Chicken Cheese Casserole

I don't think you can have enough chicken casserole recipes. This is a quick and easy dish that takes just a few minutes to prepare. It's a great way to use leftover chicken. I used sharp cheddar and Swiss, but you could substitute your favorite cheese blend. Think about changing the type of cream soup for different flavors.
.
Chicken Cheese Casserole
.
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup milk
1/2 cup grated, sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated, Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Blend milk and soup together. Add other ingredients and mix well. Pour into medium sized casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Fried Cabbage

I love cabbage boiled with new potatoes. It's pure heaven, but sometimes I want something a little different. This dish says its 'fried' but that's really a trick to make you think you're cheating on your diet. I use a slice of bacon for flavor. You can omit that and just use olive oil instead.
.
Fried Cabbage
.
1 slice bacon
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon water
1 head of cabbage (or 6 cups shredded)
1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
.
Wash and prepare cabbage, coarsly chopping it. Cut up the bacon slice into small pieces. Combine bacon, water & onion in a large non-stick skillet. Cook over medium heat until onion is tender. Add cabbage. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover the skillet. Cook 2 or 3 minutes and then stir. Cook another 2 or three minutes, stirring again. When cabbage is pale green, but still slightly crisp, it's ready to be served.

Sweet & Sour Pork

This Sweet & Sour Pork dish is healthy and perfect for a summer evening. I love all the colorful peppers. I didn't thicken the sauce, but you could add a little cornstarch mixed with water if you want it thicker. I served it 'as is', but I'm sure it would be delicious over brown rice.
.
Sweet & Sour Pork
.
4 boneless pork chops
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 purple onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
salt to taste
.
Cut pork chops into bite-size chunks. Mix garlic, soy sauce, orange juice and vinegar in a medium bowl. Add pork and stir to coat evenly. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. Wash peppers and remove seeds. Cut into bite-size chunks. Cut the onion into bite-size chunks. Drain pork, reserving the marinade. Heat olive oil in medium non-stick sauce pan. Add pork and cook over medium heat until slightly brown. Add peppers & onions, salt & pepper. Cook approximately 2 minutes, stirring often. Add marinade, if desired, and cook another 2 minutes. If you want to thicken the sauce, add 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup cold water. Continue to cook until sauce is thickened.

Cranberry-Orange Cooler

On a hot summer night, this is the perfect, refreshing drink!

Cranberry-Orange Cooler
.
1 pint ginger ale, chilled
1 & 1/2 cups cranberry juice cocktail, chilled
3/4 cup orange sherbet
Six 6 oz. glasses
.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of sherbet in each glass. Pour into each glass 1/4 cup of chilled cranberry juice cocktail. Fill each glass with chilled ginger ale. Mix slightly to blend & serve.

Cucumber Salad

If you're growing a garden this year, you probably have an abundance of cucumbers. Here's a slightly different recipe to try. Of course, you could always take the easy route and use buttermilk-ranch dressing instead!
.
Cucumber Salad
.
3 cucumbers, peeled
1 quart buttermilk
1/2 pint sour cream
3 green onions
salt & pepper to taste
.
Cut cucumbers in half and slice very thin into a bowl. Sprinkle with salt, stirring once or twice. Refrigerate 1/2 hour. Drain, add buttermilk, sour cream and chopped onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and refrigerate several hours or over night.

Easy Curry Chicken

This is a simple recipe that you can make in just a few minutes. I served it with Jasmine rice sprinkled with sesame seeds. You could serve it over noodles or with mixed vegetables.
.
Easy Curry Chicken
.
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 teaspoons curry powder
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups Prego spaghetti sauce, garden-vegetable
.
In medium saucepan, add just enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil and add curry powder, salt & pepper. Continue to boil rapidly until chicken is cooked and breaks apart. Break up chicken into bite-size pieces. Continue to cook until approximately 1/2 cup of broth is left in the pan. Add spaghetti sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Check out more great recipes at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Hombres

Here's another quick recipe for using ground beef, chicken or turkey.
.
Hombres
.
1 pound ground beef
1 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 tablespoon sugar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
.
Brown ground beef and drain. Mix in rest of ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour. Serve on hamburger buns.

Stroganoff Burgers

Ground beef is the main ingredient in this budget friendly recipe. It's wonderful as is, but you could easily substitute ground turkey or chicken.
.
Stroganoff Burgers
.
1 pound ground beef
3 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 & 1/2 tablespoons flour
4-oz. can of sliced mushrooms
1 cup sour cream
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 can low-sodium cream of mushroom soup
hamburger buns (8-10)
.
Brown ground beef and bacon. Add onion and cook until tender, but not brown; drain fat. Blend flour, salt, paprika, & pepper into meat mixture. Stir in soup and drained mushrooms. Cook over low heat, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve on buns. You can also serve this over noodles or rice.

Mom's Thousand Island Dressing

Mom always made her own Thousand Island Dressing. Sometimes she would omit the eggs depending on the other ingredients we were putting in our salad. This is a quick recipe that you can keep on hand this Summer.
.
Mom's Thousand Island Dressing
.
1 cup Kraft Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/3 cup drained pickle relish
dash of salt
2 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery
.
Mix Miracle Whip, chili sauce, pickle relish & salt. Add eggs, if desired, onion and celery. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.