Panko Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

Ever since I was preggers with Paxton, I have loved Mac & Cheese…

but it had to be THE BOXED KIND. 

Oh good heavens, I am so ashamed to admit that to you. 

The fake cheese tasted so good! I ate a whole box for lunch.  Eeek!  {with a salad!!!!}

  I have been on the hunt for a homemade gooey, cheesy Mac & Cheese to replace my addiction ever since, and I haven’t found one that we like.

  Well, when I saw this recipe from The Sunflower Supper Club I knew I had to give it a go.  I mean, it had sour cream in it! How could I go wrong?  They don’t have one recipe on their site that we haven’t LOOOOVED.   This Mac and Cheese was no exception!

  Kim calls it Creamy One Pot Macaroni and Cheese, but since I used more than just a pot, I felt like I would be lying to you, so we have dubbed it a new name at our house based on my favorite part, the buttery Panko on top!  

from Kim at Sunflower Supper Club

Ingredients

• 16 ounces, weight Pasta Shells
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 4 cups Cheese, We Did Two Sharp Cheddar And 2 Colby Jack
• 16 ounces, weight Cottage Cheese
• ½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 16 ounces, weight Sour Cream
• 1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
• 3 Tablespoons Parsley Flakes
• 3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

Preheat oven to 350*F
Boil noodles and salt until al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix cheese and sour cream. Add in still warm pasta and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer to a sprayed 9×13 baking dish.
Mix together bread crumbs, parsley flakes and butter. Sprinkle over shells and cheese.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.

Serve hot!

Tastes best first day.

  You all this recipe is SO rich, SO creamy and SO divine, it made my eyes roll up in my head when I took a taste.  Yup, it’s THAT GOOD!

Thanks Kim, for allowing me to share your yummy dish today!  Head on over to Sunflower Supper Club and check out more of their amazing food!

~T

Creamy Burrito Casserole

  This casserole reminded me a lot of Tijuana Torte we already make and love, but I went ahead, because the addition of refried beans intrigued me.

  I found this recipe at Food.com, and the end result was nothing short of amazing!  {I changed it up just a bit.}  We loved the heartiness the whole wheat tortillas and refried beans bring to the final dish. And talk about quick, the whole thing came together in no time flat!

{click on title to print}

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Beef
• ½ whole Onion, Chopped
• 1 envelope (1 Oz.) Taco Seasoning
• 16 ounces, weight Can Refried Beans
• 6 whole Wheat Tortillas
• 3 cups Shredded Taco Cheese
• 10 ounces, weight Can Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• ⅓ cups Sour Cream
• ½ cups Taco Sauce
• Lettuce, Sour Cream, Tomatoes

Preparation Instructions

 

Preparation Instructions

 

In a skillet over medium heat, brown meat with onions. When meat is browned and onions softened, drain off the grease. Add taco seasoning and water (use the amount of water recommended on the package directions). Stir in one can of refried beans, heat everything through then set aside.

 

In a small bowl, mix sour cream and cream of mushroom soup.

 

In the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish, spread 1/2 cup of the sour cream mixture. Tear up 3 whole wheat tortillas and cover the sour cream layer. Layer half of the meat on top of this, spreading to cover the surface. Add a layer of cheese and a drizzle of taco sauce over it all.

 

Layer 3 more torn tortillas. Then top them with the remaining sour cream, meat mixture, taco sauce and cheese.

 

Bake uncovered at 350* for 20 minutes until hot and cheese is melted.

Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

Garnish with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream.

Dig in!

~T

Spinach Lasagna Bake

  Welcome to Post 2 for today.  Post 1 was all about Paxton’s First Haircut, a real nail biter for sure! Ok, not really, but still, head back one post to check it out!  🙂

I was skeptical of this bake being anything amazing…Boy, was I wrong!  We LOVED it!  To quote Dale: “Yup, it’s a keeper!”   If you know Dale, he is a man of few words when it comes to food, this simple phrase ACTUALLY means:
Oh wow! This is fantastic!  Yum. This is great, and I don’t even LIKE Italian food!  Pass the Lasagna please…..

