Chicken Tortilla Bake

(Ugh, casserole photos are the bane of my existence. It's so hard to get it to look as appetizing as it tastes!)

I have to have Mexican at least once a week, and this Chicken Tortilla Bake looked like it would fit the bill perfectly, as a new addition to the rotation. It was a great weeknight meal...easy prep, just a few ingredients.

There's one thing I would do differently (and I came *this close* to doing it last night). The recipe has you cover the casserole to bake it, but there's a layer of tortilla bites on top, and I think it you cooked it uncovered, they would crisp up a little bit and add some crunch/texture.

A testament to the success...a scuffle broke out among my three work "food husbands" (as they call themselves) when one of them felt he didn't get enough. :)

Printable recipe

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1 package 6-inch flour tortillas (10 count), cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Mix soup and Rotel in a bowl. In a greased 3-quart dish, spread 1/3 of tortilla bites evenly along bottom of pan. Top with half of chicken and half of soup mixture. Repeat layers, ending with final 1/3 of tortilla bites. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil, add cheese, and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

When I saw this recipe for No Peek Chicken, I was interested (especially by how quick and easy it looked)...but a little skeptical. Chicken tenders in the oven for more than 2 hours...at 350 degrees??!!

Well, it was quick. And, it was easy. The chicken didn't dry out like I feared it would...but it also didn't have any flavor. The rice, on the other hand, stole the flavor show. It was moist and creamy and just all-around delicious. Like, "push the chicken aside and keep eating the rice" delicious.

I might make this again and season the chicken first. But, I will definitely make this again, without the chicken, as a fantastic rice side dish.

Printable recipe

1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain Wild Rice (original recipe)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 soup cans of water
1 package chicken tenders

Mix together first four ingredients and pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Add chicken tenders, pressing down to completely submerge. Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for 2-1/2 hours.

Pizza Pie

Well, I pretty much had the "kitchen closed" sign hung in my kitchen for the month of May. Softball games, recitals, end-of-year programs, a sick (but now better) father...I did a lot of eating away from home.

But, now I'm back to the (fun) task of cooking what I pin. I keep finding so many great recipes out there...starting with this Lasagna Pie from The Not So Desperate Chef Wife. I renamed it since it doesn't have noodles and tasted more like pizza. I get the reference, though, since it has ricotta.

Warning...it's going to fill your pie plate to the brim, and you're going to be thinking that it's going to overflow, but rest assured. It doesn't. 

I'm a huge fan of crescent roll dough, and it added a nice sweetness to this dish. Meaty, cheesy, creamy...and the house smelled heavenly. It cut into slices nicely and heated up well the next day. Win.

 Printable recipe

1 12-ounce can large crescent roll dough
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup marinara sauce
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning


Grease a pie plate and line bottom with crescent rolls. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove crust from oven and top with meat and 1 cup of cheese. Place back in the oven for about 5 minutes, enough to just melt the cheese. Remove from oven and spread ricotta over pie evenly. Pour marinara sauce over the top, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, add last cup of cheese, and sprinkle remaining Italian seasoning. Bake for another 10 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes

My BF raves about my chicken pot pie. Raves. To anyone who will listen. I swear, I think I got it straight from Veg-All years ago, although I couldn't find it on their website to verify. (But I did find a blogger who uses the same recipe, just so I could share it with you.)

So, I knew making these cupcakes, adapted from a post at Quick Dish by Tablespoon, was a huge gamble. Even though the ingredients are very similar, I went ahead and prepared him that it would not be the same, but to just go with me on the experiment.

And, yes, we both still prefer my chicken pot pie...but I still loved this fun alternative. It was a little more time-consuming, but it wins hands-down in the presentation category. Adorable. Perfect little individual servings.

Printable recipe

2 small (5-count) cans flaky biscuits
1 small can Veg-All, drained
1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste


Flatten each biscuit and press into greased muffin pan, in bottom and up along sides. Stir together remaining ingredients and fill each cup with mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Smoked Sausage Pasta

There are some recipes on my Pinterest Food board that I've had bookmarked for so long that I wonder if I'll ever make them...and then there are those that I come across and make nearly immediately, like this Spicy Sausage Pasta courtesy of Kevin and Amanda (with a few adjustments on my end).

I was so intrigued by using smoked sausage with pasta instead of the traditional beef or Italian sausage. But what really sucked me in was the fact that you threw the pasta into the mix without cooking it first. How much do I love recipes like that? I know, it's such a simple thing, but eliminating just that one step is so very attractive to me.

When I took my first bite, right out of the pan, my first thought was, "Eh. There's really not much to this." Then, the heat from the Rotel kicked in at the back of my throat. When I went back about 10 minutes later to make my plate, the sauce had thickened up and it had become a dish with a lot of flavor.

Printable recipe

1 package smoked sausage
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups chicken stock
1 can Rotel
8 ounces penne pasta
1 cup mozzarella cheese


Slice sausage and saute in large skillet in olive oil over medium-high heat until brown. Add cream, stock, Rotel (undrained), and pasta (uncooked) and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Add cheese and stir until melted. Let sit off heat for 10 minutes to thicken.

Cheesy Turkey and Ham Bundles

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is that I can shoot my Food link to my BF, and he can scroll through and choose what he wants for dinner. For last night, he picked Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll Ups from Plain Chicken.

I improvised on this one, because I wanted to use what I already had on hand. Instead of chopped chicken and ham, I used whole slices of lunch meat. I also used mozzarella cheese instead of Swiss. I think you could make a variety of adjustments to this recipe, all with successful (and delicious) results.

One thing...since the cheesy sauce is poured over the roll-ups, you lose the flakiness of the crescent rolls, which is my favorite part. In making this again, I think I would put sauce on the bottom as a bed and place bundles on top to get more of a crust.

I think this would be a great dish for kids...meat, cheese, bread. What's to argue with?

Printable recipe

1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls
8 thin slices of turkey
8 thin slices of ham
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1 cup mozzarella cheese


Open crescent rolls and separate along perforations into eight pieces. Top each piece with a slice of both turkey and ham and roll up. In a small bowl, combine soup, milk, and 1/2 cup cheese. Spread a little of the soup mixture along bottom of a casserole dish. Place the roll-ups on top. Pour rest of soup mixture over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cheeseburger Pie

I meant to make this Jack-O-Lantern Cheeseburger Pie from Southern Living back in October for Halloween, but I never got around to it. Nevertheless, the recipe stuck with me.

Instead of assembling flat on a baking sheet, I did this more like a pot pie. I left out the cute design, but you could certainly customize the top to suit a particular occasion.

This was absolutely delicious...all the flavor of a cheeseburger complemented with a flaky, buttery crust.

It seemed a touch dry to me (although it reheated "looser" the next day), so I topped with a dollop of ketchup. And, don't forget the pickles!

Original Southern Living photo

Printable recipe

1 pound ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1  tablespoon mustard
1 package refrigerated piecrusts


Brown beef with garlic, salt and pepper. Drain and transfer to bowl. Add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and allow to cool. Add cheese and mix to combine. Line greased pie plate with one piecrust and brush with mustard. Fill with beef mixture. Top with second piecrust and crimp edges to seal. Brush with egg/water mixture and cut a few slits in top to vent. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.