Since we celebrate on Christmas Eve (open our gifts) and will be attending church, I decided to do a casserole I can just throw in the oven or even a crock pot one since I'll be short on time. There will be 5 of us, 3 adults and 2 teens.
My kids don't like veggies in it but I will make them as a side. If you have a gooey, cheesy one (or any really lol) that your family loves, please share it with me. Thanks friends!
Thanks for the ideas so far. I'm looking for something I don't normally make and if it's good enough, maybe it can become a family tradition. My grandma used to make hamburger soup and then all of a sudden my mom about 25 years ago decided she didn't like it so she started making tacos. They are just too much work on an already busy day so since I took over the holiday from my mom I wanted something easier that everyone would love.
Back in the day a girlfriend of mine would make this casserole that was super buttery and cheesy and I wish I knew the recipe. It was egg noodles, chicken, peas, butter and cheese and maybe COM or COC? I don't know but holy cow it was great! I would try to put it together without a recipe but when I do that it never seems to turn out. Chili is an option too since I don't normally make that but I know everyone likes it. Anyway, thanks for the ideas so far! Please keep them coming, maybe I'll try a bunch and decide on one to keep. =0)
http://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2013/06/crockpot-cheesy-h...
yum.
khairete
S.
My kids love stuffed green and red peppers. They are stuffed with a mixture of rice, hamburger and tomato soup and topped with cheese. They are delicious, super easy and Christmas coloured. My kid who doesn't like peppers eats the filling and his brother eats his peppers.
We really like Chicken Cordon Bleu in the crock pot. It's not healthy so we don't have it often, but it is gooey, cheesy, and super yummy!
It's just chicken breasts on the bottom of a crock pot, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can of milk (use the soup can). top with slices of ham and swiss cheese, top all of that with a box of stuffing. The recipe calls for melted butter on top of that, but I tried it with and without and didn't notice a difference, so we don't add the butter. Cook on low for 6 hours and voila! I usually steam a bag of broccoli and dinner is served.
Here is a similar recipe...not the exact one I followed, but I don't use the recipe anymore...either way, so good:
http://crockpotladies.com/recipe/crockpot-chicken-cordon-...
For what it's worth - taco's is the Christmas Eve dinner in my house. It's that because that's what I grew up with. I am one of 5 kids and my parents always got us to church. Now with my kids we open the gifts from my parents on Christmas Eve, so we don't always make church, but taco's are quick, easy, and not too difficult to clean up from. So it's all good!
There's nothing wrong with a big pan of mac n cheese.
If you normally do tacos and everybody likes those flavors there is a casserole that is similar. You just brown ground beef, add a can of beans a can of rotel and a can of cream soup(I use cream of jalapeno, but any would work) and heat it through. Then you layer corn tortillas and the meat mixture and repeat, then top with cheese and bake.
One of the easiest casseroles I know is tuna noodle casserole. Boil a bag of noodles, open cans of tuna, drain off water, open a can, or 2, of cream of mushroom soup, mix together in Dutch oven, top with crushed saltines or potato chips and bake at 350* for 30 -60 minutes. You can add milk if it seems to thick.
My family loves tuna noodle casserole. You can make a separate veggie or just a green salad, add coffee and desert...dinner is made.
Crock pot lasagna!
Ditto D. D. with the meatballs. A nice twist on the typical Italian/tomato sauce/pasta sauce is sweet & sour meatballs. I buy the frozen turkey meatballs with no sauce on them, then make a mix of any of the following: a jar of currant jelly and a bottle of chili sauce (or ketchup), apricot jelly and chili sauce, soy sauce/water mix with added ginger or 5 spice powder, or any other ethnic type sauce that suits you. If you use jelly, pre-melt the jelly in the microwave and then whisk in the tomato product. The meatballs are precooked so they just need to thaw - I would consider baking/microwaving first just so the inner ones aren't completely frozen, and then you don't need to worry about stirring.
