A Quick, Easy Happy Family Casserole Your Family Will Adore

Recently, my son, once again, threw me under the bus with my husband. Here's how it played out:

My husband wants me to cook organic meals for the kids from scratch. Unfortunately, the kids don't want those meals – they want crap, like frozen pizza and microwaveable fried chicken. My daughter will settle for pasta (Kraft mac and cheese – as long as REAL cheese is not involved), but Junior is really picky. Half the stuff I make, he won't eat, yet, whenever Daddy's around, the kid becomes a martyr and wails, “Mom, I WANT nutritious food, Mom, but you never make it!!!” SUCH BULLSHIT!! So tonight, I came up with my easy:

Happy Family Casserole

Since it was made on the fly, measurements are approximate.  

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of ground meat (turkey, beef – whatever the family will eat); I used lean ground turkey
• 2 cups of frozen or fresh veggies (again, whatever the hell they'll eat); I used chopped broccoli because I wanted there to be a lot of small pieces
• ¼ c of Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 cup of diced frozen or fresh onions (if they'll eat them)
• 2 cups of frozen hash brown potatoes
• ¼ cup of butter or margarine
• 1 package of shredded American cheese (again, if they like it)

Instructions:

1. Brown the meat and onions in a skillet and add the Worcestershire sauce.
2. Spray a lasagna pan (approximately 10x14) with non-stick spray.
3. Spoon the mixture into the bottom of the pan; add salt and pepper if you want.
4. Layer your vegetables over the meat and sprinkle with a handful or two of cheese.
5. Spread the two cups of frozen hash browns.
6. Using a teaspoon, drop teaspoons of the margarine over the hash browns and sprinkle the top liberally with the shredded cheese. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

What you have now looks like a pseudo-lasagna. Bake at 400 degrees until the potatoes are brown and the cheese on the top has melted.

That's it!

This dish was popular with the family for several reasons:

1. My husband liked it because it was nutritious.
2. The kids liked it because it involved meat and vegetables COVERED with cheese (always popular here).
3. I LOVED it because of its versatility. 
   
   

You can easily use shredded chicken and whatever veggies your kids will eat (or whatever you can hide among the meat).  In the future, I'll use black beans and some salsa, for a Southwest flavor. If your family is vegetarian, use soy crumbles or tofu. Got fresh veggies from your garden? Throw them in! This dish also freezes really well. 

The Happy Family Casserole will be on my list of go-to dishes and it looks nice enough to even serve company.

Try it and let me know                                  

what YOUR variations are!

Thanks for reading!

 

EASY Gluten-Free Southwest Chicken And Rice Casserole

When a friend accepted our dinner invitation and casually added, “Oh, yeah! I'm gluten-free now,” I panicked. Most of my guest dishes involve pasta and are usually variations of lasagna.  How would I ever cook a gluten-free entree that my guests and my family, especially my finicky kids, would eat?

This EASY gluten-free Southwest Chicken & Rice Casserole is delicious and freezes really well!

This dish is my solution. It can be made with pre-cooked  (and even pre-bought) chicken and Minute Rice, can be as spicy or not as you want, and the only one I could see it challenging would be a lactose-intolerate person (but even there, you could use lactose-free cheese). 

So, here's my Easy Gluten-Free Southwest Chicken And Rice Casserole. This particular version serves about 12 people and leftovers freeze really well for future microwave suppers. 

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts which have been grilled and either shredded or cut into bite-sized pieces

8 cups of cooked brown rice

2 cans (15.25 ounces each) of DelMonte Southwest Corn (it contains red peppers and poblanos which adds color as well as flavor)

2 cans (15 ounces each) of drained black beans

2 cups of plain Greek Yogurt

1 cup of chunky salsa

2 cups of grated Mexican cheese (or a Cheddar/Monterey Jack combo) – 1-1/2 cups will go in the dish with the other ½ cup going on top

This would be a lovely kitchen to make this dish in.  Sadly, the kitchen is not mine.

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350. In a LARGE bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix them thoroughly, being especially careful to make sure that the yogurt and cheese are dispersed throughout. Place it in a lasagna pan or other oven-safe dish and top with the extra cheese. Bake it for about 25 minutes.

Options: You can use sour cream instead of yogurt for a little extra sourness and sprinkle a bit of ground chili pepper on top for more color. Since my kids LOVE black beans, I actually add another cup of those in and serve with extra salsa on the side for those who want it even hotter.

With things so busy during the holidays, make this on a Sunday for dinner and it could last your family through Tuesday of that week.  

Bon Appetite!