Diary of a Recipe Addict (2024)

Chicken Cordon Bleu Florentine Casserole

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Italian blend cheese

6 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/2 pound Campanelle pasta (I used twists)

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

9 ounces deli ham, thinly sliced

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well (I think I will go with a bag of fresh next time)

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt to taste and cook the pasta to al dente. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat and add the flour. Stir until combined and bubbly, at least one minute. Slowly add in the milk, whisking the entire time. Stir constantly, until mixture is bubbly and thick. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; combine. Add Italian and Gorgonzola cheeses and stir until cheese is melted and well-combined.

Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan and add the garlic. Stir for one minute until fragrant. Add the cooked, shredded chicken and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for a few minutes.

Add pasta, chicken, sliced ham, and drained spinach to the cheese mixture. Stir until well-combined and place in a sprayed 2-quart casserole dish. Stir together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the pasta dish and bake uncovered for 15–20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! In honor of the day, I have one last Mexican inspired recipe to share. This one is a very easy weeknight casserole. Casseroles are something that do not appear on my blog very often because the men & boys around here just do not typically like them. Grace and I do, but they tend to make SO MUCH that her and I are stuck eating the leftovers for the entire week. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to like this particular casserole recipe. Probably because it was a combination of flavors and ingredients that everyone likes, plus the ingredients were layered, rather than mixed all together. To jazz this up even more, several of us topped our individual servings with a few dashes of Tabasco Sauce. Don't do this if you don't like spicy! My 8 year old learned that the hard way after putting about 1 Tbsp. on his!

Chicken and Black Bean Green Enchilada Rice Bake

2 cups white long grain rice, uncooked

2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

One 15-ounce can mild green enchilada sauce

One 4-ounce can sliced black olives

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Roasted Ground Cumin (regular Cumin is also fine. I was out of both, so I had to use a Fiesta Seasoning mix from Tastefully Simple.)

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (best shredded yourself!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Cook rice according to package directions.

Place chicken, enchilada sauce, olives, tomatoes, sour cream, salt, pepper and cumin into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Pour cooked rice into prepared baking dish and layer beans on top of rice. Pour chicken mixture over rice and top evenly with cheddar cheese. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cheese is melted and rice is hot.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Guess what?! I have THE most exciting news! IT'S NOT SNOWING TODAY!!! Do you not find this news thrilling? Oh... you must not live in North Dakota. It is, however, overcast, cool, and rainy. No biggie though! No more snowflakes is enough for me:) I would, however like sunshine....SOON. I have been craving the sun more than chocolate and THAT, my friends, is saying something.

I know that SOME people are probably enjoying themselves in their backyards grilling, but here in the North we need to make due. This weekend I make the most delicious enchiladas, really you must try them. They were slightly more work than many other recipes I have tried but they were oh-so-worth-it. I also made homemade refried beans in the crockpot (recipe coming soon) and Mexican rice with them. YUM. I am also having a tough time fitting into my carpi's for summer and I have NO idea why. I mean, I work out 5 days a week, shouldn't I automatically get to be thin? Life is so unfair.

Here is what you will need...minus the bananas-who-have-seen-better-days, stuffed dog, and pile 'o magazines.

My plate YUM. Make sure you add a dollop of sour cream on top which I remembered to do only after I had started in on these babies. It takes it over the top.

Enchiladas

FOR THE SAUCE:

1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour

1 can (28 Ounce) Enchilada Or Red Sauce

2 cups Chicken Broth

½ teaspoons Salt

½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper

2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro

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FOR THE MEAT:

1-½ pound Ground Beef

1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced

2 cans (4 Ounce) Diced Green Chilies

½ teaspoons Salt

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FOR THE TORTILLAS:

10 whole (to 14) Corn Tortillas

½ cups Canola Oil

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TO ASSEMBLE:

3 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

½ cups Chopped Black Olives

1 cup Chopped Green Onions

½ cups Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Step #1 – The Sauce

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes.