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 whole Large White Onion
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 cans 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
• 1 can 6 Oz Tomato Paste
• 1 package Sliced Mushrooms
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 cup Grape Tomatoes, Halved
• 1 teaspoon Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Basil
• ½ teaspoons Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• 2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 cup Red Wine, Chicken Broth Or Apple Juice
• ½ cups Water
• 16 ounces, weight Of Your Favorite Noodle, Like Penne, Bow Tie, Rotini Etc.
• 9 ounces, weight Bag Of Fresh Spinach
• 4 cups Sour Cream
• 2 cups Grate Parmesan Cheese
• 2 cups Italian Blend Cheese Or Mozzarella

Sautee sliced mushrooms in butter, set aside. Wash and halve grape tomatoes.
In an extra large family skillet, cook ground beef and pork with garlic and chopped onions. Once the meat is browned and fully cooked, drain well. Add the tomato sauces, paste, sautéed mushrooms and tomato halves to the meat mixture. Next add the liquids; wine/chicken broth/apple juice and water. Simmer.
Cook and drain noodles. Add to meat sauce.

This recipe will fill 2 9×13 baking dishes, so you can freeze the second or share with a friend! Visually divide meat/pasta mixture into fourths, place a layer of meat and pasta in the bottom of each dish, followed by 1 cup of sour cream each. Divide spinach into fourths and place 1/4 on top of the sour cream layer, followed by 1 cup of the listed cheeses mixed. Repeat layers again, 1/4 pasta mixture in each, followed by 1 cup sour cream each, remaining spinach divided and the rest of the cheese on top of both.

Bake 350* for 35 minutes.

You will not BELIEVE how amazingly flavorful this dish is.  Like Dale said, it’s a keeper!

  I’ve had several of you ask, do I really cook all these different dishes? Yup. When Dale and I were first married, we cooked together after work and didn’t repeat a recipe for 6 months.  From this, I grew to LOVE new recipes and the hunt to find, try and share them, I have kept it up ever since.  I have 5 binders just full of recipes that I have typed out from old family recipe boxes, or emailed recipes from friends.  This doesn’t count the 300+ recipes in the “To Try” pile currently living inside my desk!! All these new dishes sure make my kids well-rounded eaters, that’s for sure!!! 🙂   Everything you see has been made in my kitchen and photographed there or on my picnic table.  All the recipes I share here on 4 little Ferguson’s are our “Keepers”, the nasty ones get thrown in the trash and the photos deleted.  OH YES, and let me make sure to say, that if I personally get a recipe from a fellow bloggers site, I am SURE to give credit where credit is due!  🙂

Enjoy this yummy supper!

  ~T

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Easy Chicken and Stuffing Casserole with Creamed Peas

This is the “real” post for today, I just had to share the first one because it totally cracked me up. 🙂

EASY CHICKEN & STUFFING CASSEROLE

Ingredients

• 8 whole Chicken Breasts, Cooked, Seasoned And Shredded (I like to use boneless thighs)
• 2 cans (10.75 Oz) Organic Cream Of Chicken Soup
• 2 sticks Butter
• 4 packages (6 Oz) Pepperidge Farm Dressing With Herbs
• 2 cups Sour Cream
• 3 cups chicken broth water from cooked chicken (Or Canned Broth If You Prefer)

Preparation Instructions

Boil chicken in a pot of salted water until done. Remove chicken breasts, reserving liquid. Place chicken in a medium bowl and shred with 2 forks.
Melt butter in a medium skillet with 2 packages of dressing mix. Add enough of the chicken water (or canned broth) to reach a thin consistancy, about 3 or so cups.
Put stuffing mixture into a lightly sprayed casserole dish. You will want a large 10×14 Pyrex or the deep pampered chef rectangle baker. Add shredded chicken, covering evenly. Mix sour cream and cream of chicken soup, spread on top of chicken layer. Place the rest of your dressing on top. Bake at 350* for 1 hr or until hot in center.

