Reuben Crescent Bake

While the name has "Reuben" in it, this does have a different taste, but if you like Reubens, you will probably enjoy this too!

 INGREDIENTS:
2 8oz tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
16 oz sliced Swiss Cheese
14 oz thin sliced Pastrami
14 oz can Sauerkraut, drained
2/3 cup Thousand Island dressing
1 egg white
2 teaspoons celery seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Mix together the sauerkraut and dressing.

Roll out one tube of crescent rolls into pan, pressing seams together. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Layer half of the cheese onto cooked crescent rolls, followed by all of the pastrami, sauerkraut mix, and the rest of the cheese. Top with the 2nd roll of crescent rolls. Brush with egg white and sprinkle celery seeds evenly over top.

Bake for 12-16 minutes until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Cheeseburger Pie

I think I prefer this stuff over actual cheeseburgers.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
2 cans crescent rolls
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped dill pickles
2 Tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
2 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons dill pickle juice
2 Tablespoons milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Brown ground beef along with onion and chopped pickle. Mix in ketchup and mustard.
Add flour, pickle juice, and milk. Mix well and let simmer for a few minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1 cup of the cheese.
Spread 1 can of the crescent rolls into bottom and up the sides of a pie pan. Pinch the seams together. (I took some apart and spread them out along the sides to make them fit better. Doesn't have to be perfect!)

Spread meat mixture evenly on top of crust.
Top with more crescent rolls, pinching the sides shut. (I only used 5 of the rolls for the top and just baked the remaining to eat with supper).

Bake @375 for 15 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and cook another couple minutes, until cheese is melted.

Serve with desired toppings. I took the picture before I added anything, but I ate it with more mustard on top and it was delicious!  Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice

This is Matt's new favorite. He claims he could eat it every day. It is one of those that doesn't look so appealing but is good, so don't judge by appearance!

INGREDIENTS:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (however many you want and fit into a pan)
2 cups Minute Rice, uncooked (we use brown, original calls for white)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can of water (this makes the rice rather sticky, but we like it. you might want more water)

DIRECTIONS:
Butter or spray with non stick spray a 9x13 pan.
Mix together 2 cans of soup, 1 can of water, and the rice. Pour into greased pan.
Place chicken on top of rice mixture. Sprinkle onion soup mix over the top. Cover with foil.
Cook @275 for 3ish hours (from original recipe), or @375 for about 1 hour (what we do).
Enjoy!

recipe from HERE

Tato Taco Casserole

We may have an obsession with taco flavored things. But they are always so yummy!!

INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
1.5 cups mashed potato flakes
8 oz sour cream
2/3 cup water
Filling:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup taco sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or mexi-blend, both are good!)
Topping:
1.5 cups shredded lettuce
1 large tomato, diced
Tortilla chips, slightly crushed

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine crust ingredients in medium bowl. Press into 8x8 dish. Bake for about 25 minutes, until edges start to brown.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef in skillet. Drain. Stir in taco sauce, heat through. Add cheese and mix well. Spread evenly over baked crust.
Top with lettuce, tomato, and tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

I hate making breakfast in the mornings. I am tired and would rather just sit on the couch. This is the perfect solution. Throw it all together the night before, wake up and eat! The original recipe (found HERE) called for 12 eggs, but I knew we would have way too many leftovers so I cut down on them, plus I made a few other small changes based on what I did or didn't have. I haven't tried it the original way, but this way is definitely a keeper!

INGREDIENTS:
32 oz bag frozen hash browns
10 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 Tablespoon dried chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3/4 cup shredded cheddar
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack
7 eggs
1 cup milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper (I didn't measure these, just used what I thought looked good)

DIRECTIONS:
Spray crockpot evenly with cooking spray. 
Pour half of the hashbrowns into crock pot, followed by half of the bacon, onion, bell pepper, and cheese. Repeat layers.
Mix eggs, milk, garlic, dill, salt and pepper in large bowl. Pour evenly over top of ingredients in crock pot.
Cook on low for about 8 hours (thermometer placed in center should reach 160F when done).

