chicken enchilada casserole, version 1

i love making chicken enchilada casserole because it tastes pretty much like a chicken enchilada but it's half the work. here is one version, i'll post the other another time. so let's get started. you'll need a package of chicken strips (or 2 chicken breasts), 1 can cream of chicken soup, 8 oz. sour cream, small can of diced green chiles, 6 or 7 corn tortillas, and a cup of grated cheese.
start by boiling your chicken for 30 minutes or until no longer pink. then in a medium saucepan, add your sour cream,

cream of chicken soup,
1/3 can of water,
and green chiles.
turn heat to medium-high, and stir until well-combined and bubbly.
spray a square pan with pam, then pour in 2/3 of your sauce.
about that much.
next, tear your tortillas into bite-size pieces.
like this:
next comes the chicken. this is where strips are easier, but it doesn't really matter. just tear up the chicken and layer on top of the tortillas.
like so.

now pour on your grated cheddar cheese.
and last, add the remaining sauce on top.
spread out evenly, and bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. make sure it's bubbly though, because this meal is NOT good cold in the center (which has actually happened before).
and...how anticlimactic. i forgot to take a picture of it finished. ah well. it's still good.

this is a quick and easy chicken enchilada. yum!

sharon's chicken enchilada casserole

a package of chicken strips (or 2 chicken breasts)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
small can of diced green chiles
6 or 7 corn tortillas
1 cup of grated cheese

boil the chicken until no longer pink (about 30 minutes). in a medium saucepan, combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, green chiles, and 1/3 of a can of water. mix well and heat until slightly bubble. pour 2/3 of the sauce on the bottom of a square pan. layer the tortillas on top (torn into bite size pieces). then add the chicken (shredded). next comes the cheese, and the rest of the sauce. cook at 350* for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly

some magazine's breakfast casserole

i've posted this recipe before, but i thought i'd post the pictures for kicks. this recipe is very imprecise. is that even a word? well, i just made it up if it's not. you heard it here first. this is something that you just kind of throw together and BOY is it delicious. let's get started.

you'll need a package of frozen hashbrowns, sausage or ham (i used sausage here), green chile, chopped green pepper (i did not use either of these things because i didn't have them on hand, but don't let that stop you), onion, salt & pepper, ground mustard, eggs, whipping cream, and tomatoes.

start by dicing your onion (or more, if you're so inclined)...for instructions on dicing an onion, pioneer woman does it best. check it out here.
spray a square or 9x13 pan with pam. now here comes the impreciseness of it. pour some hashbrowns into the pan. how much you ask? i have no idea. some. fill it up about halfway, or maybe a little more. for a square pan, i use about half a package of hashbrowns.
now layer with your diced onions. on top of the onions you can add chopped green pepper and/or mushrooms as well.
and then the good stuff. this isn't in the original recipe, but if you're from new mexico, you'll understand. green chile just makes everything better. use hatch.
and spread those on good.
now chop your meat. i use sausage because dave loves it, but ham is just as good. i like to use the jimmy dean already cooked links, because that way you just chop and throw 'em in. but you could also use the tube of sausage and brown it like you would hamburger and add it that way. either way, the sausage should be cooked.
layer that on top of the green chiles.
next comes cheese. mmmmm, check out that mountain of cheese. my kids cannot resist a mountain of cheese like that. it disappears quickly.
add as much cheese as you like on top of the meat. i add lots, probably about a cup for a square pan.

now for the eggs. for a square pan, use 4 eggs. for 9x13, i use 6. crack them into a bowl,
then add 1/4 cup of whipping cream for every 2 eggs you use (4 eggs = 1/2 cup, 6 eggs = 3/4 cup)

then add this stuff. i have no idea how much, because the recipe doesn't say. it just says to add it. i have no idea what it's for or even what it tastes like, but who am i to dispute the all-knowing recipe writers? so i add some. a few shakes worth.like this. and i add salt & pepper here too.
then use a fork and mix together well.
now pour this on top of your cheesiness.
like this. get it around the edges, and do it slowly so that it doesn't overflow over the side of your pan. let it sink inbetween the meat and potatoes.
now start slicing your tomato. for a square pan, 1 tomato is probably enough, but not for a 9x13. have two on hand just in case.

