Chicken Pretzel Casserole

1 bag (10 oz.)Pretzels, broken up (I use Snap, the window looking kind)
1 stick of butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped into bite size pieces
1 Tbl. dehydrated onions (optional)
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray. Remove pretzels from bag using your hands. You don't want the excess salt that is in the bottom of the bag. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly into pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Serves 4-6

Think With Your Taste Buds - I topped mine with French fried onions. You can also add extra cheese, some walnuts would make a nice addition. You might even add some chopped celery.

Baked Potato Ground Beef Casserole

4 potatoes, cubed and cooked
1 lb. ground beef, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 med. Onion, finely chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbl. Minced chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl combine potatoes and ground beef. In another bowl combine remaining ingredients, add to potato mixture and gently toss to coat. Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Serves 6

Changes – Use chicken or bacon instead of ground beef. Add mushrooms and/or minced garlic for added flavor. Reserve ½ cup cheese to add to during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Grits & Sausage Casserole

2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup uncooked quick grits
4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
1/8 tsp. garlic salt
2 lb. sausage, cooked, crumbled and drained

Bring water and salt to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat to med., cook about 4 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Combine hot grits and cheese, stir until cheese is melted. In a bowl, combine eggs, milk and garlic. Add a small amount of hot grits mixture to egg mixture, stirring to blend well. Stir remaining grits into egg mixture. Add cooked sausage. Pour into a 8 x 12 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before baking. Bake at 350 for 50 - 55 minutes. Serves 8

Changes - make with bacon or ham instead of sausage.

Broccoli, Cheese & Rice Casserole

Broccoli, Cheese & Rice Casserole

2 cups instant rice - uncooked
2 cups water
1 stick butter, cut into small chunks
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 small packages frozen broccoli, thawed
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 jar (10 oz.) cheese whiz

In a large bowl mix rice and water. Add butter, onion, broccoli and mushroom soup. Mix well. Stir in cheese. Pour into a 2 qt. casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover and bake 30 minutes or until rice has absorbed water and is tender. (The deeper the dish, the longer the cooking time). Serves 6-8.

Changes - I like this with or without the onions. I also like to add extra mushrooms now and then or change the soup to cream of chicken instead of mushroom. And if you don't have cheese whiz, use 3/4 cup of shredded cheese. You can make a full meal dish from this by adding chopped chicken.

Potato & Sausage Casserole

1 lb. lean sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 med. potatoes sliced (I do circle cuts)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups grated cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage and onions. Drain. Mix soup, milk, salt & pepper. In a large casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray, layer 1/2 of the potatoes, soup mix, cheese, sausage. Repeat ending with sausage. Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Put back into oven until cheese melts. Serves 6-8

Changes - use ground beef or sweet sausage. Add mushrooms. This works great with turkey or chicken sausage.

Sweet Potato Casserole

6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 tsp. allspice

Boil sweet potatoes until tender. Drain and place in a mixing bowl. With a fork mix butter, brown sugar, nuts and allspice until crumbly. Gently toss into potatoes (don't mash potatoes). Pour into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Top with miniature marshmallows. Bake in a 350 degree oven until hot and marshmallows are slightly browned.

You can change the flavor by changing the spice. Nutmeg is good but ground cloves gives this a really great taste. You can also use cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.

Breakfast Casserole for a Crowd

2 lb. sausage
1 pkg (6 oz.) herb seasoned croutons
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
1/4 cup minced onions
1/2 cup red and/or green peppers, finely chopped
8 eggs, beaten
2 cups half & half cream
1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. dry hot mustard
salt & pepper to taste

Cook sausage in a large skillet until browned. Drain, crumble and set aside. In a large bowl combine croutons, cheeses, onions, peppers, mustard, salt and pepper. Beat eggs well then add milk and half & half. Beat again. Add egg mix and sausage to crouton/cheese mix. Stir well to combine. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Cooking - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cover from baking dish. Bake 45-50 minutes (make sure eggs are set in center of dish). Remove from oven and let set for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serves 12

Changes - Use bacon or ham instead of sausage. Serve with topping of sour cream and maybe a little salsa.

Rice Casserole

1/4 cup butter
1 med. onion chopped
4 cups cooked rice
2 cups sour cream
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish with non-stick spray. In a frying pan sauté onion in butter for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add rice, sour cream, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Mix well. Place 1/2 of the rice mix in the casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the cheese. Add remaining rice mix, top with remaining cheese. Bake 25 minutes.

Changes - this dish is great as it is but one of the best changes is to use a blend of long grain rice and wild rice. That is really delicious! You can add a few mushrooms or add some chopped bell pepper when cooking the onions. And if you want some heat, add some crushed red pepper.

Rice Casserole

1/4 cup butter
1 med. onion chopped
4 cups cooked rice
2 cups sour cream
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 1/2 qt. casserole dish with non-stick spray. In a frying pan sauté onion in butter for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add rice, sour cream, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Mix well. Place 1/2 of the rice mix in the casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the cheese. Add remaining rice mix, top with remaining cheese. Bake 25 minutes.

Changes - this dish is great as it is but one of the best changes is to use a blend of long grain rice and wild rice. That is really delicious! You can add a few mushrooms or add some chopped bell pepper when cooking the onions. And if you want some heat, add some crushed red pepper.

Sausage & Rice Casserole

1 lb. sausage
1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet brown sausage, onion and bell pepper until done. Drain. Add soup, water, rice, salt & pepper. Cook, mixing well for 4-5 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray, cover with a lid or foil and bake 25-30 minutes or until rice is done.

Changes - Add a little heat by adding crushed red pepper. Add celery, mushrooms or almond slivers for a little crunch. And of course you can always top with cheese during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Just make sure you take the lid or foil off during that time so the cheese can brown slightly.

Brussels Sprout Casserole

2 small boxes Brussels sprouts, thawed
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup shredded cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
4-5 strips of bacon, fried and crumbled
2 tubes butter crackers (Town House, Ritz, et.)
1 stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place Brussels sprouts in the bottom of a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Evenly sprinkle with cheese. Whisk eggs, mushroom soup and mayonnaise together. Pour over cheese. Top with bacon. Crush crackers. Add butter to crackers and sprinkle evenly over soup mixture. Bake 45 minutes.

Changes - use broccoli instead of sprouts. Try bite sized pieces of ham instead of bacon. Use pre-packaged stuffing instead of crackers. Make sure you crush before adding.