Tater tot casserole

Yeah, I know there are a ton of places you can find the tater tot casserole recipe.  But this is MY version and it was delicious!

What you need:
1 pound ground beef
1 T dried, chopped onion
1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted.  (I would have used cream of celery but our grocery store is ALWAYS out of it!)
1 (16 oz) bag tater tots (I used the crowns)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp)
1 (10 oz) can Veg-all  (mixed veggies)
Salt & pepper to taste

(c) Keytee 2013

What to do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brown ground beef with onion, salt & pepper. Drain.
Mix in cream soup and veggies.
Cover bottom of casserole dish.
Top with 1 cup cheese.
Cover with tater tots and top that with remaining cup of cheese.
Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.

This was a freezer meal and it took 40 minutes to reheat it perfectly!  The pan I used was a rectangle, deep casserole foil pan and was a bit big for this recipe. A square or 2 quart round dish might have been better.

A method of madness.

Earlier this week, during a conversation about grocery shopping, the question was raised how I put together my list.  I do my shopping every other weekend after my paycheck is deposited and bills are paid.  But before that I plan for my shopping trip.  You would think I would be smart and makes notes through out the week when the thought of "Hey, that sounds good, I should make that next time around!".  But alas I do not.

10/28/13 - I am now filling in my menu plan through out the two weeks prior to shopping!

What I end up doing, every single time is staying up late the night before I shop.

I start out in the kitchen making two messy lists. One of what I have in my kitchen to cook with, and one of things we regularly need.  Then I shuffle back to my desk to put together a menu.  I thumb through my recipe binder, the recipe box, and pinterest for anything that just screams "MAKE ME!".

(c)Keytee2 2013

We don't necessarily follow it by the days, sometimes we really don't follow it much at all.  It all depends on how busy we are. But it's there, on the fridge so we don't have to think about what to make if we don't want to.  There are days where I throw a bag of burger in the fridge in the morning to defrost, and by the time I get home I'm all "fook it, it's pizza night".

As I put a recipe on the menu I cross reference the 'have' list and make a note next to an item that's to be used.  (example, list has 3 pounds of hamburger, I'm using 1 pound for tater tot casserole so I'd write "tt cass" next to it and change the amount to 2).  Anything in the recipe not on my 'have' list gets written in the 'need' list.

Once I've got my 'need' list scratched out I turn to my organize shopping list.  I visualize my grocery store and transfer items from the messy list in the order that I would find them in the store.  I used to just use my scribbled list, but would always miss and forget things.  With my list organized I rarely do that anymore.

For me, it's worth the time to do all this.  Essentially it's a huge time saver when I don't have to back track in the store to find something or return to the store because I forgot something.   Of course it would take half the time to complete my task if I didn't get easily distracted by pinterest and watching television.

Keytee's Menu Planner (pdf)
Keytee's shopping list (pdf)

Chicken, BACON, cheddar, rice casserole

Now that I've got your attention with the bacon part. Ha Ha.  There's not a lot of bacon in this, but you could put a bunch in if you're a huge bacon lover.  I found the recipe here and of course tweaked it to suit my families taste and my cooking style.

What I used:

1  small rotisserie chicken, picked down to the bones and shredded with my mixer.
1  small,  onion, chopped.   (yields approx 1 cup)
2 Tbs + 2 tsp chopped, dried garlic  (the kind in the plastic bottle you find in the spice aisle)
1 tsp  seasoned salt
1 tsp  salt
1 tsp pepper   (we like peppery, but I will use a smidge less next time)
4 Tbs all purpose flour
3 1/2 C. chicken stock
3 1/2 C. milk
1 1/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/4 cup  uncooked white rice
4 Tbs  butter
1 regular size bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
1/2 C  cooked, crumbled bacon  (I cheated and used an entire small bag of salad bacon bits)

(c) Keytee 2013

In a large pot, melt butter and cook onions until kind of see through.
Add garlic, salts and pepper.
Add flour and mix well.
Stir in milk and stock.  Heat on medium high.
Add 1/2 bag of cheese and stir as it comes to a simmer.
Add rice and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook until rice absorbs most of the liquid and is tender. Approximately 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add chicken and bacon to pot, mix it all together.
Pour into 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes.