Enjoy with a side of Creamed Peas, they taste AMAZING together!

 

Yup, I said Peas. 

You will eat them and you WILL like them.   

Oh sorry, I thought I was talking to my kids for a sec.  🙂

  Actually, I hate cooked peas, but I will eat these creamed ones.  My kids eat an entire double batch in one meal.  Yup, they are THAT good!

Quite wrinkling your nose, I’m serious!!!!  Gone are the pale, mushy peas of years past. These are tender with a hint of crisp and maintain their GORGEOUS green color!  I double the following recipe and the kids STILL gobble up every last bite.  Just try them once and I’ll leave you alone, I promise! 

CREAMED PEAS

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• ½ teaspoons Sugar (optional)
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 1 dash Pepper
• 2 cups Frozen Peas

  Melt butter over medium heat in a 1 quart saucepan, and whisk in flour until well blended and smooth. Now very gradually stir in the milk. When milk is combined, add optional sugar, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until sauce beings to boil. Stir and boil 1 minute. Add frozen peas and stir. Cover pan and allow to simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat.
Do NOT overcook! Soggy peas will ruin this dish, you want them tender but firm.

Happy Supper!

(make the peas, be BRAVE)

~T

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One Dish Pork Chop Potato Casserole

  I am always drawn to recipes where there are 2 items in one pan…less dishes later!  This Pork Chop Potato Casserole recipe comes from Gooseberry Patch’s New Cookbook, I found it on my friend, Brandie’s (aka The Country Cook) site and knew I HAD to make it……..

It’s a keeper!

Ingredients

• 8 whole Boneless Pork Chops, Seasoned As You Wish
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 can 10 Oz. Cream Of Celery Soup
• ½ cups Milk
• 32 ounces, weight Hash browns, Thawed
• Salt, Pepper And Garlic Powder, To Taste
• 1 can French Fried Onions
• 1 cup Shredded Cheese

Preheat oven to 350*. Season both sides of pork chops with salt, pepper, whatever you like. In a large skillet, brown pork chops on both sides in hot oil. Set aside. (They will not be cooked all the way and that’s ok, it’s headed to the oven next.)
In a large bowl, combine sour cream, cream of celery soup and milk. Stir in hash browns, salt, pepper and garlic powder, then half of the French fried onions. Spread hash brown mixture in an un-greased 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Top with seared pork chops, arranging so that none are over top another. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes. Add remaining French Fried onions and bake 5-10 minutes more.

Steam some green beans while this bakes and you have your whole meal just like that! Easy and delicious!

* Do not use too thin of boneless pork chops for this, they will dry out. Bone in would also be a good option but you will probably bake it longer. 

Happy Cooking!

~T

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Cheesy BBQ Casserole

  Yesterday was GORGEOUS! Like 85* and perfect out!!!!

  Man, I love Spring time!  There is something so exciting about coming out of the dead of Winter into Spring. Full of new life and new beginnings! The birds are back and singing in the trees, the new shoots of green grass are poking through the dead brown grass of winter,  and the days of summer are just around the corner. 

  On days like this, all I want to do is get outside, and play with my kids, rather than be in the kitchen all afternoon, working on dinner prep!  So yesterday, for a special treat, I let Tylan skip his “resting time” in his bed, to go lay on a quilt outside and read, and bird watch with his toilet paper roll binoculars, until I could join him.

  He was a bit lonely and kept wanting to talk to me through the kitchen window, so when I heard Paxton wake up, I took him out to keep his big brother company until I could join them.

  This is the site that greeted me next time I stepped to the kitchen sink:

Precious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  My agenda, once chores were done, was to paint my toes and hang with my boys!  (Avery was still napping at this point.)  I had a “helper” that made toe painting interesting, but I eventually got it done.

