Farmers Breakfast Casserole ~ By Caroline

This easy recipe has been a favorite in our family for those busy mornings (or makes a delicious dinner too!), and it's perfect for guests! What's really nice is you can assemble it the night before, put it in the fridge, and then just throw it in the oven in the morning! It's so delicious with all the cheese, ham and spices, and the whole family LOVES it!

 

Ingredients:

Nonstick Cooking Spray
3 cups frozen shredded hash browns
3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, or shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup diced cooked ham or Canadian- style bacon
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk or 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Optional Ingredients
1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 4oz can green chilies (or more if you love spicy foods)
garlic salt to taste

Coat a 2-Quart square baking dish with cooking spray. (Note: for large families or for guests double everything and assemble in a 13x9 pan) Arrange potatoes evenly in the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with cheese, ham, green onions. (And if your looking for more flavor this is the time to add in those optional ingredients! It's quite amazing with those extra things, but you may want to stick to the original if you have picky eaters) :-)

In a bowl combine eggs, milk, salt, and black pepper. Pour over potato mixture.

Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F. oven for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. (if you are making a 13x9, bake for 50-55 minutes) Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. (It comes out of the oven quite juicy, so that extra standing time allows for the juices to soak up and settle, to allow easier cutting/serving.)

Enjoy!!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole ~ by Victoria

  Being from the southwest, our family is very accustomed to,

and really enjoys spicy foods! 

This recipe isn't super spicy,

but you could certainly make it more so!  

There are lots of variations for this recipe on the Internet,

and some of them have a homemade cream sauce in place of the cans of soup.

We would like to try that next time,

as we try to move away from cans and make as much as we can from scratch.

(We included this new recipe at the bottom of this post.)

 

 

 Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped  (many recipes also add green bell pepper)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 4 ounce can diced green chilies
• 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 12 - 14 corn tortillas (six inch)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Place oil in large skillet. Add onions and saute over medium heat until onions are lightly browned. Add chicken, cream soups, chilies, tomatoes, and all seasonings. Stir and cook over medium heat until bubbly.
2. Tear tortillas into small pieces. Place half of pieces in 9x13 inch dish. Top with 1/2 of chicken mixture and 1/2 of cheese. Top with remaining tortilla pieces, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining cheese. bake at 350 for thirty minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned around the edges.

Source:  http://www.southernplate.com/2010/03/adopt-me-texas-king-ranch-casserole.html

Slightly Fancy-Pants King Ranch Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, without skin and bones
4 teaspoons of lime juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 10oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained (or you can use a can of regular diced tomatoes and a 4 oz. can of diced green chilies, or if tomatoes are in season, can use two cups of diced fresh tomatoes with 1/4 cup of diced green chilies, such as a jalapeno)
4 teaspoons ancho chile powder (or chili powder)
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of half and half
1/3 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
3 cups of grated pepper jack and cheddar
10 corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste.


Method:
1. Season the chicken with the lime juice, 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder and a dash of salt. In a skillet heated on medium, cook the chicken in the olive oil on each side for about 10 minutes.
2. When chicken is done (after about 20 minutes), shred it with two forks and set aside. Taste and see if it needs more salt and pepper. Should yield about 3 cups.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium, and add the onions, red bell pepper and poblano pepper. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, flour, cumin, cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder, and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the chicken broth and cook on low until mixture is thickened, a few minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and Ro-Tel cover the pot, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Uncover the pot, and add the sour cream, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro, and add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Heat up the tortillas (you can do this by adding a bit of oil on an iron skillet and then cooking the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side).
9. Ladle 1/2 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan.
10. Layer half the tortillas along the bottom of the pan (on top of the sauce). To make sure entire pan is evenly covered, you can rip some of the tortillas into strips to fill any gaps.
11. Add half the chicken, half the remaining sauce, half the remaining cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese.
12. Repeat the layering, leaving the cheese layer on top.
13. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Serves 6-12, depending on how big a portion you distribute. Goes great with sour cream and cilantro on top.

Source:  http://www.homesicktexan.com/2007/10/king-of-casseroles-king-ranch-chicken.html