Chicken Alfredo Tater Tot Casserole

This first time I had this was at a "Ladies Only" party at my friend Jen's.  After my initial, polite, helping size, I went back for more.  I whipped it together and tossed it into the freezer.  This is definitely one to thaw out before baking though.  Had to bake it twice as long at 40 degrees higher than if it had been thawed.
It doesn't look like much in the picture, but it is delicious!

What I used:
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 large cans of chicken (found near the cans of tuna usually, I really like Swanson)
half bag of shredded mild cheddar cheese.
bacon bits (half a small bag, found in the salad dressing aisle - or make your own)
frozen tater tots (2/3 bag is all I used)

(c)Keytee 2013

1. Dump tater tots in 9 x 13  foil pan
2. Mix sauce, soup, and chicken together.  Pour over tater tots.
3. Sprinkle with bacon bits and top with cheese.

*If freezing, cover with foil and remove before baking. Tots also kind of lose their form and could just as easily be replaced with hashbrowns if you wanted to.

Bake at 350 degrees  for 25 mins.

Oven Baked Stew

Another good find via Pinterest from The Girl Who Everything.  An easy, throw together meal that you can do in the crock pot too.  Hubs and I enjoyed it.  The 5 year old did not approve of this one. Of course, she's also the one who told her friends mom that she was allergic to normal size carrots but not the baby ones.

What I used:

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat (cut into bite size pieces.)
6-8 baby red potatoes, peeled and cut into fourths
1 small, sweet white onion.  Cut into 2" chunks
half of a small bag of baby carrots, cut in half
1 (14.5 oz) can cream of celery soup
1/2 C. ketchup

(c) Keytee 2013

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. In a large zip lock bag combine onion soup mix, paprika, salt and stew meat.  Shake until well coated. Place seasoned meat in baking dish.
3.  Arrange potatoes, onions and carrots on top of meat.
4.  In small bowl, combine cream of celery soup and ketchup.  Pour mixture over meat and vegetables.
5.  Cover and bake for 2 hours.

Crock pot option:  Prepare as above, cook on low for 4-6 hours or until potatoes are tender.

Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta

So, the last couple of night I'd been trying to come up with a dish that I could use some italian sausage that my mom's boyfriend, Papa Joe, gave us.  I sifted through multiple site and recipes until I came upon The Girl Who Ate Everything and had a total "YES!" moment.  Go to the site to see the original recipe.  As I often do, I've tweaked it to suit our tastes and my cooking style.

What I used:
5  Italian sausage - casing removed.
3 shakes of minced, dried onion
2 shakes mince, dried garlic
2 C.  (16 oz) Italian style diced/chopped tomatoes
1 C. (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 C.  heavy cream
2/3 of 16 oz box Penne pasta

(c) Keytee2 2013

1. Cook pasta in salted water al dente, according to package.
2. While pasta is cooking, brown sausage (I used my deep sided 12" fry pan).
3.  Add onion and garlic, saute for a couple minutes.
4.  Pour in tomatoes & tomato sauce, heat through.
5.  Pour in cream and heat through. (Supposedly it'll thicken the longer it simmers, mine did not get very thick in the 3 minutes I let it simmer).
6.  Mix in pasta and serve.

This dish is Picky Five Year Old Approved.