Cooking Cheap and Easy Casserole...

[2angelsinheaven]

Here is one my little brother cooked for us the other night...

Box of Kraft Mac and Cheese (the kind with the sauce, not powdered)
1/2 Cup Cheese
1 Pound Hamburger or Sausage (or any other meat for that matter would work I would assume)
1 Jar/Can Spag Sauce 14oz.

Cook meat and drain. Meanwhile cook the Mac and Cheese and prepare as directed on the box.
Add the Spag Sauce to the meat. In a square pan layer the mac and the meat mixtures, when done top with the cheese. Then bake on 375 for 15 minutes or until cheese is browned.

You could also put this in the fridge after layering and heat it up that night, we did this as well, 375 for about 30-35 minutes, covered with foil.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

Another one we like...

Canned Chilli topped with a box of cornbread mix, bake according to corn bread directions. Works well and it's yummy and super quick!

 

[mjantz]

AFA making things a bit more healthy, I do the following:

-Healthy Request cream soups (less fat, sodium, etc)
-Whole Foods sells a low sodium chicken broth that is truly low-sodium. 4%-6% instead of the usual 25%+ that many 'low-sodium' broths have.
-Fat free or low-fat sour cream
-Cheese made with 2% milk
-When you have whole chicken breasts, eat only half (I know, easier said than done)
-whole wheat pasta, low fat tortillas, etc.
-use garlic powder instead of garlic salt. I personally don't add salt to any recipe unless I've made it before & noticed the lack of salt. I also try to not use anything that says 'salt' like 'seasoning salt' or 'garlic salt'.


I hope these help. I've made a few tweaks to my cooking over the past few years to try & make it healthier.

 

[DisneyDiva13]

Thanks!

 

[eeyoregon]

I am baking the chicken w/ catalina dressing, apricot preserves and soup mix right now...can't wait for it to be done!

Turned out fabulous!! Just like sweet-n-sour chicken but better and without the fried batter on the chicken! We served it with ramen noodles and green salad.

OP: you are correct...I could have just eaten the sauce with a spoon!!! I also used the fat-free Catalina dressing, 100% all fruit apricot preserves and a package of dried onion soup mix. Can't get much easier and boy did the house smell good. THANX!

 

[englishteacha]

Shepherd's Pie with fewer dishes
1 lb. of hamburg (can be less if you want healthier!) (I add some onion when I cook mine)
1 can cream corn
mashed potatoes

Brown hamburg in an oven-safe skillet. Drain well. Spread evenly over the bottom of the skillet. Spread can of cream corn over the hamburg. Top with mashed potatoes, and put in oven for about 30 minutes at 350º.

I HATE doing dishes more than I hate cooking, so making it this way only results in the skillet to wash instead of a skillet and a casserole dish. I usually use leftover mashed potatoes, but instant is fine, too. Sometimes I'm sneaky and only use 1/2 to 3/4 lb. of hamburg and add more corn. It's still tasty and a lot healthier! My DH can polish off 3/4 of a pie if I let him!

 

[cdrn1]

Three 3-oz cans of tuna, 2 cans mushroom soup, bag of potato chips, crushed. Layer tuna, chips, soup, tuna, chips, soup. Bake at 350 about 40 min until brown. SOOOOOOOO good!

 

[tinknme]

I made this for supper tonight & it was yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe

Great Thread!

This is not a casserole but it is super easy and one of my family's favorites...It can be a low fat/low calorie meal too.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 bottle catalina or red french dressing (the regular size bottle) I use fat free
1 jar apricot preserve (regular size) I use All Fruit
1 package dry onion soup mix

preheat oven to 350.

Place chicken in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Drain off juice.

Mix dressing, preserve and soup mix and pour over chicken. Bake another 30 minutes.

Serve with rice...I also serve it with broccoli...the sauce is great...we would drink the stuff!

 

[FormrCastMbr]

I made this for supper tonight & it was yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe

I am glad you liked it!

