Baked Spaghetti

Baked Spaghetti is, well, awesome. Creamy, cheesy, delicious, and filling, this dish is both easy to prepare and easy to serve. And like any self respecting casserole, it also tastes great as leftovers. Anyway, we’re not dead. Suz started college recently and I’ve just been sidetracked and lazy. :] Sorry for no pictures on this one at time of posting. I am not sure where the pictures actually are so I can’t upload them! Speaking of pictures, we may switch the format to just have one or two pics rather than step-by-step pics because it will allow for more updates.

At a glance…

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 tbl butter or margarine
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes with stems, cut up
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces (optional)
1 can (2-1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
2 tsp dried oregano
1 pound ground beef, browned & drained
12 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet, saute onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and oregano. Add beef. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Place half of the spaghetti in a greased 13×9x2 in dish. Top with half of veggie mix. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Repeat layers. Mix the soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Makes about 12 servings.

Prep time: 60~ minutes
Making casserole mixture: 30~45 minutes
Cooking: 30~ minutes

Nutrition Information (for 1 serving)

Calories	Fat	Sat. Fat	Carbs	Sugars	Protein	Fiber	Sodium
182	10g	3.6g	25.6g	3.3g	13.3g	3g	400mg

Castleberry Barbecue Baked Beans

This bean casserole—perfect for 4th of July, potlucks, and family dinners with grilled hamburgers—was passed down to us by mother and grandmother. The name Castleberry comes from the brand of canned beef we use, which isn’t available where we live in Texas. Every trip we make to Tennessee we make sure to stock up on Castleberry Beef. If you can’t find the brand, use whatever kind of barbecue chopped beef you’d like. Lots of stores have a barbecue chopped beef available; you just may have to look around in the refrigerated section, too. The recipe says you can also used pulled pork, which we have never tried but probably would be good! There is really no way to make these healthier. I’ve tried. Rinsing off the beans makes them a little less salty and using organic ketchup will cut back on the high fructose corn syrup. Just enjoy this casserole, as the flavors are excellent. If you’re adventurous, leftovers are good for bean sandwiches!

At a glance…

1 large can of pork and beans (32 oz), rinsed and drained
1 10 oz can of Castleberry Beef or Pork (about 2-2½ cups of compacted chopped beef, or a little over half a pound)
3 tbl pickle relish
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar (not packed)
1 tbl mustard
1/4-1/2 c. water

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 2 1/12 quart casserole dish. Rinse beans in colander, drain, and put in dish. Add beef, relish, ketchup, sugar, and mustard. Add enough water to thin to desired consistency. Bake for 1 hour. Makes 8 1/2 cup servings.

Total time: 1:10 hours
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Nutrition Information (for 1 serving)

Calories	Fat	Sat. Fat	Carbs	Sugars	Protein	Fiber	Sodium
221	5.8g	1.7g	36g	22g	11g	5.8g	765mg

Pictures & Walkthrough

The name Castleberry comes from the kind of canned beef we use, which isn’t available where we live in Texas. If you can’t find the brand, use whatever kind of barbecue chopped beef or pulled pork you’d like, about 10 oz (a little over half a pound).
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray (I use a 2 ½ quart one). Open beans and place in a colander. Rinse off with water and shake to drain. Pick out that nasty piece of pork fat, too.
Place everything in the casserole dish and stir to combine.
Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. To prevent the top from burning, stir after thirty minutes and watch the dish closely when it’s almost done. Or, after thirty minutes you can stir the beans and then cover for the last thirty minutes. Your choice!

King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch chicken is a favorite casserole of mine. Chicken and corn tortillas together in a cheesy, creamy mix. It goes great with a salad, is easy to prepare, and makes six to eight generous servings.

At a glance…

1/8-1/4 cup butter, oil. or margarine (to saute onions and peppers)
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 oz) RO*TEL tomatoes diced Hot or Mild, drained
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 325°F. In large saucepan, cook pepper and onion in melted margarine until tender (about 5 minutes). Add (into saucepan) soups, RO*TEL, and chicken, stirring until well blended. In a 13×9x2in. baking pan, alternate layers of tortillas, mixture, and cheese, repeat for three layers. Bake 40 minutes. Serves 8.

Total time: 2 hours
Cooking chicken ~1 hour
Making casserole mixture ~20 minutes
Cooking ~40 minutes

Nutrition Information (for 1 serving)

Calories	Fat	Sat. Fat	Carbs	Sugars	Protein	Fiber	Sodium
340	16g	7.5g	25g	1.2g	20g	2.7g	783mg

Pictures & Walkthrough

Here’s a shot of what you’ll need, minus the butter.
Start off by chopping up a bell pepper and a medium onion. I used only half a pepper this time as I’m not a huge fan of them.
Saute the onions and pepper in a large saucepan/skillet. A high-walled one is best since you’ll be putting a lot of stuff in there in a few minutes.
After the onion and pepper have simmered for about five minutes, pour in the chicken and RO*TEL and and the two cans of soup. I’m a pansy when it comes to hot foods so we went with the mild version of the RO*TEL, but if you like spicy stuff, try a hotter variety! The goal here is just mixing it all up, so just let it simmer on medium heat while you mix it together. While it’s simmering, take your tortillas and rip them into pieces aproximately 1 square inch in size (larger is fine, or you can leave them whole, but it is much easier to serve with smaller pieces).
Pam up your baking pan and toss in four tortillas. Spread on one third of the mixture.
Spread on a layer of cheese.
Repeat this layer of tortilla, mixture, and cheese two more times for a total of three layers.
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings.

Enjoy!

~Veers