You can also make a big baking sheet of cut vegetables, whatever you like: broccoli, cauliflower (both cut in florets), sweet potatoes, russet potatoes (both cut in wedges, carrots, green beans (these take 5 minutes less to cook so add them later), onions (cut in half and then in wedges), turnips/parsnips, and anything else that comes to mind. toss them in a bowl with some olive oil or canola, just enough to coat. Add salt/pepper and any herb that you like that seems to blend. I use a lot of dill with potatoes and onions, caraway with carrots/onions/sweet potatoes, Italian seasoning with typical Italian veggies (eggplant, green peppers, onions, zucchini). You can put these in the fridge in a zipper bag (you don't need a lot of oil - just coat, turn once and that way nothing gets brown) and then dump onto a baking sheet the second you get home and put in a 350 oven (or hotter, if you're short on time) for about 20 minutes, with one quick stir/toss half way through. Green beans take less time so add them 5-10 minutes after the other things, and give a toss. Kids who don't eat veggies will eat oven fries! And a few stray pieces of broccoli may go down the hatch too! They can pick out what they don't want if the pieces are big enough. That keeps you from making a separate side dish for those who eat them!
Of course, there's always chili of any sort. You can pre-brown the meat (beef, turkey), and then drain it. Put a can of tomato puree, a small can of black beans, a small (or large) can of red beans (regular or small), a can of pinto beans or white canellini beans, 1 T chili powder (or more- depends on your taste), some salt, a teaspoon of sugar, and the browned meat. Serve some crusty rolls or cornbread on the side. And you can grind up other veggies in the food processor and the kids will never know the difference.
Frozen meatballs in the crock pot, cover with sauce and let it cook away for a few hours. When you have a little free time cook your pasta, rinse it and put it in the fridge. When you get home from church either throw the pasta in some boiling water for a minute or two to heat it up or put it under hot water for a short time. Couple it with a salad made ahead of time and some italian bread and you are good to go.
Here are two of my favorite casseroles. I hope one of them works for you. These are popular at out house.
CHICKEN RICE DELIGHT (CASSEROLE)
1 box (6 or 8 ounce) long grain or wild rice
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 cans cream of chicken soup (can substitute cream of mushroom)
¾ cup mayonnaise
2 large chicken breasts
Marjoram
Crumb topping--potato chips, bread crumbs, or cornflake crumbs
Prepare rice as directed on the box.
Cook chicken in water until tender; cool, then cube into small pieces.
Combine with all ingredients except topping.
Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Chill overnight.
Put crumb topping on just prior to baking.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until warm and bubbly in the middle.
CHICKEN YOGURT ENCHILADAS
1 cup EACH plain nonfat yogurt and low fat cottage cheese
2 cloves (not heads, cloves) garlic peeled and diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons EACH sugar and cornstarch
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 large can diced green chilies (approx. 7 ounces.)
12 corn tortillas (about 6 inches in diameter)
2 cups bite size pieces of cooked chicken
1 small onion chopped
½ cup shredded jack cheese
In a blender or food processor whirl yogurt, cottage cheese, chili powder, sugar and cornstarch until smooth.
Melt butter in a 1 ½ to 2 quart pan over medium high heat. Add flour and 1/3 cup water; stir just until bubbly. Whisk in broth; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Whisk yogurt mixture into flour mixture, and stir in chilies. Cover bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with a third of the yogurt mixture.
Cut the tortillas into 1 inch strips. Scatter half of the tortilla strips over the yogurt mixture in the pan. Cover with all the chicken, all the onions, and half of the remaining yogurt mixture. Top with remaining tortilla strips yogurt mixture and jack cheese.
Cover dish tightly with foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover; continue to bake until mixture is golden brown on top and appears firm in the middle when the dish is gently shaken, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Makes 8 servings.
One of our favorites is ham and potato casserole. It's amazing in all of its cheesy potato-y goodness, and perfect with a salad, greens, whatever veggies on the side. Also makes awesome leftovers. Now I'm hungry!
It's not gooey/cheesy, but pot roast, carrots, and potatoes in the crock pot is really easy to throw together - I do it before work in the morning in 10 minutes, and it just cooks all day. Throw in a Pillsbury Italian loaf (the kind that comes in the tube in the refrigerated section of the store) 20 minutes before you want to eat, and you have an easy, yummy dinner - pot roast, fresh bread, gravy, carrots, and potatoes.
My pot roast recipe is:
1 roast
1C beef stock
1C beer
1 packet dry onion soup
1T minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (better if it's the kind already seasoned with oregano and basil)
1 small onion, quartered
1 bag baby carrots
4-5 potatoes, quartered
Put in the crock pot and let it cook on low for 10 hours.
