Casseroles

• 1 (2-pound) package frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

• 2 cups sour cream

• 1 (8-oz) package shredded Cheddar or Colby cheese

• 1 cup chopped onions

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon salt

• Dash of pepper

• 1 (10 ¾-oz) can cream of chicken soup

Combine hash browns, sour cream, cheese, onions, butter, salt, pepper and soup. Spread mixture into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

• 2 lbs. ground beef

• 4 eggs

• 8 oz. cream cheese

• 16 oz. shredded cheddar

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 Tablespoon onion powder

• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 /2 teaspoon salt

• 1 /2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a cast iron skillet, brown ground beef and drain. (At this point you may want to put beef into casserole dish instead of skillet.)

Mix onion powder, garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 8 oz. cheddar cheese into ground beef and spread beef mixture evenly across the bottom of the skillet.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs and Worcestershire sauce with a hand blender.

Pour cream and egg mixture over the top of the ground beef and top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Note: You may want to put all of this in a nice 9" x !3" serving dish to bake if you are serving this to company or you want to save what is not eaten in the fridge and heat in microwave later.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

• 1 cup of mayonnaise

• 1 can of cream of chicken soup or 1 cup sour cream

• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

• ½ teaspoon of lemon pepper

• 4 cups of diced cooked chicken

• 4 eggs, boiled and chopped, optional

• ½ cup of minced celery

• 1/3 cup of finely minced onion

• 1 green onion, sliced

• ½ cup of sliced almonds

• Topping (see directions)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. In a bowl combine the mayonnaise and soup; blend well. Stir in the cheddar cheese, lemon pepper. Add the chicken, eggs, celery, onion, green onion and almonds; mix. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt only as needed, then transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven, add topping, and bake an additional 5 minutes. Can also add toppings at the beginning cooking time if desired.

Casserole Toppings: Use additional shredded cheese on top, alone or with one of these toppings: 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs, dry bread crumbs, a sleeve of crushed saltines or Ritz crackers mixed with 1 to 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted, or simply slice cold butter thinly and scatter over the top; or add 1-1/2 cups of crushed plain or kettle style potato chips to the top.

This is great served over rice. You may also use cream of broccoli soup instead of chicken and add chopped steamed broccoli.

• 4 cups thinly sliced zucchini (about 2 large)

• 2 cups thinly sliced white mushrooms

• 1/2 red or sweet onion, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ tsp minced garlic or garlic powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (or favorite)

In greased 8-cup shallow baking dish, layer half of the zucchini, then all the mushrooms and onion. Top with layer of remaining zucchini. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper. Top with cheese.

Cover tightly with lid or foil and bake in 400° oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender and cheese is bubbly.

• 2 lbs of yellow squash, sliced about 1/4" thick. I prefer very small baby squash

• ½ large onion, sliced thinly into halved rings

• 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed fine in ziplock bag

• 1 cup of cheddar cheese, finely grated

• 2 eggs

• ¾ cup of milk

• ½ cup of melted butter

• Salt and pepper

Slice the washed squash and steam the squash and onion lightly, drain and set aside. In a medium bowl, place 1/2 of crackers and ¾ of cheese. Place the squash and onion in a large bowl and add the crackers and cheese mixture to it. Whisk the eggs and milk together in a small bowl then pour over the squash mixture. Add ½ of melted butter into squash, add some salt and pepper and mix well together. In a 9" × 13" pan, spread the squash mixture and top with the remaining crackers and butter. Bake for 25 minutes in a 400º oven.