Mushroom and Turkey Casserole

As I have mentioned in past posts I'm always looking for new casserole or one pot dinners. Denis and I just bought our first house so we have been really busy going back and forth trying to get painting done and other little odds and ends before we move. So meals that I can make ahead of time are really necessary. I found this one on CookingLight.com. It tasted like all the flavors of Thanksgiving mixed together, super delish! I was able to make it in the morning and keep it covered in the fridge all day, without the breadcrumbs. Since I didn't want the breadcrumbs to get soggy I added them right before I put it in the oven. I served it with a little cranberry sauce on the side to finish it off.

Note: One short cut I took to make this even easier was buying Butterball pre-cooked Turkey. They are usually 2-3 servings so it was the perfect amount of Turkey. They usually have them near the pre-packaged salads.

Ingredients

1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben's )

1 ounce French bread or other firm white bread, cubed

1 tablespoon butter, melted and divided

3/4 cup (3 ounces) created fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (8-ounce) packaged pre-sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey

1 cup turkey gravy

1/2 cup 2% low-fat milk

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

3/4 cup cranberry sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Prepare rice according to package directions, omitting fat and seasoning packet. Set aside.

While rice cooks, place bread in a food processor; pulse 15 times or until fine crumbs measure 1/2 cup. Add 1 teaspoon butter to processor; pulse until combined. Add cheese to processor, and pulse until combined.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of butter, onion, garlic, and mushrooms; sauté 7 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in turkey and next 7 ingredients (through pepper). Add cooked rice; stir.

Spoon rice mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs mixture.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with cranberry sauce.

Chicken Tetrazzini

My Mom used to make chicken tetrazzini a lot growing up and we have a tradition of having it every Christmas Eve so it is just as much a comfort food to me as mac and cheese, pizza, or french fries. I am also always

looking for new casserole dishes too and this one jumped out at me because it served 12 and I could freeze it. The recipe has a note at the bottom saying its ok to freeze for up to 1 month, well we loved this dish so much that it almost didn't make it 2 weeks. I actually lightened the recipe too by using reduced fat soups, fat free chicken broth and reduced fat Cheddar cheese (Weight Watchers to be exact) and it was still really creamy and cheesy.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Southern Living

Serves 12

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) package vermicelli

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of celery soup

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream

1 (6-ounce) jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Prepare vermicelli according to package directions; drain. Return to pot, and toss with chicken broth.

Stir together chopped cooked chicken and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl; add vermicelli, and toss well. Spoon mixture into 2 lightly greased 11 x 7 -inch baking dishes. Sprinkle evenly with Cheddar cheese.

Bake, covered, 350 degrees for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Note: Freeze unbaked casserole up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature, and bake as directed.

Streuseled Sweet Potato Casserole

This is probably the only semi-low calorie recipe I made on Thanksgiving. I found the recipe on Cooking Light, my go to website. Sometimes you can tell when I make something that is low calorie but this recipe was killer! It was so good and I will definitely be making it next year. It was like having desert for dinner. I liked it so much I had it for breakfast the next morning, only on Thanksgiving. I highly recommend it, but I wouldn't really eat it if you were trying to watch the calories!

Streuseled Sweet Potato Casserole

Cooking Light

Yield: 18 servings

Ingredients

14 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 5 pounds)

1/2 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking spray

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place potatoes in a Dutch oven, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Combine the half-and-half and next 4 ingredients ( half-and-half through egg) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add potato to egg mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Combine flour and sugar in a food processor; pulse to combine. Add chilled butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in pecans; sprinkle over potato mixture.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 25 minutes or until the topping is browned and the potatoes are thoroughly heated.

Philly Cheese Steak Casserole

On Monday nights I have swimming practice until 8 p.m., when I get home the last thing I want to do is cook dinner. So lately I've been trying to make casseroles before practice, so all I need to do is pop it in the oven when I get home. This one was so yummy and really easy. The original recipe actually calls for sirloin steak but I decided to use ground beef instead and I was glad I did. This dish was really cheesy, creamy and low calorie, the best of everything! I definitely recommend it.

Philly Cheese Steak Casserole

Adapted from EatBetterAmerica.com

Serves 6

Ingredients

6 ounces uncooked egg noodles

1 lb lean ground beef

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup onions, chopped

1/2 cup green peppers, chopped

1 3/4 cups Progresso beef broth

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3/4 cup shredded reduced fat Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2-quart glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook beef and season with pepper, about 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally until beef is brown. Stir in onions and bell pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon into baking dish.

3. In a medium bowl beat broth and flour with a whisk until smooth. Add to skillet heat to boiling. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens, remove from heat. Stir in half-and-half and mustard. Spoon over beef mixture. Stir in cooked noodles.

4. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 10 more minutes longer or until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.

Creamy Chicken-and-Rice Casserole

Since I started coaching at night I've been trying to prepare a lot of dinners before I leave for practice, so I happen to be making a lot of casseroles. I found this one on CookingLight.com and its delicious and super easy. I made it the other night when Denis's parents were coming for dinner and I wanted to be able to spend time with them instead of cooking.

Creamy Chicken-and-Rice Casserole

CookingLight.com

Serves 6 (serving size: 1 1/3)

Ingredients

1 (6.9-ounce) package one-third-less-salt chicken-flavored rice-and-vermicelli mix with chicken broth and herbs ( I used Rice-A-Roni)

1 tablespoon margarine

2 1/4 cups hot water

Vegetable cooking spray

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup presliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can reduce-fat, reduced-sodium condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1/4 cup crushed multigrain crackers (I used Wheat Thins, the recipe suggests to use 6 but I found it wasn't enough so I used about 15)

1 tablespoon margarine, melted

Directions

Cook rice mix in a large nonstick skillet according to package directions, using 1 tablespoon margarine and 2 1/4 cups hot water. Remove mixture from skillet; set aside. Wipe skillet with paper towel.

Coat the skillet with cooking spray, and place over high heat until hot. Add chicken, mushrooms, and garlic powder; saute 6 minutes or until chicken loses its pink color. Combine rice mixture, chicken mixture, sour cream, pepper, and soup in a bowl, stir well. Spoon mixture into into a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Combine crackers crumbs and margarine; stir well, and sprinkle over chicken mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Make-Ahead Tips: You can assemble the casserole ahead of time, omitting the cracker-crumb mixture; cover and chill in the refrigerator or freeze (thaw frozen casserole overnight in refrigerator). Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes; top with the cracker crumb mixture, and bake as directed.