All right ladies, (and maybe a gentleman or two), I’ve got a recipe for you today! Keep in mind, a foodie I am not. (If you are checking out my blog for the latest and greatest in organic, ethnic, pretentious cuisine, you should probably look elsewhere.) Out of both necessity, and personal taste preferences of my family and I, I like to make casseroles, comfort foods, and quick and easy family-pleasers. I love to cook, stretch my dollars, and please my family. When one recipe can do all three for me, I know I’ve got a keeper. I found this recipe on http://www.campbellskitchen.com, and have just modified it a bit. Their website is a great resource for cheap, easy, and crowd pleasing recipes!
This recipe is so versatile, and is truly the essence of pantry cooking. All of the ingredients are things we typically have on hand, and many of the things can be changed out for something else. Plus..it tastes good! Here we go!
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked meat (I have made this meal using chicken, turkey, and ground beef.) If using chicken, it works to either dice up a breast or two, or simply poach and shred your chicken. (If poaching, simply boil your chicken in water seasoned with taco seasoning for some added flavor!) Note that you can also use less meat in this recipe. Use the meat you have on hand! Whether you have 1 chicken breast or 3, 1/3 lb of hamburger or a whole pound, this recipe will turn out just fine!
1 cup of your favorite salsa
1/2 cup milk (Trust me on this one.)
1 can of tomato soup
8 corn tortillas (6 inch), OR crushed up tortilla chips (This is one of my favorite recipes to make when I have that sad bag of tortilla chip crumbles sitting in my cupboard. You know the bag…the partially stale little bits and pieces no one really wants to snack on…This recipe will use those chips up without letting them go to waste! If you are using chips, use several cups worth of broken up pieces (leave them somewhat chunky..don’t grind them into a powder!) This recipe is forgiving however, and adding more chips will give your casserole a thicker consistency, and less chips will make it a bit more saucy. If you use the tortillas, simply cut them up into inch sized pieces. I have made this using both, and it is fabulous both ways!
1 cup shredded cheese (almost any cheese will work with this recipe…cheddar, monterey jack, colby, etc.) As a side-note, I highly support adding additional cheese to this and pretty much any recipe. =)
Mix all of the ingredients (except for a small handful of the cheese) together in a large bowl, combining until well mixed. Spread into a greased baking dish (13×9 or a 2 qt. casserole work well). Cover with foil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil, add remaining cheese, and bake just until the cheese melts.
Recipe Stretcher: If you want to really stretch this recipe to either feed more people, or have enough left-overs for several meals, there are some easy things you can add. Adding a can of black beans or corn to the dish would be fabulous, and would really stretch your dollar!
I hope your family enjoys this quick and easy pantry casserole!
I made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it…I made a lot and there was none left! I used chicken w/corn chips, some black eyed peas & olives in it….it smelled so good while baking that Caleb, my picky eater, almost tried it, thank you Supermom
My mom used to make this for our dinners and has passed it on to me. The only difference is she used cream of mushroom. In a pinch i tried it with cream of chicken and it was even better! I will have to try it with the tomato now, that never even crossed my mind!