Taco Hash Brown Casserole

 

This is my favorite Crock-Pot recipe. For a time, it was my only Crock-Pot recipe. I came to Crock-Pot cooking late in life. It was my husband’s specialty. I cooked and baked everything else.

 

Then came the season when I was craving this casserole and he kept making excuses. Anybody know what I’m talking about? So one day I just went into the kitchen and got it done. It tasted just like the one he made so I was hooked! But, many recipes later, this is still my favorite.

 

I did learn from my husband to ALWAYS use a plastic slow cooker liner in the Crock-Pot. And, yes, that’s the brand of slow cooker that we use. The liner makes cleanup quick and easy.

 

I get my ground beef at Wal-Mart. It’s 97 percent fat free. We’ve reached the age where that sort of thing matters.

 

I also use powdered garlic. It’s by McCormick. Just ¼ teaspoon per garlic and it’s so much easier than doing it the old-fashioned way. I’m all about easy and quick. I also use McCormick taco seasoning packets.

 

The Cheddar Cheese soup is by Campbell’s. The shredded hash browns are Wal-Mart’s Great Value brand. No need to thaw unless it's necessary to break the hash browns up so you can stir them into the other ingredients.

 

The shredded cheddar cheese – also a Wal-Mart brand – is a staple at our house.

 

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. It’s quick, easy and yummy!

 

 

Taco Hash Brown Casserole

in the Crock-Pot

 

1 lb. ground beef

2 cloves garlic

1 taco seasoning packet (1 oz.)

1 can cheddar cheese soup (10.5 oz.)

1 bag frozen shredded hash browns (26 oz.)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

 

Brown the ground beef. Drain.

 

In a large bowl, mix ground beef with garlic, taco seasoning, cheddar cheese soup, frozen hash browns and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Stir together and pour into the Crock-pot. Smooth until it’s evenly distributed. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top.

 

Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.

 

Makes 4 generous servings.

Bacon, Ranch and Cheese Pasta Bake

 I found this recipe online and then promptly set about tweaking it to fit my needs and my pantry. For example, I didn't want to take time to thaw, fry and crumble bacon. We use a wonderful type of Bacon Bits that look and taste like real bacon without the grease.  It's easy and quick. In fact, this casserole is easy and quick. That's my favorite kind on days that are sometimes way too busy.

Bacon, Ranch and Cheese Pasta Bake

8 ounces uncooked Penne Pasta

1 14.5-15 ounce jar Alfredo Sauce

4 tablespoons real Bacon Bits (or 4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled)

1/4 cup Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cook and drain the Penne Pasta according to the package directions.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir the cooked Penne Pasta, Alfredo Sauce, Bacon Bits, 1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese and Ranch Dressing together. Spoon into an 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar Cheese on top.

Bake for  20 minutes.

Chicken Casserole

Some days you've just got to go with what you have. It was one of those days. I needed lunch and I needed it quickly. I found a few recipes -- google is a wonderful thing -- but I didn't have time to cook chicken down and I didn't have all the ingredients for any one recipe. So I adapted and this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Chicken Casserole

2 cans (12.5 oz. each) chunk chicken breast, drained
1 can cream of chicken soup*
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
32 Ritz crackers

* you can substitute cream of mushroom soup

Place the chicken in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Combine the soup, sour cream and onion. Spread it on top of the chicken. Crumble the Ritz crackers over that.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Spinach Frittata

Lately it seems that I’m always on the hung for low calorie recipes. This is one of them. I don’t know where it came from. All I have is a faded newspaper clipping. But it’s a good recipe. And it’s also quick and easy. That’s a wonderful combination these days.

Spinach Frittata

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced onion

¾ cup liquid egg substitute

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped cooked spinach, very well drained

Heat oil in 8-inch skillet or omelet pan. Add onion and cook until transparent and tender.

Combine egg substitute with 2 tablespoons cheese, oregano, pepper and spinach. Mix well.

Pour egg mixture into skillet with onion and cook over very low heat until edges are lightly browned. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cheese over top and place under broiler until cheese is lightly browned. Cut into wedges.

Makes 4 servings.

106 calories per serving.