i do NOT like tomatoes. at all. but they are SO SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS on this casserole. even if tomatoes is on your list of throw-up foods, ADD IT. you will not be sorry. lay your tomatoes evenly over the top of the casserole.

like this. isn't it pretty?
one more picture for good measure.

yep, pretty.

now toss it in a 350* oven for an hour. the recipe says 45-55 minutes, but that's never enough time. you want a knife inserted in the center to come out clean. sometimes i turn my oven up to 375* for the last 15 minutes. sometimes i don't. whatever.

here's the finished product:

it doesn't last long around here. i make this for dinner sometimes just for fun, but it's really fun to do for a sunday brunch or christmas morning. we make it the night before and put it in the fridge, then pop it in the oven first thing in the morning.enjoy!!

some random magazine's breakfast casserole (with additions by me):
frozen hash browns
eggs
green chile
onion
sausage or ham
chopped green pepper (i don't add these 'cause i don't like 'em)
sliced mushrooms (i don't add these 'cause dave doesn't like 'em)
grated cheddar cheese
tomatoes, sliced
whipping cream
ground mustard
salt
pepper

choose your pan size, and pour frozen hash browns into the bottom--lots of them. then layer diced onions, green chile, green pepper, mushrooms, ham or sausage, and then add cheese (as much as you want). in a separate bowl mix eggs and whipping cream: use 1/4 cup of whipping cream for every 2 eggs. add to that mixture salt, pepper, and ground mustard to taste. i use 4 eggs for a square pan, 5 or 6 for a 9x13. pour the egg mixture on top of the casserole and add sliced tomatoes on top. they shrink, so put lots of them close together. bake at 350* for at least an hour. a knife inserted in the center should come out clean. this is obviously not a precise recipe, but you can fiddle with it and do whatever you want (we added the green chile on a whim and it was a great choice). i also like to make it the night before so i can just pop it into the oven in the morning.

chicken-sausage-rice casserole

okay, so i have never been able to make this as good as my mom, but it's easy and dave loves it (again, sausage), so i thought i'd post about it and you can decide for yourselves. remember, i halve all of my recipes because we can't eat as much, so i'm only showing you half, but you can do the full amount if you have a lot of people to feed, or don't have a square 8x8 pan, or whatever. so let's get started: you need a package of chicken, a tube of jimmy dean sausage, minute rice, and onion. start by boiling your chicken for 30 minutes or until no longer pink.
try not to do this: (boil the water over the edge). it makes a huge mess and it makes me mad.
squeeze your sausage into a pan,
and brown over medium heat until no longer pink.
like this:
now dice half of an onion (or a quarter if you're doing half the recipe). i can't stand chopping onions so i use this little chopper/food processor.
remove your browned sausage to a paper plate lined with paper towels to drain. sorry about the dark picture.
now this is important: remove your chicken from the pan, but KEEP THE WATER. don't dump it out.

shred your chicken into the bottom of your 9x13 or 8x8 pan,
then add the sausage,
onion,
and 1 cup of rice.
now here's where i always go wrong. you have to pour your chicken-water onto the casserole. i never get the right amount of water. i either don't do enough, and the rice is crispy, or i do too much, and it's soggy.
that's why i'm hesitant to share this recipe with you, because there is no exact way for me to explain how much water to add. so just pour the water until the rice is covered (with water). like this:
throw it in the oven for an hour at 350*.
and here it is: dave loves it, i do not.
but if you serve it with pioneer woman's green beans, you can't go wrong.

chicken sausage rice casserole

1 package of chicken strips
1 tube jimmy dean original sausage
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup of minute rice
chicken water

boil chicken for 30 minutes or until no longer pink. brown the sausage until no longer pink, then remove to a paper plate lined with paper towels to drain. dice your onion. remove chicken from water, but DO NOT POUR IT OUT. shred your chicken into the bottom of your pan, then add the sausage and onion. pour on the cup of minute rice, and pour the chicken water on top until all the rice is covered with water. cook at 350* for 1 hour or until the water is all gone.