We do not eat casseroles around here very often. Our meals are mostly a separate meat, veggie
and carb. Since many in our family are
on a dairy free diet it hardly seems worth it to try to make my own condensed soups
to make casseroles healthy. There are a
few dairy free casseroles that have made it into our family’s meal rotation. If you
are formerly a tator tot casserole mom who now finds herself dairy free,
these 4 casseroles are my gift to you! (3 of these are gluten free if that applies to you!)
Chicken and Rice
Casserole
Ingredients
·
2 cups cooked brown rice
·
2 cups cooked chicken
·
2 tablespoons healthy oil
·
2 tablespoons water
·
3-4 tablespoons wheat flour
·
1/4 teaspoon each of salt, thyme, garlic
powder and onion powder
·
2 cups chicken broth
·
1 ½ cup frozen peas and carrots
·
¼ seasoned breadcrumbs
Directions:
In a large skillet bring 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water to a light
simmer. Add flour slowly and blend until
smooth. Add thyme, onion powder, garlic
powder and salt. Slowly add 2 cups of broth
and continue blend until it’s a smooth consistency. Add cooked chicken and stir. Lightly grease a casserole dish and layer
rice in the bottom of a grease baking dish. Layer peas and carrots
onto rice. Carefully pour chicken
mixture over vegetables. Dust bread
crumbs over the casserole. Bake in a
400°F oven for 25 to 35 minutes.
NOTES: You can switch out the veggies to suit the
tastes of your family. I am sure that a
bag of mixed vegetables would work or broccoli!
We usually have this for supper one night, and the next day I add broth
and make it into chicken and rice soup for lunch! The family doesn’t even think of it as
leftovers! I have doubled the recipe and
frozen half with great success.
Shipwreck
Ingredients
·
2 lbs ground beef
·
¼- ½ cup chopped onion
·
6 medium potatoes (sliced)
·
1 large can pork and beans
·
1 can tomato sauce
·
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Layer in order and bake covered at
350 for 3 hours.
NOTES: This was a recipe that my
husband ate often growing up. When I
came into the family I thought that it was very strange. I was surprised to find that I do like
it! Plus it is a great dish to mix up
before church and stick in the oven. We
come home and lunch is ready in minutes of walking in the
door! You can easily cut this recipe in
half for a smaller family. Our family is
right in between the 1 and 2 pounds of ground beef mark now, but with our
growing boys it won’t be long until we will always need the full two
pounds! I like to make my own baked beans to save the family a little money and a lot of sugar! Sometimes I will brown the beef and the onion
before I cook this casserole. I like to
drain the grease before I bake it, and I like the texture of the beef to be a
bit more crumbly! It shortens the
cooking time quite a bit.
Hearty Bean Bake
Ingredients
·
1 lb ground beef
·
6 strips of bacon (chopped)
·
¼ cup onion, chopped
·
3 lb can baked beans
·
1 (14oz) can red beans, drained and
rinsed
·
1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained
and rinsed
·
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
·
1/3 cup honey
·
2 Tbs brown mustard
·
1 tsp vinegar
·
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
·
½ tsp each of salt and pepper
Brown the ground beef with the bacon
and onion until the beef is crumbly; drain.
Combine the ground beef mixture with all the remaining ingredients and
mix well. Cook in the crock pot on low
for 3 hours on in a covered baking pan in the oven at 350 for 1 hour. Serves 8-10.
NOTES: I found this recipe in Oakwood
Road cook book, but it was A LOT sweeter and spicier. These ingredients are how I serve it to our
family. They LOVE it. The leftovers can be frozen in a small baking
dish. For a fun twist the next time you
eat it, thaw in the fridge and pour a corn bread mixture over the top. Bake until the cornbread is ready and eat! I make my own baked, red and black beans
making this meal both packed with protein and cheap, Cheap, CHEAP!
Taco Casserole
Ingredients
·
1 lb ground beef-browned
·
2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning (The homemade shredded potatoes might seem
intense but making your own taco seasoning is super easy! Try it.)
·
1 can (1 3/4 cup) tomato sauce (Check the fridge or panty and use
whatever is there. Pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, regular tomato sauce or
crushed tomatoes. Anything will work.)
·
1 can red or black beans-rinsed and drained
·
1 cup frozen corn
Mix beef, seasoning
and tomato sauce and spread ½ of the mixture in a greased 9x13 baking
dish. Layer on ½ the corn and beans,
followed by half of the potatoes. Repeat
the layers and ending with the potatoes.
(If you are not dairy free top with 1 cup cheddar cheese!) Bake covered at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
NOTES: This recipe
mirrors my Taco Potatoes recipe. Same
basic ingredients just different presentation!
We had a big language break through last night. My husband speaks no Spanish and was coaching him to use Google translate on the ipad. Kevin was very hesitant to try it, but Jordan kept pressing. Finally Jordan asked him what he wanted to do, and Kevin typed "Tocar el piano usted" "Play piano with you." My husband is a very talented musician. (I like to joke that the only two things he loved before me was his mom and his piano!) Jordan doesn't think that Kevin reads music but just likes to play by ear. It was a very sweet moment!
