Countdown to 2012: Best Main Dishes

I am so excited to be joining Finding Joy in My Kitchen for her annual countdown.  I participated last year and it was interesting to look back on my blog to see the recipes that I made over the past year.

We definitely had some favorite main dishes this year.  Some were meatless, some were not.  As a family, we are trying to add more meatless dishes in our menu rotation next year.   

These were our favorite main dishes this year:

The Best Baked Ziti

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 Bubble Up Enchiladas

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Navajo Tacos

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Smothered Pork Chops in the Slow Cooker

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Roasted Roma Tomato Lasagna

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Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan

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Copy Cat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

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Recipe: Bubble Up Enchiladas

I am always looking for quick, easy and tasty meals to make during the weeknights.  This dish fit the bill and bonus....it's Mexican.  I found this recipe on Nikki's blog Chef In Training.  If you have not stopped by her blog, you must check it out...she has some great recipes!

My family loved it and my kids thought the "bubbly" biscuits were cool.  The original recipe uses ground turkey.  My family does not like turkey so much, so I have tried it with diced chicken and once with ground beef.  My family enjoyed it with ground beef and I agree.  That is the beauty of this recipe, you can make it with what ever you have on hand.  This dish will definitely be on a regular rotation on our weekly menus especially when I don't have a lot of time but want to serve a hot delicious dinner to my family.  

Enjoy!

Bubble Up Enchiladas

(adapted from the original recipe by Nikki/Chef in Training)

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Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (can also use diced chicken, ground turkey)

1 onion, diced

1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 can refrigerated biscuits

1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese (I used 1 cup of sharp and 1 cup of Mexican blend)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray and set aside.  Brown ground beef in a skillet, drain off fat.  Add onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Pour enchilada sauce and tomato sauce in with the meat and onions.  Mix well.  Cut biscuits into quarters and mix with meat mixture making sure to coat the biscuits with the sauce.  Pour mixture into the casserole dish and bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the biscuits are no longer doughy.  Sprinkle cheese on top and return to the oven and bake until cheese is bubbling and melted.  Remove from the oven and allow to set for a few minutes before serving.  You can serve this with a dollop of sour cream on top of each serving.


Linked To:
*It's a Keeper: It's a Keeper Thursday
*Around My Table: Turning the Table Thursday
*Frugal Follies: Frugal Food Thursday 
*Somewhat Simple: Strut Your Stuff
*What's Allie Making Now: Making it With Allie 
*Designs by Gollum: Foodie Friday
*Run DMT: Friday Food Fight
*Simply Sweet Home: Friday Favorites
*Bacon Time with the Hungry Hungry Hippo: Anything Goes
*EKat's Kitchen: Friday Potluck  
*Amy's Finer Things: Finer Things Friday
*Six Sister's Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday 
*I Heart Naptime: Sunday Scoop
*Everyday Sisters: Sharing Sundays 
*The Sweet Details: Sharing Sunday
*Everyday Mom's Meals: Church Supper
*Mom's Crazy Cooking: This Week's Craving 

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Recipe: Cheesy Beef Enchilada Casserole

As you know, I love me some Mexican, or really Tex-Mex.  I also love a good casserole.  I have tried a couple of different recipes and they have all been good but I thought they could be better.  I have adapted this recipe from a couple and come up with what I think is some good eats.  My girls even cleaned their plates.  I think this one is a keeper.

Cheesy Beef Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

4 oz cream cheese

1 small can tomato sauce

1 cup Monterrey jack, shredded

6 flour tortillas, burrito size

2 cups cooked rice

1 can red enchilada sauce

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 bag shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Brown ground beef.  Drain.  Add meat back to the pan, add tomato sauce, taco seasoning and cream cheese.  Cook on medium low heat until mixture is blended and cream cheese is melted.  Warm tortillas in microwave for 20 seconds.  Add cooked rice to casserole dish.  Spoon meat mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Add Monterrey jack cheese on top of meat mixture.  Wrap tortillas and place on top of rice.  Pour diced tomatoes and juice over the top of the enchiladas.  Pour enchilada sauce over the top of the tomatoes and enchiladas making sure that the sauce and juice of the tomatoes reaches down to the rice.  Add shredded cheese over the top making sure that the tortillas are completely covered.  Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Serve with a salad and some black beans and you have one awesome meal.

NOTE:  You can use smaller tortillas and make more enchiladas.

Linked to:

* Mommy's Kitchen Potluck Sunday

* Everyday Sisters: Sharing Sundays

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Recipe Review: Farmer's Casserole

OMG...this was so yummy!  I was surprised how good it tasted.  It is like a quiche but even better.  I found the recipe on Tried-and-True cooking with Heidi.  My entire family enjoyed every bite of this casserole!  And it made enough to feed an army....my family plus two additional hungry teenagers.  I made a few changes but stuck to the recipe for the most part. 

Farmer's Casserole
(adapted from Heidi's recipe)
1 bag frozen diced potatoes
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup diced ham or Canadian style bacon
1-4.5 oz can mild green chiles
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
4 beaten eggs (or 1 cup frozen egg product)
1-12 oz. can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt

Grease a 2 qt. square baking dish. Arrange potatoes evenly in bottom of dish. Sprinkle with cheeses, ham, green chiles (optional), and green onions. In medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over potato mixture in dish. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until center appears set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Extra shredded cheese can be sprinkled on top during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Thanks Heidi for an awesome recipe!

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Recipe Review: Meatloaf Casserole

It is rare that I have any leftovers when we have meatloaf, but I made an extra large loaf so that I would have leftovers for this recipe from Christy Jordan's Southern Plate.  I must say it was very delicious and my family ate it up.  We love casseroles and I find it is a great way to stretch my grocery budget.  I used elbow noodles and more cheese.  I could not find meatloaf sauce so I just used a jarred pasta sauce. 

Meatloaf Casserole
recipe from Christy Jordan/Southern Plate

Leftover Meatloaf (2-4 cups, crumbled)
1 Can Meatloaf Sauce (Hunt’s comes in a can of about 16 ounce size – you can also use your
    own meatloaf sauce)
2 Cups uncooked small shell pasta
2 Cups Ricotta Cheese
2 Cups mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Place in bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. In medium sized bowl, stir together cheeses until well combined. Top pasta with half of cheese mixture. Spread half the meatloaf sauce over the top. Top with crumbled meatloaf. Add remaining cheese and top with remaining sauce, spreading to cover the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for thirty minutes, or until bubbly.

I served the casserole with a salad and some cheesy bread for a complete meal.

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Recipe Review: Enchilada Casserole

Well, so far I have stuck to my menu plan. Tonight we had chicken enchiladas. They were pretty good, but I like my mother's better.

Here is the recipe that I used:

Enchilada Casserole

Next time, I will stick with my mother's. These weren't as creamy good as what I have had before. I think there was too much enchilada sauce. I even used two cans cream of chicken soup and it still wasn't the right sauce that I like. I did like having the refried beans inside the enchilada.

I also made a pot of pinto beans. I printed out the recipe here. I followed some of her recipe, except I added a hunk of ham that I had frozen in my freezer. I also cooked my beans much longer....I like them mushy. The steps for making the refried beans were very easy. Although I used bacon fat (yum!) instead of butter to saute my onions in. All in all, homemade refried beans taste so much better than the canned stuff. I don't think I will go back to canned unless in a pinch.

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