Tuesday Tastiness #10 - Egg Spinach Casserole

I am the master of food clip art and homemade food pics, aren't I? Maybe not. But I should be getting better soon. We can only hope.

I got this recipe from a homeschooling message board a couple of years ago (thanks, Sheryl!) and enjoy making it as a meatless supper once a month or so. You can add bacon or sausage if you wish, but since my purpose for making it is to go meatless and save those dollars, I don't add it in very often.

I make it in an 8 x 8 dish for me, my husband, and oldest son since our other two kids usually just prefer scrambled eggs that night, but you can easily double it for a 9 x 13.

Egg Spinach Casserole

1 10 oz pkg of frozen chopped spinach

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (or whatever cheese you like)

1/2 onion, chopped fine

2 T flour

4 eggs, beaten (Free-range, farm-fresh are best if you have them. Delicious and good for you!)

1 cup milk (You know me by now - raw is my preference when I can get it)

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare frozen spinach as directed on package. Squeeze out moisture very well and allow to cool.
Mix together cheese, onion, and flour.

Beat eggs and milk together. Add salt and pepper.

Combine all ingredients and bake in 8 x 8 casserole dish at 350 for approximately 45 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted in center.

Simple, easy, and delicious for a quick supper meal. Try it!

This post linked to:



The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
 

Works For Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family



Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Tuesday Tastiness #9 - Kings Ranch Chicken (healthier version)

I love this week's recipe! I modified it from the Ranch House Chicken Casserole recipe I found on Crystal's website. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have learned from this homesteading mama as I search for ways to modify my lifestyle and cooking. 

The biggest change from a typical Kings Ranch Chicken recipe is the homemade sauce that replaces the canned "cream of..." soups.  There is very little nutritional value in those little cans, but there is wonderful nutritional value in the homemade sauce below! And it tastes delicious!

Kings Ranch Chicken (healthier version)

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 large green pepper, choppped

1/2 chicken (cooked, deboned, and cubed)

5 cups (approx. 1 lb.) shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever you like or have on hand. I use a lot, so you may want to cut yours back to a smaller amount.)

12 corn tortillas (someday I will make my own and see how well they work!)

1 can Rotel (we use mild)

Sauce (see below)

Sauce:
6 T butter (grass-fed raw is best, but use what you have)

6 T whole wheat flour (or whatever you use)

2 T chili powder


1 - 1 1/2 t salt or seasoning salt (depends on whether or not your chicken broth/stock is already salted)

Pepper, to taste

1 cup chicken broth (I use the broth from the pot I cooked the chicken in)

2 1/4 cups milk (I use raw - straight from the cow - when I'm able)

In a frying pan, heat olive oil and saute onions and green pepper until soft. Stir in cooked chicken and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper and stir with spoon or whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add chicken broth and milk. Turn up heat if necessary and stir until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.

To assemble, layer half of the chicken mixture on the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish and cover with half the tortillas, half the sauce and half the cheese. Add the rest of the ingredients in the same order. (Make sure the tortillas are completely covered with the sauce to avoid making them tough after cooking.) Cover with Rotel, using about half the liquid.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for one hour.

Serve with salsa, chips, sour cream, avocado, salad, corn, tomatoes, etc.

Enjoy!

This post linked to

Real Food Wednesday at Cheeseslave

Tuesday Tastiness #8 - Honey Applesauce Cake

Well, I'm excited to be posting Tuesday Tastiness recipes again! This week is a cake that I love to make because the only sweetener used is honey and I can use my home-canned pearsauce in place of the applesauce and feel very Laura Ingalls Wilder-ish in my modern-day kitchen. (And if this blog-gig doesn't work out for me, I can always become a food photographer, right?)

Honey Applesauce Cake

1 cup honey (I use local purchased from a beekeeper in our town)

1/2 cup butter, softened (real grass-fed butter is the most healthy!)

3 eggs, beaten (I have used 2 with good results) (farm-fresh, free-range eggs are best!)

1 t. vanilla

1 cup applesauce (I use pearsauce I make and freeze/can from a neighbor's pear trees)

2 cups flour (I use unbleached when I bake. Even fresh-ground  whole-wheat is a little too "earthy" for me in a dessert)

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. powdered cloves

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. powdered ginger

1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans from our trees!)

Cream honey and butter. Blend in eggs, vanilla, and applesauce. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then stir gradually into creamed mixture and add pecans. Put in a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes (till a toothpick comes out clean).

I don't put an icing on this cake for my family, but you could sprinkle with powdered sugar if you need that little something extra. Or serve with vanilla ice cream.

Very, very good!

This post linked to

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap
 
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop