3-Meat Pizza Casserole

We love pizza in our house.  There have been times when we've broken down and ordered it twice a week.

So last night, on a typical would-be pizza-ordering night, I decided to throw this casserole together.  And oh man was it awesome!

First, the tasty ingredients:

 Pasta, sausage, onion, spaghetti sauce, cubed ham, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and garlic

Cook pasta as directed.

Cook sausage, onion, and garlic until no longer pink and the juices run clear.

In a lightly greased baking dish, layer the ingredients in the following order:

.33 of the pasta

.33 of the sauce

1 bag of mozzarella cheese & parmesan cheese

Sausage and onion mixture

.5 of the remaining pasta

.5 of the remaining sauce

1 bag of mozzarella & parmesan

Ham

Remaining pasta

Remaining sauce, remaining cheese, and all the pepperoni

It looked amazing before it even went in the oven!

Bake for 40 minutes.

Omnomnomnomnom!

Recipe:

1 lb pasta (I used whole wheat rotini, but any manner of macaroni should be fine)

1 lb mild pork sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

2 26 oz jars spaghetti sauce (next time I'm going to try it with one spaghetti and one alfredo...mmm)

1 lb cubed cooked ham

.5 to 1 lb sliced pepperoni

3 8 oz bags of shredded mozzarella cheese

6 tbs grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs minced garlic

1)  Cook pasta according to package directions.

2)  Cook sausage, garlic, and onions until the juices run clear.

3)  In a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan, layer ingredients in the order below:

.33 pasta

.33 sauce

1 bag mozzarella cheese

2 tbs parmesan cheese

Sausage and onion mixture

.5 of remaining pasta

.5 of remaining sauce

1 bag mozzarella cheese

2 tbs parmesan cheese

Ham

All remaining pasta

All remaining sauce

All remaining mozzarella cheese

All remaining parmesan cheese

All pepperoni - cover the top with it.

4)  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

Strength Modifier:

This was pretty filling.

Intelligence Modifier:

I firmly believe anyone with a kitchen can make this dish.

Wisdom Modifier:

While the ingredients are super easy to find, I doubt anyone keeps the quantities called for in their pantries.  Definitely merited a trip to the grocery for pretty much all the ingredients.

Charisma Modifier:

It tasted good, but, it could have used more garlic.  And I plan to try out either some flavored spaghetti sauces or even some alfredo sauce next time, to give it a little more depth of flavor.  And the pepperonis were the best part, and my husband and I agreed there weren't enough of them!  A pepperoni layer may be required next time, also.

Constitution Modifier:

This is probably the least healthy thing I've ever cooked for us.  I felt guilty about getting seconds.  Definitely made out for a rare indulgence.

Overall Score:

It was delicious and wonderful, but considering the fat content, the trip to the store, and the amount of modifications for a next attempt, it was not that fabulous.  It will probably be some time before I make it again, though it will crop up in our weekly menu again, I'm sure.

Creamy Crab Enchiladas

We love seafood!  Crabcakes, shrimp, fried catfish, oysters.  You name it, we'll probably eat it.

So I found this nifty recipe for "Seafood Enchiladas."  The seafood component was supposed to be shrimp and crab.  I had tinned crabmeat in the pantry and a pound of gulf shrimp frozen in the freezer.  After cooking the shrimp in advanced, like the recipe instructed, I realized that the shrimp had gotten freezer burnt.  Ew.  So, I made some modifications, and now, I present:  Creamy Crab Echiladas!

First, you'll need:

Butter, flour, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, salsa, salt, cottage cheese, crabmeat, Monterrey Jack cheese, green chilies, flour tortillas

In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter.

Stir in flour until smooth.

Gradually stir in broth and soup until well blended.

Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and salsa.  Set aside.

Place cottage cheese in blender.  Process until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and add crab, cheese, and chilies.

Spread about a cup of the sauce in a greased baking dish.

Place about .33 cup of the crab mixture down the center of each tortilla.

Roll up and place seam-side down over sauce.

Top with the remaining sauce.

Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

Top with remaining cheese.

Bake for 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted.

Then nom!

Recipe:

.25 cup butter

.25 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 cup sour cream

.5 cup salsa

.125 teaspoon salt

1 cup small-curd cottage cheese

1 cup canned crabmeat, drained, flaked, and cartilage removed

2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, divided

4 ounces chopped green chilies

7-8 flour tortillas

1)  In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth.  Gradually stir in broth and soup until blended.

2)  Bring to a boil;  cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Remove from the heat.  Stir in sour cream, salsa, and salt; set aside.

3)  Place cottage cheese in a blender; cover and process until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl; add the crab, 1.5 cups cheese, and cheese.

4)  Spread about a cup of sauce in a greased baking dish.  Place about .33 cup crab mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Roll up and place seam-side down over sauce.  Top with the remaining sauce.

5)  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Top with remaining cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Strength Modifier:

This was extremely filling!

Intelligence Modifier:

This took practically no time or skill to put together!

Wisdom Modifier:

Not too many people keep crab on hand, or sour cream, or cottage cheese, or tortillas, etc. etc.  It will almost certainly require a visit to the store for at least a few ingredients.

Charisma Modifier:

It was another dish full of flavor.  In the future, I might add in a little garlic, but otherwise, it was wonderful!

Constitution Modifier:

This was another dish packed with high-fat ingredients.  Delicious every once in a while, but probably not Weight Watchers approved!

Overall Score:

Despite the calories and requisite trip to the store, this dish was AMAZING and will definitely be added to the list of things to make again!

Cheesy Chicken Crepes

This was my first attempt at crepes.  I think a similar result could be used in the recipe with flour tortillas, but the crepes were wonderful!  And also quite fun to make.

For the crepes:

Milk, eggs, flour, salt

 In a large mixing bowl, combine milk and eggs.

Add the flour and salt and mix well.  Let stand for 15 minutes.

Heat a lightly greased 8-inch skillet; pour .25 cup batter into the center.  Lift and tilt the skillet to evenly coat the bottom.

Cook until top appears dry.

Flip and cook an additional 15-20 seconds.

Remove to a wire rack.  Repeat with remaining batter.

When cool, stack crepes with paper towels between them.

For the chicken filling:

Mushrooms, green onions, butter, flour, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic powder, mayonnaise, milk, cheddar cheese, chopped cooked chicken

In a large skillet, saute mushrooms and onions until tender.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine flour and seasonings.

Stir in mayo until blended.

Cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes.

Gradually stir in milk.

Bring to a boil over medium-low heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Add cheese, stir until melted.

Remove from heat; add chicken and the mushroom mixture.

Spoon 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each crepe.

Roll up and place seam-side down in a greased baking dish.

In a small saucepan, heat milk and cheese over medium-low heat until melted, stirring constantly.

Pour over crepes.

Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.

Nomnomnomnom!

Recipe:

Crepes:

1 cup milk

3 eggs

.66 cup flour

.5 teaspoon salt

Chicken Filling:

4 oz sliced mushrooms

.33 cup sliced green onions

2 tablespoons butter

.5 cup flour

.5 teaspoon rosemary, crushed

.5 teaspoon salt

.5 teaspoon pepper

.25 teaspoon garlic powder

.75 cup mayonnaise

2 cups milk, divided

1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1)  In a large mixing bowl, combine the milk and eggs.  Add flour and salt to milk mixture and mix well.  Let stand for 15 minutes.

2)  Heat a lightly greased 8-inch nonstick skillet; pour .25 cup batter into the center of skillet.  Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom.  Cook until top appears dry; flip and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack.  Repeat with remaining butter; grease skillet as needed.  When cool, stack crepes with paper towels in between.

3)  For filling, in a large skillet, saute mushrooms and onions in butter until mushrooms are tender; set aside.  In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the flour and seasonings.  Stir in mayonnaise until blended.

4)  Cook over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes.  Gradually stir in 1.5 cups milk.  Bring to a boil over medium-low heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Add 1 cup cheese; stir until melted.  Remove from the heat; add chicken and the mushroom mixture.

5)  Spoon .33 cup chicken mixture down the center of each crepe.  Roll up and place seam side down in a greased baking dish.

6)  In a small saucepan, heat remaining milk and cheese over medium-low heat until cheese is melted, stirring constantly.  Pour over crepes.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Strength Modifier:

Extremely filling!

Intelligence Modifier:

Making the crepes from scratch was a little daunting for a first-timer.  I also found it a little difficult to get the flour and mayo to combine easily.

Wisdom Modifier:

We keep most of the ingredients on hand - just had to pick up some mushrooms and a block of cheddar.

Charisma Modifier:

This was another dish packed with flavor!  Seconds were had by all!

Constitution Modifier:

This had a lot of high-fat ingredients.  It's nice to indulge every once in a while.

Overall score:

This is definitely something I'm willing to make again and is well worth the time and effort!