Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole (Recipe 136 of 150)

Photo from The Salty
Marshmallow

Oh man this one takes me back. Mom used to make this, or something similar, with her leftover chili. She'd make a VAT of chili (cuz why not). We'd have a meal with it, then she'd freeze the rest. Sometime later that month she'd pull that chili out and she'd make this. This was one of the first recipes I ever tried on my own. Daring, I know. 

This recipe has everything you probably remember in the 70's for casseroles. Everything premade/store bought and thrown together with minimal effort to feed a house full. 

Oh and the left overs of this casserole are to die for. Well, at least the leftovers from Mom's were. This one, I'm sure will be equally as delicious. 

Tater Tot Chili Dog Casserole

Recipe from The Salty Marshmallow

Serves 6 easily

10 Hot Dogs Sliced

42 oz canned chili

1 ½ c Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 Package Frozen Tater Tots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together the sliced hot dogs, one cup of the cheese, and both cans of chili.

Pour the chili mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Top the mixture with an even layer of tater tots.

Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese and bake for 5 more minutes until cheese is melted.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole (Recipe 135 of 150)

Photo from Lauren's Latest

Tonight is Sunday Dinner. The theme? Casseroles! Usually when we do casseroles we have so much food it's not even funny. Tonight, I'm 100% sure we're going to have too much food that is is funny. 

I'm making two casseroles. Why? I couldn't decide which one to make. One is a good side dish. The other is a funny take on a childhood casserole my mother used to make. 

This recipe was outstanding. The real recipe says it'll feed 4. I think that's only if you're eating this. If you use it as a side, it'll easily feed 6-8. I'm planning on it helping to feed 7. And I am SURE there will be leftovers. 

I have two gluten free people coming tonight so I had to swap out the cream of chicken soup for sour cream. Frankly, I like it better than how it might have tasted with cream of chicken. Those cream soups are often used in casseroles as a binder. Turns out sour cream does as well. So that's what we went with. 

Go light on the salt since you're putting ham in this dish. I never salt until everything is all together. Taste it and adjust. 

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

Recipe from Lauren's Latest

Serves 6 

• 2 T butter
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 1 large carrot peeled & diced
• 1 ear yellow sweet corn
• 2 c steamed broccoli florets
• 4 oz. deli ham diced
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 pinches ground thyme
• 1 c Long grain white rice
• 2 c water
• 1 1/2 c medium cheddar cheese grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking dish and set aside. {Use a 9x9 square dish or one that is slightly larger.} JW note: I think mine was 9X12 give or take. It wasn't the large 9x13 - that held the other casserole. 

Place large skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Sauté onions, carrot, corn, and ham 5-7 minutes or until veggies start to soften. Stir in broccoli and cream of chicken soup.

Once soup starts to melt into the veggies, add in seasonings, rice and water. Stir to incorporate and remove any lumps

Melt cheese into mixture and pour entire contents of skillet into prepared baking dish. Bake 40 minutes or until rice is completely cooked and no liquid remains. Serve hot.

Sweet and Sour Baby Back Ribs (134 of 150)

Oh man. These were fantastic. The recipe didn't make sense to me completely so I kinda made it up as I went along. Rereading it now I'm not sure what was so confusing. 

Ahem. 

I didn't use baby backs - they were too expensive. I used country style instead. I think either works fine. Because I was using country style, I put them in a casserole dish and spooned the sauce over it. I let them cook for 2.5 hours at 325F. They were delicious. 

Sweet and Sour Baby Back Ribs

Recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen

Serves 4

Sauce

1 c orange juice

1/2   packed brown sugar

1/3   apple cider vinegar

3 T ketchup

2 T soy sauce

1 1/2 T cornstarch

1 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T vegetable oil

2 jalapeno peppers, sliced into thin rings

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger

Ribs

2 (2-pound) racks baby back ribs, silver skin removed

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 green onions, sliced

In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, and Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add jalapeno slices, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 1 minute.

Add orange juice mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Be sure to stir occasionally.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set a wire rack inside the baking sheet.

Sprinkle both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper. Place them meaty side up on the wire rack.

Measure out 1/2 cup of sauce and set aside the rest. Brush the ribs with the 1/2 cup of sauce.

Place in oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Brush ribs with some of the remaining sauce. Place back in oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

Reheat the remaining sauce. Place ribs on a serving platter and pour the remaining sauce over them.

Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

Caesar Green Bean Salad (Recipe 133 of 150)

Photo from Cook's Country

This was a fantastic recipe. At least half of it was. I loved the homemade Caesar vinaigrette over the green beans was so delicious. 

I didn't make the croutons because Sherrie was over and she's gluten free so why not keep them out all together. I may make it some day with the croutons, but doubt it. Cuz by themselves it was yummy.

Caesar Green Bean Salad

Recipe from Cook's Country

Serves 4

Dressing and Green Beans

1 ½ T lemon juice

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T Dijon mustard

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 anchovy fillets, minced to paste

Salt and pepper

3 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 ½ pounds green beans, trimmed

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler

Croutons

3 ounces baguette, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

¼ tsp pepper

FOR THE DRESSING AND GREEN BEANS: Whisk lemon juice, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic, anchovies, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl until combined. Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified; set aside.

Line baking sheet with clean dish towel. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add green beans and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, return to boil, and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain green beans in colander and spread in even layer on prepared sheet. Let green beans cool completely.