Step #2 – The Meat

Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas

Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Hello! It has been a while since I shared a recipe! Things have been very busy around here, as they always are when we are trying to establish a new routine. Not only have the kids started school, they have all started up with new activities which is keeping us very busy.

Today I am going to share a recipe that I have been making for about 10 years. It is one of my husband's favorites that his mother used to make for him. The original recipe though, comes from his mom's twin sister, I believe. This recipe is EXTREMELY rich. I have actually made it quite a bit healthier than it was in it's original form. Some of my changes are significantly less butter, more broccoli, and I also use some reduced-fat ingredients. It is still very rich and delicious.

Here are the ingredients you will need to get started:

Tortellini & Ham

1 stick (1/2 c.) butter, softened

2 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

4 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (reduced-fat is fine)

8 oz. Cream Cheese (I used reduced-fat), softened

1 c. half & half

2 c. grated Parmesan

20 oz. package Cheese Tortellini (I use the ones in the freezer section but dried or refrigerated are also fine)

3 c. cooked ham, diced

16 oz. frozen broccoli florets

Cook tortellini in boiling water according to package directions. Add frozen broccoli florets during the last minute of cooking time. Drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, seasonings, mayo, cream cheese, & half & half in a large bowl. Mix well. Fold in Parmesan cheese, tortellini, ham, & broccoli.

Spoon into a greased 9x13 inch casserole. Bake for 30 minutes.

Make Ahead Tip: If you would like to prepare this ahead of time, you can do everything but bake it. Cover it up and put it into the refrigerator until you are ready for dinner. At that point you can bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Guess what! We had zucchini for dinner! I know that you are shocked! By the time summer is over, I am going to be a zucchini expert. My husband told me to just pull up the plants, but I refused. That is for quitters and I'm no quitter! I am going to keep cooking zucchini until my plants aren't producing anymore. I'm sure my family will be THRILLED ! Seriously though? I have found SO many zucchini recipes that I really do just love. Zucchini is such a versatile vegetable! I am so glad that I tried my hand at growing it this summer. I will be planting it again, just maybe not 7 plants;P Anyway, this Zucchini Au Gratin really was fantastic, give it a try.

Zucchini Au Gratin

3 Tbsp. butter

1/3 c. fresh, minced onion

2 zucchini (about 1 lb.), sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1 Tbsp. flour

1/2 c. milk

3/4 c. Club crackers, crushed

3/4 c. sharp cheddar, shredded

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and zucchini and cook for 10 minutes, covered.

Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg; mix in. Stir in the flour. Add the milk and cook on low, stirring, until a sauce if formed.

Pour into an 8x8 baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Combine the crackers and the cheese, then sprinkle on top of zucchini mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

True to my word, here I am with another zucchini recipe. I still have a counter-full, so I am guessing I will be back again with even more. I do think that I am going to try shredding and freezing some zucchini, I have heard that has worked for many people.I made this one last week, and it was very good. I do believe it is my new favorite zucchini recipe (at least main course-wise!) I made this for dinner, but I also think it would be a delicious served at breakfast.

Here are the ingredients that you will need: I know a visual always helps me, so I thought I would try to start doing that on here.

Italian Zucchini Bake

4 c. Zucchini

1 c. Onion

2 Tbsp. Butter

2 Tbsp. Parsley Flakes

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp. Basil

1/2 tsp. Oregano

3 Eggs

8 oz. Mozzarella or Italian Blend Cheese, shredded

1 1/2 lb. Italian Sausage, browned & drained

1 package Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough (I use reduced fat)

2 tsp. Dijon Mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Thinly slice zucchini, leaving peel on. Dice onion. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add zucchini and onion. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and other seasonings.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Blend in cheese. Stir in veggie mixture. Add well drained, browned sausage to this mixture.

Spread crescent roll dough out evenly in an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Press seems together, making a crust. Spread mustard evenly on crust (basting brush works great for this). Add vegetable mixture to the top of the unbaked crust.