 

[FormrCastMbr]

Turned out fabulous!! Just like sweet-n-sour chicken but better and without the fried batter on the chicken! We served it with ramen noodles and green salad.

OP: you are correct...I could have just eaten the sauce with a spoon!!! I also used the fat-free Catalina dressing, 100% all fruit apricot preserves and a package of dried onion soup mix. Can't get much easier and boy did the house smell good. THANX!

Glad you liked it...it is my family's favorite... Very low fat too if you use
the ingredients you listed... I just made the weight watcher general tsaos chicken not too long ago and they liked that one too. It was a little more involved though. Oh, I have also done the S&S chicken in the crockpot...pretty good.

 

[tinknme]

I was thinking about making it this way, I will next time. I love my crockpot

Glad you liked it...it is my family's favorite... Very low fat too if you use
the ingredients you listed... I just made the weight watcher general tsaos chicken not too long ago and they liked that one too. It was a little more involved though. Oh, I have also done the S&S chicken in the crockpot...pretty good.

 

[2angelsinheaven]

I'm making Cdrn1's Tuna Casserole recipe above right now, it looks so yummy already. I had a hard time not goobling up all the chips (we never buy chips) but I only snuck one...okay two...lol before putting them into the dish to bake. Can't wait to try it. Thanks everyone for these great recipes!

 

[lisaross]

But my husband does not seem to like it.......... i do!

lisa

Three 3-oz cans of tuna, 2 cans mushroom soup, bag of potato chips, crushed. Layer tuna, chips, soup, tuna, chips, soup. Bake at 350 about 40 min until brown. SOOOOOOOO good!

 

[eeyoregon]

Such a great and yummy thread...time for a bump!

 

[bookgirl]

Subbing, need some new ideas.

 

[mom2alix]

Tried this tonight, straight off the back of the Stuffing box and it was really good!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake
1.5 lbs of chicken (cut into bite-size pieces)
14 oz can diced tomatoes (I used Itailian seasoned, but it didn't call for that)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup shredded mozarella
1 box Stove top stuffing
1 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 400. In a medium bowl, mix garlic, tomatoes, stuffing mix and 1/2 cup hot water. Mix until stuffing is moistened, set aside. In 13x9 in pan, place chicken and sprinkle with basil and cheese. Top with stuffing mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

I did add fresh basil since I had some and I used more garlic because my family really likes it. Pretty good, simple recipe!

 

[ribbot]

I didn't read all of the recipes here, so hope this isn't a repeat.

Take chicken---either breasts or parts--throw in crock pot, add a jar of salsa (I use my own homemade, but you can use any kind). Let it cook all day, then serve over rice. How simple! and YUMM-O!

Also---pork chops and a can of mushroom soup. Make some mashed potatoes--use the mushroom soup as gravy. Another easy one!

These both cook about 5-6 hours on low. I just cook them till the meat is tender.

 

[Stan's MaggieMouse]

I can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Can Cream of Vegetable (Celery, Mushroom, Asparagus)
2 Cans Water
2 Cans Minute Rice
1 large can chunk chicken

Stir it all together and cook it until the rice is soft. Really quick and easy and my family really enjoys it.

 

[virgojmk]

Got this one from Hormel:
Hormel tamales (how many depends on the size of your family we use 3)
Hormel chili, with or without beans (we use 2)
cheddar cheese
onions (opinional)

Put the chili in a dish, take the wrappers off the tamales and lay on top of chili add cheese and onion. Bake for 25-35mins at 350. Takes less then 5 minutes to prep.

 

[virgojmk]

And for my favorite (easy!) crock pot recipe:
Tri Tip Burritos
tri tip roast-trimmed
1 large jar of salsa
torillas
grated cheese(optional)
olives(optional)
sour cream(optional)

Place tri tip in crock pot, dump on salsa. Cook on high for 6-7 hours.
Spoon into your torilla and top with whatever you like.