Beefy Hash Brown Casserole

Once upon a time, I had a husband who was very specific about dinner: meat, starch, vegetable...and never the three shall meet in any form. What did that mean? No casseroles!

In the two years since our (amicable) divorce, I have more than made up for my 10-year casserole hiatus. It is honestly my favorite thing to cook and eat. It's always easy...it's always comforting.

I was so intrigued by the combination of ingredients in this dish from Plain Chicken (I know, I practically cyber-stalk her). Manwich + Chili + Hash Browns? Even my mother looked skeptical. Let me tell you, though...it totally works. It's the most magical combination of flavors...this will satisfy your soul!

Printable recipe

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 can Manwich
1 can chili with beans
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 bag refrigerated hash browns (Simply Potatoes)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, combine beef, Manwich, chili, tomato sauce, 1 cup cheese and hash browns.

Spread into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Cover with foil.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes. Top casserole with remaining cheese. Bake a few more minutes until cheese is melted.

OBG: Jilly's Roast

Here's another Oldie But Goodie (OBG) for you.

I originally had this a few years ago when my boss made it for a church luncheon. I fell in love immediately! She's from New Jersey, so I thought it may be a Northern thing, since I had never had anything like it before...but she said it has Dutch origins and is prepared on New Year's Day for good luck.

Don't let the sauerkraut put you off. It blankets the pork, making it oh-so-tender. It's not an overwhelming flavor, but it's definitely the star of this dish, giving it that "something special." Just adds a little zip/tang.

This is so, so, so good...I'm begging you to make!

Printable recipe

1 Boston butt
1 large can/jar sauerkraut
2 cans/jars mushroom gravy
1 bag baby carrots
2 cans whole potatoes, drained
2 packets dry mushroom gravy

Place pork in a large crockpot. Top with sauerkraut, gravy, and vegetables. Cook on low for 8 hours. Shred pork with two forks. Stir in dry gravy until completely mixed in.

Mexican Chicken Pie

I love quiche. I love that you can combine pretty much any combination of ingredients to suit your taste, and it comes out great every time. This was called a quiche by Cassie Craves, but I think it's really more of a pie, as it's not as "eggy" as most quiches. 

I actually added an additional egg, because the mixture seemed like it needed a little more moisture. This is packed with flavor with the tortilla chips, Mexican cheese, salsa, and green chiles. It's extremely hearty...not "ladies lunching" food at all.

The only thing I might change is the amount of tortilla chips...it's a very predominant taste in the dish.

Printable recipe

1 refrigerated pie crust

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1-1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken

1-1/2 cups broken tortilla chips

3 cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese

1 cup salsa

1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place the pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk. Beat in the milk. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into the crust-lined pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring

Our Christmas morning tradition is to meet at my sister's house to see what Santa brought my young nieces and have breakfast together. She assigned my dad the role of cooking eggs, bacon, and sausage...and she asked me to bring something sweet.

I love monkey bread, but it can be a little time-consuming and laborious to prepare. I liked the idea of this version, which I traced back on Pinterest to The Jones Way blog, which uses whole biscuits, and had all of the same flavor components.

I prepared this the night before and stored in a Tupperware cake container. This slices like a cake, and it's moist, sticky, and sweet. It practically melts in your mouth. The syrup/butter combination created a scrumptious glaze (without having to actually glaze it). It was gobbled up!

Printable recipe

1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits 

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/2 cup pancake syrup

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

 

Spray a Bundt pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top. Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring. Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute in the pan, and then invert onto a serving platter.

White Rotel Dip

I made so many batches of standard Velveeta and Rotel dip in my 20s, I've nearly rebelled against it in my 30s. It was my staple dish to every single college gathering I ever attended. I never even knew people put ground beef or sausage in it until a few years ago.

When I saw this variation from Deep South Dish, I knew it would make a great addition to my family's Christmas Eve celebration. While we all gather in the kitchen pre-dinner anyway...this year, we were even further tightly gathered around this little crockpot (perfect for serving and keeping warm), vying for room to get our next scoop. Yeah, saying it was a hit is a huge understatement. There wasn't one person in our group that shied away from this one.

It's much richer and creamier than the original, and the cream cheese brings a completely different flavor to it. I like the spice of the hot sausage to cut through the creaminess. Many declared it "the new Rotel dip." Guess we're done with the block of orange cheese!

Printable recipe


1 pound hot pork sausage, browned and drained
2 packages cream cheese
2 cans Rotel tomatoes, undrained
2 cups mozzarella cheese

In a large bowl, heat cream cheese in microwave in 2-minute intervals until smooth and easy to stir. Stir in the Rotel and sausage and cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in mozzarella cheese and cook in 2-minute intervals, stirring in between, until cheese is melted and dip is thoroughly warm.