I’m starting to come to a realization. I believe I am becoming a fan of casseroles. They taste great, are easy to prepare and heat up really well as a leftover – everything a single guy on a budget could ask for. This time around, I’m taking some leftover Easter ham and mixing it with some hash browns, cheese, onions and other goodness for what is sure to be a tasty treat.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 half of 32 oz bag Ore Ida Hash Browns (square chunks, not shredded)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 7 tablespoons melted margarine
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 cup ham chunks
• 1 cup cornflakes

Directions:

Thaw potatoes in bowl and season with salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl mix together sour cream, soup, onion, and 3 tablespoons melted margarine.

Add potatoes, ham and cheese.  Mix together.

Place into greased baking dish.  Melt remaining 4 tablespoons margarine in bowl.  Add cornflakes and stir to coat.

Place on top of potato mixture and spread to cover.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes uncovered.

Between a full week out of town and what I now refer to as the Great Cold of 2010, my cooking was on hold for much of January. Thankfully, the fun can return and with it comes another casserole bake. This time around the recipe comes from a book given to me by my good friend Greg Sorvig (@gsorvig) – 365 Easy One-Dish Recipes. While I was tempted by the Sassy Sandwiches section, I settled on the Spaghetti Bake, etc.

I would also like to mention this weeks episode is sponsored by rickyleepotts of http://blog.rickyleepotts.com/ (@rickyleepotts) Be sure to check that out – my favorite section is food and beverage.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package spaghetti
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 oz can tomato bisque soup
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 8 oz can whole corn, drained
• 4 oz can black sliced olives
• 12 oz package shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 sliced jalapeno peppers

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain and set aside. Cook beef, bell pepper and onion in skillet and drain.

Add remaining ingredients plus 1/3 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and spaghetti to beef mixture and stir well. Pour into sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish and cover.

Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours (I’m really not sure about this step. I did it but I can’t help but feel it is not necessary.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Serves 8.

Continuing on with our chili theme, Elisabeth and I decided to fix some chili dogs for dinner. Quick and easy, this is a fantastic weekday recipe.

All you need is some reheated chili, shredded cheese, hot dogs and some good buns and you are set. We were definitely in a goofy mood for this one. Must have been the excitement for the dogs.

Be sure to check out our chili episode to see us make the chili used in this episode here.

Have a recipe you would like to see us try, send us an e-mail at recipes@cuisinemadequick.com or hit us up on twitter at cphadley, ebear6 or cuisinemq.

It’s Thursday night in the middle of a very busy work week and I look at the clock. The time is after 9 PM and I realize I have not eaten dinner. This seems to be a regular occurrence for me lately and I soon realized groceries were in short supply. I was going to eat some cereal but then came to the realization I didn’t have any milk. What I did have was corn tortillas, eggs, cheese and salsa.

Not wanting to make the full egg tortilla casserole again, I decided to make up some quick breakfast tacos given they only take about 10 minutes to make. These are even better when you have more fresh ingredients available for topping. I was a bit limited.

Ingredients and Directions:

• Put a small amount of cooking oil in a pan and heat to medium.
• While oil heats up, shred about 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese or whatever kind of cheese you prefer on your tacos.
• Crack two eggs and beat so they are ready to scramble.
• Mix in chili powder, black pepper, cumin, seasoned salt, red pepper and hot sauce.
• Once oil is hot, fry up two or three corn tortillas by placing in grease for about 15 to 30 seconds until hard but still a bit chewy.
• Let shells cool for about 2 minutes and then place eggs, cheese, hot sauce and salsa in shell and fold.
• Enjoy!

I must admit, I can think of no better way to start a weekend morning than a nice big breakfast or brunch. Elisabeth and I have made a habit out of enjoying a satisfying breakfast at least once a week. This past weekend we went all out with one of our favorite breakfast indulgences – loaded biscuits and gravy.

There are quite a few steps involved in this one so be prepared as the video and recipe directions are a bit longer than usual. The good news is once you get the recipe down, you can whip it together in less than 30 minutes. Also, many items in this recipe are up for substitution. The biscuits are essentially the base for whatever creation you desire. Keep that in mind as you watch and be creative.

Finally, if you have a breakfast favorite you would like to see us attempt, or if you have video preparing your favorite dish, please leave a comment or send an e-mail to recipes@cuisinemadequick.com.

Ingredients:

Biscuits (or as Elisabeth’s recipe notes read – Wonder Biscuits)

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 3/4 to 1 cup milk (2% or whole for best results)

The rest

• 4 eggs
• About 1 cup shredded cheese
• Pre-packaged gravy mix and boiling water (alternatively, you can slowly mix in flour and milk to the sausage after cooked in pan adding pepper as needed)
• 1/4 section of sausage “log” or about 4 patties worth
• 2 cups frozen hash browns
• 3 Tbsp cooking oil if hash browns are fried

Directions:

Wonder Biscuits

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

• Mix dry ingredients together and cut in shortening. Once integrated add milk.