For the croutons: Meanwhile, toss baguette, oil, and pepper in large bowl until baguette pieces are coated with oil. Transfer to 12-inch nonstick skillet (reserve bowl). Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Return croutons to reserved bowl.

Transfer dressing, green beans, and half of Parmesan to bowl with croutons and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Serve.

Italian Chicken Marinade (Recipe 132 of 150)

This was an interesting recipe. I wasn't at all sure what to expect with it and the bottom line was it was pretty darn good. 

A couple of things; be careful what pesto you buy. I usually make my own pesto, but laziness won out and I bought a bottle of Barilla pesto. Not the greatest pesto. In fact, it made this recipe very salty. I wish I had tasted the pesto before I put in the salt.  

I also almost didn't put in the tsp of basil. It seemed like the basil would have had enough basil. 

This was a good recipe, but again, not one I'd likely do again. Too many to try. 

Italian Chicken Marinade

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 3

• 3 medium chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
• 1/2 c basil pesto
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 T balsamic vinegar (may sub red wine vinegar)
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tsp EACH dried basil, onion, powder, garlic powder, salt, dried oregano, dried rosemary (crushed)
• 1/2 tsp EACH paprika, pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a freezer bag or glass bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or refrigerate up to 12 hours (the longer the better).

When ready to cook, remove chicken from the refrigerator and let rest 20-30 minutes before cooking.

TO GRILL CHICKEN:

Preheat grill to 400 degrees F with the lid closed, clean and grease grates.

Grill chicken undisturbed with the lid closed for 5-7 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through. (Cook to 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, then allow to rest for 5 minutes to carryover to 165 degrees F.) Brush with additional pesto if desired.

TO COOK CHICKEN ON THE STOVE:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large non-stick skillet or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat. Once very hot, add chicken and cook, undisturbed, for 3-4 minutes, or until deeply golden on one side.

Flip chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for approximately 5-7 more minutes (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked to 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, then allowed to rest for 5 minutes to carryover to 165 degrees F. Brush with additional pesto if desired.

TO BAKE CHICKEN IN THE OVEN:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Add chicken in a single layer to a lightly greased baking dish.

Bake the chicken for 14 to 16 minutes (for small/medium breasts that are about 5-6 ounces), 16 to 20 minutes (for medium/large breasts that are 7 to 9 ounces), or 20 to 25 minutes (for larger breasts). As always, I recommend using an instant read meat thermometer for the most accurate/juiciest chicken. Cook to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, then allow to rest for 5 minutes to carryover to 165 degrees F. Brush with additional pesto if desired.

Chicken and Mushroom Marsala Rotelle (Recipe 131 of 150)

Extra! Extra! This just in! I am not a fan of big pasta. I had a feeling it wasn't my favorite, but last night's dish solidified my theory. Big pastas are too much pasta to nibbles ratio. 

That said, this recipe needed some help. It didn't have that great of flavor with just the marsala wine and the garlic as the sauce. 

My first change is that I don't like reheated chicken so I sautéed chicken pieces, then did the mushrooms. 

After adding the chicken, mushrooms, marsala and garlic, the sauce just didn't taste great. I tossed in about a quarter cup half and half. Ah hah! A cream sauce. That's what it needed. 

I also had a couple of spears of asparagus that I had to use up. I dropped it into the pasta right before I drained it. 

I doubt I'd make this recipe again. Too many others to try, but you should give it a try if you like chicken marsala. It definitely had that marsala flavor. 

Chicken and Mushroom Marsala Rotelle

Recipe from The Mom 100

Serves 6

• Kosher salt to taste
• 1 pound rotelle or another short chunky pasta
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ c dry marsala wine
• 1 pound cleaned mushrooms
• 4 c diced or slivered or shredded cooked chicken
• ¼ c chopped fresh parsley plus more to serve if desired

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Salt the water generously, and let it return to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook accordingly to package directions, stirring occasionally. Before you drain the pasta make sure to remove a cup of the cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for one minute until it starts to turn golden, then add the mushrooms, turn the heat to medium-high and sauté for 8 minutes until they are browned. Add the marsala and chicken and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Drain the pasta, adding ½ cup of the reserved cooking water to the pan with the chicken. Return the pasta to the pot, and add the chicken mixture to the pasta, along with the parsley, and toss to combine. Add more of the reserved cooking water if needed to moisten. Serve hot, with the additional parsley if desired.

2-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins (Recipe 130 of 150)

When I first read this recipe I exclaimed quite loud that this couldn't possibly work. The recipe for the cake mix calls for eggs, oil, water. How could putting a can of pureed pumpkin substitute for those ingredients. 

And yet, I'm here to tell you, it worked. The muffins came out moist, pillowy and delicious. I am now a believer. 

2-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Recipe from Spaceships and Laser Beams

Makes 12

• 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
• 1 box Spice Cake Mix

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Dump the cake mix and pumpkin puree into a bowl.

Stir the muffin batter until everything is combined. A few dry spots or lumps are not a big deal, but still try to get the batter as even-looking as possible. 

Using a ½ cup measuring cup, portion the pumpkin spice muffin batter into a pre-lined jumbo muffin pan.

Bake for 18 to 25 minutes (depending on how big your muffins are) [JW Note: Mine took 28 minutes] until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack, and then enjoy!