Shipwreck Casserole

Shipwreck Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 medium chopped onion
3 large baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups of sliced carrots
4 stalks of celery, sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can of condensed tomato soup
1 soup can of warm water
1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning
Cajun Seasoning
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray, such as Pam and set aside.
Brown the ground beef and turkey and salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Drain if needed and set aside.

Layer the casserole dish with onions on the bottom, then potatoes; sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt or salt and pepper. 

Top with carrots, celery and bell pepper.  Sprinkle this layer lightly with salt and pepper or seasoning salt. 

Top with the browned meat. 

Whisk together the can of soup, the can of water and Italian seasoning until well blended. 

Pour the soup and seasoning evenly over the top.  Season the top with a light dash of Cajun seasoning. 


Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for around an hour. 

Test with a knife to make sure the potatoes are done (mine weren't and required another 30 minutes).
Remove the foil lover and sprinkle the cheese over the top. 

Return the dish to the oven until the cheese is melted.

 ...and that is What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Peanut Butter and Chocolate, does it get any better?  
This dessert is nothing short of spectacular and tasty!  This has been a requested treat by those who have sampled it's creamy lusciousness.  Recently, I needed something special to take to work for our Secret Santa lunch and this cheesecake popped to the top of the list.  There was only one small problem.....I hadn't made one for nearly 10 years.  So the search for the recipe was on.  I have folders of recipes and thankfully I had organized them earlier this year and after 10 minutes, I had the recipe in hand and was ready to bake. My current co-workers enjoyed it immensly.  I hope you will give it a try and that you enjoy it equally as well and it becomes your new favorite cheesecake!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 package of Nutter Butter cookies
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts
6 Tablespoons melted butter
2 Tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar


Filling:
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 1/2 cups mini Reese Peanut Butter Cups, chopped into 3/4 inch pieces (1 bag)


Topping:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
15-20 mini Reese peanut butter cups


Directions:

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter 9" x 2 x 3/4 spring form pan.
In a food processor place the Nutter Butter cookies, peanuts and brown sugar.
Pulse mixture until chopped very fine.
With the processor running, drizzle in the melted butter.

Press mixture evenly onto the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan.
Bake until the crust is set, about 8 minutes.
Cool on a rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.


Filling:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the brown sugar and beat again. The mixture should be smooth.  
Add the peanut butter, vanilla and beat until blended.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.  Add the whipping cream and beat until smooth.
Stir in the chopped peanut butter cup pieces.

Pour the filling into the crust.  Bake until the sides of the cake are set but the center still moves slightly, about 55 minutes.
Shut off the oven and let the cake and oven cool. (I leave mine in overnight)  
The cake may crack, don't worry, the topping hides the imperfections!

Move the cooled cake to the refrigerator.   When completely cool and chilled, add the topping.






Topping:

Chop up the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler or in the microwave.  Cool slightly then add all but 1 Tablespoon of cream.  Stir to mix thoroughly.  Pour over the cool cheesecake (while still in the spring form pan).  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place the peanut butter and 1 Tablespoon of whipping cream in a bowl and microwave until it has a runny consistency.  Place the mixture in a sandwich bag, clip the corner and top the chocolate with a swirled or geometric pattern.  Before the peanut butter mixture sets, cut the mini peanut butter cups in half and surround the outside edge of the pan with the cup halves, lined up end to end.

Keep refrigerated until serving.  Slice it up, grab a fork and dig in!

and that is What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!

Sausage Broccoli Bake

I was given this recipe by a lady I worked with many years ago at Citizens Bank in Evansville, IN.  When she first told me about it, I was very skeptical, I didn't think it sounded yummy at all.  I made it and from then on I was hooked! 

It is very easy, and I often have the ingredients on hand.

Give it a try and I hope you are as pleasantly surprised as I was!

Sausage Broccoli Bake

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk pork sausage
2 beaten eggs
2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained
11 oz. package frozen broccoli, cooked and drained
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup salad dressing
2 teaspoons mustard
Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Brown and drain sausage.  You will notice oil in my photo and that is because I used sausage I made an it is leaner than what you buy in the store, so I needed a little olive oil.

Using fresh bread, using your food processor, make fresh bread crumbs.  I had some left over hamburger buns that I used.

Mix the sausage, eggs, bread crumbs, water chestnuts and cooked, drained broccoli together and turn the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake uncovered 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

While the casserole is baking, mix together the sour cream, salad dressing and mustard.
I would recommend using Miracle Whip, I didn't have any MW on hand so I used mayo and it wasn't as good.

Combine and spread over the top of the sausage mixture.  Return to the oven and bake an additional 10 minutes until the topping is hot.

and that's What's Cooking at Cathy's ~ Enjoy!