French Toast Casserole

This was also a hit at our brunch. Easy to make, and gobbled up quickly! Top with butter and maple syrup.

INGREDIENTS:

* 5 cups bread cubes
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1/4 cup white sugar, divided
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon margarine, softened
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla. pour egg mixture over bread. Dot with margarine; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

I found this recipe in a magazine awhile back and pulled it out last night to try it. There were a lot of ingredients so I think it will be easier the second time to get everything in sync, but the result was very yummy.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz dried bow tie pasta (I used elbows)
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (opt.)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped (I didn't have these on hand so I substituted 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package. Drain. In medium skillet cook onion in 1 Tbsp butter for 5 min or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterey cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half the Parmesan, cooked pasta, and onion. Transfer to a 3 qt square baking dish.
3. Bake, covered, for 20 min. In small bowl, combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, and melted butter. SPrinkle mixture over pasta. Bake uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden. Makes 6-8 servings.

Buon Appetito!
3.

Easy Tuna Casserole

I haven't been posting many recipes recently because we haven't been on much of a regular eating routine here lately with all the sickness and a lot of other things going on. We've had a lot of boxed mac and cheese and hot dog type meals lately. So I was very excited tonight to make something new - Easy Tuna Casserole, a great recipe I found on AllRecipes. I added an extra cup of pasta, because 3 just didn't look like enough, but we had tons leftover so I probably would stick to 3 cups next time. I also threw in half of a bag of frozen peas.

INGREDIENTS:

* 3 cups cooked macaroni
* 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1 1/2 cups French fried onions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a 9x13-inch baking dish, combine the macaroni, tuna, and soup. Mix well, and then top with cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 25 minutes, or until bubbly. Sprinkle with fried onions, and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole

We tried a new casserole recipe last night I found on AllRecipes that turned out even better than I thought it would! As I was making it I thought it was going to be way too much sauce mixture, but it turned out really good! I loved the flavoring of the salsa mixed in with everything. If you like a lot of spice you could even add medium or spicy salsa for some extra kick.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 cups uncooked white rice
2 2/3 cups water
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups mild salsa


DIRECTIONS:
1. Place rice and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, place chicken breast halves into a large saucepan, and fill the pan with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Remove chicken from water. When cool enough to handle, cut meat into bite-size pieces.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix together cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, onion, and salsa. Layer 1/2 of the rice, 1/2 of the chicken, 1/2 of the soup and salsa mixture, and 1/2 of the cheese mixture in prepared dish. Repeat layers, ending with cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until bubbly.