones....)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 14 oz jar pizza sauce
3 oz tomato paste
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 3.5 oz pkg sliced pepperoni
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I just have the kind in the canister. If you have fresh...by all means use it...)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or dutch oven - cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in mushrooms, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, tomato paste, sugar and seasonings. Drain pasta, stir into meat mixture.
Put half of the pasta mixture in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Add 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Layer half of the pepperoni. Repeat layers starting with the pasta and ending with the pepperoni. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes longer.

**I like the possibilities. If you like meat on your pizzas - add more meat to your layers. If you only like veggies - leave out the meat and add veggies to your heart's content. If you only are a cheese pizza kind of person - just leave out the meat and veggies altogether!

Chicken Chow Mein Casserole

Yesterday for dinner I was wanting something crunchy that involved chicken, chow mein noodles and cashews. So I went online to recipezaar and found this super tasty hubbie pleasing recipe! This recipe comes from Alisa Lea on the Texas coast. I doubled the recipe for a family of 6 - mostly boys....will post the ingredients for 4 servings. Russell and I were commenting on this dish while eating. He said water chestnuts would be good to add. I said baby corns would be yummy as well as mushrooms. I guess we will need to make this again soon! :)

Chicken Chow Mein Casserole
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely slivered celery
1 TBSP butter
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream mushroom soup (when doubling - I used one cr. mushroom and one cr. chicken)
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 TBSP soy sauce
3 drops hot pepper sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup chow mein noodles (more is always better)
1/3 cup cashews (more tastes better too. )

Saute onion and celery in butter. Add soup, broth, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce and pepper. Stir in chicken and simmer 5 minutes. Pour into 1 qt casserole dish and top with chow mein noodles and cashews. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. We served this over rice.