Chili Cheese Potato Bake

Ok so I suck again and forgot to take pics and we already ate the whole pan so if you want to check this out go to Lynn's Kitchen Adventures to see what its suppose to look like but I think you'll get the general idea. This was actually very yummy, super easy, and very budget friendly. You could also fix it many ways as well! I just followed the recipe as is and am very happy with the turn out. It was like eating a yummy baked potato.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 cups of leftover chili ( any chili will work here)
• frozen shredded hash browns , I do not really measure this but it is about 3-4 cups
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1. Spread Chili into a 9×11 or 9×13 pan.
2. Spread hash browns over chili. Then sprinkle cheese over potatoes.
3. Bake uncovered at 375 for 40-50 minutes or until done.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Lasagna Soup

**This was actually really yummy and budget friendly so it will more than likely show up in one of weekly menus again! It was super easy and so much quicker to make than I had anticipated, hopefully you guys/gals enjoys it as well!**

1 onion finely diced
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic finely minced
choice of meat (ground beef, Italian sausage, meatballs...)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups jarred spaghetti sauce
4 cups chicken (or vegetable or beef) stock
2 bay leaves
8 oz pasta (Rotini, Fusilli, Campanelle,Corkscrew)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
shredded Mozzarella cheese

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil to medium heat and saute onion until golden. Add garlic and warm through about 1 minute before adding your choice of meat. Brown the meat, remove any extra fat. Add oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, spaghetti sauce, chicken stock and bay leaves. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Add pasta and increase heat to bring to a boil and cook for recommended time on pasta box for "al dente". Discard bay leaves and adjust seasonings by adding salt & pepper. Stir in fresh parsley and serve with a sprinkling of shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Sloppy Joes

**So I'm not a sloppy joe fan but I figured I should start trying out some more kid friendly meals since we have a baby boy whole will eventually grow up and want kid friendly foods. I then decided to try to find a sloppy joe recipe that I would actually eat (because quite frankly that manwich crap blows) and I found this recipe on a budget friendly blog which one I can't think of at the moment, but me and the hubby really enjoyed this recipe which I was seriously surprised that I did!**

• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 – 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth
• a few dashes of hot pepper sauce
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• hamburger buns

1. Brown ground beef with onion until onion is tender and beef is cooked.
2. Add garlic and cook for approximately one more minute.
3. Add remaining ingredients (except buns)and stir well.
4. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve over buns and enjoy.

Cheeseburger Casserole

I have been trying to figure out some budget friendly meals, so that we don't spend as much when we go grocery shopping and I've been doing pretty good. Its really hard here shopping at the commissary to do well, but I've been trying! This is a budget friendly and kid friendly recipe!

Cheese burger casserole:


Ingredients:

1 can cheap small biscuits
1 Cup Velveta cheese
1 Lb hamburger meat (or turkey ground)
1 Cup salsa

Place your biscuits in the bottom of a 9x9 square dish, press to make a "crust" Cook and drain your meat, stir in salsa, Layer on top of the uncooked biscuits, meat mixture, cubed cheese, meat mixture, cubed cheese. Cook like it tells you to on the biscuit can.

This is really simple to make and much better than I had thought. The hubby loved it and said it was good and to make it again!

Chili Dog Casserole

Chili Dog Casserole
*Do you even need a picture to know what this looks like? And yes I seriously made this! The buns actually got kinda crunchy on the bottom which I liked. I have been trying to figure out how to make kid friendly meals and this one caught my eye and yes you can laugh (Jen I know you are already). I did follow this one exactly LOL pretty hard not too!

Ingredients:

• 8 hot dog buns
• 8 hot dogs
• 1 (15 ounce) can chili
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Tear up the hot dog buns and arrange the pieces in the bottom of the dish evenly.
4. Slice the hot dogs into bite size pieces and layer the pieces over the buns.
5. Pour the chili over the hot dogs, sprinkle with the chopped onion, then spread the mustard over the chili and the onion.
6. Top off with the cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.