NOTES:
I have also made this using 2 bags of real bacon bits (they come in a zip lock 3 oz bag) instead of taking the time to actually cook up some bacon. Much easier and tastes just as delicious!

Buffalo Chicken Mac n Cheese

Yummy and filling! My kids don't like spicy food, and since you layer the buffalo chicken in, its easy to make half with the chicken and half of it regular macaroni and cheese to please everybody.

I just love how evenly my oven bakes ;)

INGREDIENTS:
6 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups milk
3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups shredded jack cheese
1 pound cooked pasta
2 cups Buffalo chicken
Panko breadcrumbs (I didn't measure, just used what looked good)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9x13 (or larger) pan.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter then whisk in the flour. Whisk 3-4 minutes.
Slowly add the milk to the mixture, continuing to whisk to break up clumps. Continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens (about 10 minutes).
Add the seasonings, 3 cups of the cheddar cheese and 2 cups of the jack cheese to the mixture, continuing to stir until all of the cheese is melted.
Place a layer of noodles over the bottom of the dish, then layer with the cheese sauce, shredded cheddar cheese and buffalo chicken, repeating until all of the food is layered.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.
Bake at 375F until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbling (about 30 minutes).

NOTES:
If you don't have any buffalo chicken on hand, you can just cook some chicken, shred, and mix with desired amount of buffalo sauce. 

adapted from this site

Tortilla Casserole

This sounds rather plain, but it is actually really good!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
2 to 3 cups shredded cheddar (I don't measure, but more is always better!)
4 flour tortillas (8 inch round)
Sour cream
Salsa

DIRECTIONS:
Brown ground beef. I usually season with black pepper and onion powder, but not necessary.
Grease an 8x8 pan. Place 1 tortilla on the bottom. Tear off pieces of another to fill in empty spots. Layer bell pepper, tomato, cheese, and beef. Repeat tortilla (filling in spots), bell pepper, tomato, cheese, beef. Place last tortilla and top with cheese.
Bake @350 for 25 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Spiral Pasta Pizza Bake

This is easy to make despite the long list of ingredients.  It makes a large amount (9-12 servings probably), so it would be good for a pot luck, or any group of hungry people! :)

INGREDIENTS
12 oz Tri color Rotini
2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste with pesto
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup Parmesan (I used half shredded, half grated)
3 cups Mozzarella
Pepperoni slices (I had a 6oz package, I used roughly half)

DIRECTIONS:
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In large pot, cook the beef, onion, salt, and pepper til no pink. Drain. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Mix well.
In medium bowl, eggs, milk, and Parmesan cheese. Drain pasta. Pour egg mixture over pasta and stir. Transfer to a greased 9x13 pan. Pour beef mixture over pasta. Top with Mozzarella and pepperoni. 
Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes @ 350F. Uncover and bake additional 20-25 minutes, til cheese is golden brown.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

This is definitely my new favorite meal! I knew I would like it since I love chicken enchiladas....I think I might like it more than actual enchiladas though! Try it, you'll like it! :)

It makes a lot! At least 8 good sized servings I would say (maybe more, I dunno, we still have leftovers in the fridge after all of us ate plus Matt took some to work). 

INGREDIENTS:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded. (I boiled them, adding pepper and a dash of chili powder to water)
2 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 oz diced green chilies
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
28 oz can green chili enchilada sauce
10 oz shredded colby & monterrey jack cheese
1 cup sour cream (plus more for topping)
12-16 oz Penne Pasta (I cooked 16 oz, but didn't use quite all of it)
tomatoes, for topping

DIRECTIONS:
Cook Pasta according to package directions.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Cook onions 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper, cook additional 3-5 minutes.
Add chicken, green chilies, salt, chili powder, cumin, and sauce. Simmer about 10 minutes.
Add cheese and stir until melted. Mix in sour cream over low heat. Do NOT boil (sour cream will curdle).

Drain the pasta. My skillet wasn't big enough to add the pasta, so I put the sauce in the pot I cooked the pasta in (while the pasta was in the strainer). Then I added pasta until I felt like there was enough. I probably could have used all 16 oz but I could tell there was already more than enough .Mix together well and enjoy!

adapted from here