  Done that is, after a major re-do, from a diapered bottom sitting smack down on my still wet big toe!  🙂 

  Next up: the recipe!

   This recipe was so simple I almost skipped it!   I am not a recipe snob! (ok, maybe kinda!)  But I had to wonder how good it could be with such basic ingredients?!?!?!! 🙂 

  I seriously almost didn’t make it, but turns out, it tasted great!  The perfect “throw together” meal after an extra busy day of laying in the sun and painting my nails. 🙂

  The BBQ sauce makes this dish deeeeelicious!  I used Sweet Baby Ray’s, my FAVORITE BBQ sauce.

• 3 cups Macaroni Style Uncooked Pasta (Long Sticks, Not Traditional Macaroni)
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 whole Medium Onion
• ¼ cups Fresh Parsley
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 cups Of Your Favorite BBQ Sauce
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
• BBQ Sauce As Garnish

Preparation Instructions

Heat oven to 350*. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. (I used my P. Chef round baker.)
Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.
In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes until beef is brown, drain.
Stir pasta, 3 T. Parsley, milk, BBQ sauce, mozzarella cheese and 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese into beef in skillet. Stir well.
Spoon mixture into casserole dish.
Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, parsley, plus a swirl of BBQ sauce across the entire surface.
Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Enjoy!

Have a great weekend!  I am off to work my “4 & No More” Baby Stuff Sale at my mom’s house, today and tomorrow.  Not to mention, next week is Spring Break for Destiny!

WOO-HOO 🙂

~T

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I know you thought you were getting on here to read a recipe, and you will, but first things first…….

Guess who is CRAWLING?!

Yuppers, my lil’ Paxton!!!!

I thought I’d have to cry that my last baby was mobile, but I totally didn’t, just clapped and enjoyed the moment.

He was pretty dumbfounded that he was moving FORWARDS after weeks of backwards crawling/scooching, and was so proud of himself!  Of course, by the time I got the camcorder out he was done with the show and crying, super offended I left him in his moment of glory.

The best part is, he does this funny little crawling method, unlike any of the other kiddos:

He moves arm, arm and then moves both his knees simultaneously and hops. This makes his little boofus bump up in the air and is the CUTEST inchworm impersonation you ever did see! We were cracking up!

This is the part where he got distracted by the string of drool coming from his mouth…..

Then he lay down and decided that was enough crawling for the morning.

Awwww, sweet baby Pax!

So on to dinner.  I grew up eating this casserole, and I love that my children ADORE it too!  It is creamy, it comes together easily and is oh-so delicious!

I apologize for this photo. I was lucky to get a shot before dinner was devoured by my family who was just “STARRRRRRVING”.  Trust me, this dish is all kinds of good. Creamy, flavorful and just YUMMY all the way around!

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

(click title to print)

½ cup onion
2 T. Butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz. sour cream
3 cups shredded cheese, divided
1 can green chilies
2 cans mushrooms, 1 drained
10 large tortillas (I do half wheat and half white)
3 cups cooked, diced, chicken

 Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large family-sized skillet over medium heat, sauté onion in butter until tender. Add all of the remaining ingredients except tortillas, reserving 1 cup of the cheese for topping.

Heat on medium low until cheese is melted. While it’s heating, cut all of the tortillas into 4 pieces, this can be done quickly by cutting 5 at a time, using a pizza cutter. Remove soup mixture from heat once the cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Spread a small layer of chicken cream mixture in the bottom of your 9×13 baking dish, followed by a layer of slightly overlapping tortilla triangles, about 10 of them. Repeat layers for a total of 4 tortilla layers, ending with the chicken cream mixture.

Add the reserved 1 cup of cheese to the top and bake at 350 F for 15–20 minutes.

Serve with chips and fresh salsa. Yum!

Happy Cooking!

~T