• Spread one handful of flour on wax paper and place dough on flour and pat down. Flatten out being careful not to over kneed the dough. Cut out biscuits using a cutter or drinking glass.

• Place in ungreased pie tin and bake for about 15 minutes.

The rest

• Coat bottom of high edged pot with about 3 Tbsp cooking oil and bring to medium high heat for fried preparation of hash browns.

• Break 4 eggs into bowl and whip together adding milk, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce or whatever else you like. This one is totally up to you. You may also fry eggs so the yoke is runny but we do not recommend eating undercooked food so we scrambled.

• Pour in 2 cups hash browns, cover and let sit for about 6 minutes before turning. Alternatively, you can spread out hash browns on greased cooking sheet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes at 450 degrees (same a biscuits) turning half way through and checking often.

• Follow directions on package for preparing gravy and put on burner set to warm once ready.

• Heat pan to medium high heat and cook sausage breaking into smaller pieces as it cooks. Remove when sausage has browned and strain to remove grease. Place on plate and set aside.

• Rinse pan and reduce heat to medium. Scramble your eggs.

• Mix sausage into gravy.

• Split biscuits in half and plate two biscuits per person. Dress biscuits with eggs, hash browns, cheese and sausage gravy. Place in 350-degree oven (if you shut off after biscuits finished cooking you should be at the right temperature) for about 1 minute.

• Remove plates to hot pads if placing on laminate countertop or wood table. Serve adding desired condiments.

It’s Wednesday night and you don’t feel like cooking a big meal but you also don’t feel like takeout. You start to give in to just having a bowl of cereal and then it hits you. Sweet fried chicken!

Perhaps one of my favorite chicken recipes out there – sweet fried chicken is easy, takes very few ingredients and is simply the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. However, just chicken fingers is hardly a meal and Elisabeth stepped up to fix some quick mac n’ cheese. So quick, in fact, she prepared it while the chicken was cooking.

I have to add that my good pal Greg over at Freezer Burns pointed out that technically my mac n’ cheese was really bow-tie/farfelle n’ cheese.  Who am I to question the Frozen Food Master and thus the title has been amended. 

Ingredients:

• 8 strips of boneless, skinless chicken
• 2 cups sweetened cereal (Cap’n Crunch used)
• ½ to 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups pasta
• 2 slices American cheese
• ¼ to 1/3 cup shredded cheeses of your choice
• 1/8 cup or so skim milk
• Enough vegetable or canola oil to fill pan 1-2 inches
• Mustard of choice (I used honey Dijon)
• Mayo or Miracle Whip

Directions:

Plate 8 strips of boneless, skinless chicken on a plate and set aside.

Finely crush cereal in bag and empty onto plate and set aide. Mix flour, pepper, onion and garlic powder together in bowl. In separate bowl mix 1 cup milk and a large egg for your egg wash.

Dip chicken strips into wash, then move to flour mix and finally cover with cereal. Repeat for all 8 strips.

Heat oil to 325 degrees and fry 3 or 4 strips at a time for 3 to 5 minutes or until brown on outside and cooked thoroughly. Place on paper towel or drip tray to remove excess grease.

For mac n’ cheese, boil water and cook noodles. In separate bowl break up cheese slices and add shredded cheese mix. Microwave cheese for about 2 minutes or until cheese melts.

Strain pasta and add to bowl with melted cheese. Mix well until cheese covers all the noodles. Serve immediately.

For dipping sauce, mix one part mustard with one part mayo or Miracle Whip.

This week marks the very first episode of Cuisine Made Quick. We could have played it safe with a recipe we felt very comfortable with but we wanted a challenge. In this case, that challenge came in the form of a four cheese mac with chicken. With a fairly long list of ingredients and some substitutions in hand, we set out to determine the fate of this recipe (directions below). Cuisine Made Quick, Weekend Cuisine or Cuisine Dud?

The recipe (serves 2 – 4)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package macaroni (use whatever variety you enjoy)
• 1/8 pound diced bacon (about 2 strips)
• ½ medium diced onion
• 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 ¼ cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¾ cup grated Mozzarella
• ½ cup grated Swiss
• ½ cup grated Medium Cheddar
• ½ cup grated Parmesan
• 1 ½ tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• 1/8 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees and butter a medium size baking dish
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain
• In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to preserve bacon drippings.
• Sauté onion in the bacon drippings until soft. Add the 2 ½ tablespoons butter to the onion mixture and melt the butter.
• Using a whisk, add the four and stir constantly until well mixed with the fat making a roux. Whisk in the mustard. Gradually add the milk and cream whisking constantly. Add salt and cayenne pepper and let come to a simmer and stir frequently for 15 minutes.
• Strain the hot mixture into a metal bowl and discard the solids. Working quickly, mix in ¾ of the Mozzeralla, Swiss, Cheddar and Parmesan, bacon and parsley. Stir until cheese melts.
• Add the cooked noodles to the cheese mixture to coat. Add the noodle mixture to a prepared baking dish and mix the remaining cheese and bread crumbs together and sprinkle on top of the noodles. Bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.