I served it with green beans and it was delicious! I think next time I might also cut crunchy bacon into 1 inch pieces and do that instead of the crumbles.

Meatloaf

This is part of a Sunday cook-a-thon where I prep and freeze multiple dishes for use over the next couple weeks. 


2 eggs
3/4 C. milk
1/2 C. fine bread crumbs
1 tsp. salt
1 T. italian spice mix
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 T. brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
8 oz can tomato sauce
4oz can tomato paste

alternately: use 1/4 C. ketchup or Catalina dressing instead of tomato sauce & paste.

(c) Keytee2 2012

1. In large mixing, combine all ingredients and smoosh it all together with your hands until well combined.
2. Dump in loaf pan  Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.

For freezing:  Line loaf pan with tin foil.  Bake for 1/2 hour, let cool.  Remove meat, keeping it in the tin foil, from loaf pan and wrap it all up with another layer of foil before freezing.  
Or totally forget about lining it first and end up having to just wrap the pan and put it all in the freezer - whoops!
Or just use a disposable loaf pan!

Either way, take out night before to thaw then bake for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

Chicken & Wild Rice

This is part of a Sunday cook-a-thon where I prep and freeze multiple dishes for use over the next couple weeks.  

1 (4.3 oz) box of wild rice with seasoning packet.
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water
1 small can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs  (or 4 chicken breasts)
optional: 1 C. slivered almonds

(c) Keytee2 2012

1. Mix together rice, seasoning packet, both soups and water.  Stir in mushrooms.
2. Pour into 8x8 freezer dish (I use foil pans). Top with chicken, sprinkle with almonds.
3. Double wrap with heavy duty foil, label & freeze.
Thaw, bake uncovered 350 * for 1 hour.


Here's my twists:   I save a bit of the soup mix and pout it on top of the chicken instead of using almonds.  I bake it for 30 mins, let cool, then wrap and freeze.  This way I can take it out the night before to thaw in fridge and hubby can throw it in the oven half hour before I get home and we don't end up eating too late.  I also use pre-cooked chicken because I boil a large batch when I make multiple dishes in one day.  It cuts back on reheat times as well.

Oh My! So yummy!  And 4 year old approved! (c)Keytee2 2012

Chicken & Barley soup

This is part of a Sunday cook-a-thon where I prep and freeze multiple dishes for use over the next couple weeks.  I'll post both regular and freezer instructions.

2-3 chicken breasts, cubed
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 C (10 oz) chicken broth
3 C. water
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1/2 C. pearl barley
Optional:  1/4 C. green onion, chopped
                1 T. dry parsley
                4 medium potatoes, peeled & cubed

(c) Keytee2 2012

1. In skillet, over medium heat, saute chicken in oil until white (about 5 minutes).  Stir in salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Place seasoned meat in crock pot.

2.  Add broth, water, celery, carrots, and barley (and any other optional ingredients). Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until vegetables and barley are soft.


Alternately you can dump it all in a soup pot and let it simmer, covered, on the stove for a few hours  1/2 hour - 45 minutes.

For freezer:  I put all the veggies, barley, chicken and seasonings in a freezer ziplock bag and toss in the freezer.  Then just remove it, dump it in a pot (whether on the stove or crock pot) and add the liquids!

Chili

This is a recipe I got from my mom. And every single time I make it I forget to adjust the spices!  This is not "oh my god my guts on fire!" chili, but it's got more kick to it than I prefer. So, if you don't like the after tingle in your mouth and a running nose  I suggest cutting the spices in half.

1-2 pounds ground beef, turkey or pork
1 medium onion, chopped     (I actually used dried onion and just shake a bunch on)
2 T. butter

1 T. chili powder
1 T. cayenne pepper
1 (28 oz) can dice tomatoes in juice
1 (15.5 oz) can kidney beans
salt

My personal tweak:  1/4 C. barbecue sauce

(c) Keytee2 2013

You can do this all in one stew pot:
1.  Brown meat with onions & butter.
2.  Add all other ingredients and simmer 30-60 mins

Or,
1. Brown meat with onions & butter in skillet.
2. Dump all ingredients in crockpot.
Prepping early in the day?  Set it on a low setting.
Short on time?  Set it on high.
It really just has to heat everything up.

Enjoy with saltines, butter crackers or corn bread!