Feeding the Captain #thesearethedays #makeyummyfood

Usually when the kids and I go away without the Captain, I like to leave prepared meals for him in the fridge. So while we are here enjoying the condo, I left meals for him as usual, but also some food in the freezer for his next rotation ~ Here’s what I made:

1. Lasagna  ~ I don’t have a recipe or a photo, but I should get both. It doesn’t seem to matter how many lasagna’s I try, this one remains my favorite. Pretty basic and simple but hits all the points of YUM! 😉

Okay, I can give you a bit of a recipe….I make pretty basic meat sauce with ground beef and Prego {with mushrooms} sauce. I add garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese to the sauce for added flavour. I sort of eyeball it and just sprinkle it around, so I don’t have exact measurements. I also add about a cup of water to add some more moisture for the *oven ready* noodles I’ve become a huge fan of! In a separate bowl I mix a large Cottage Cheese with 1- 2 eggs and about 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

In a casserole dish I layer, starting with a small amount of meat sauce. The noodles are next (3), then half of the meat sauce and half of the cottage cheese mixture. 3 more noodles, and remaining meat sauce and cottage cheese mixture. Top with 3-4 noodles (depends on the width of your dish). I add a bit of water to the top (to help the top noodles cook) and bake for about 40 minutes at 350, covered with tin foil. Then I top with mozzarella and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is delicious and bubbly ~ I even like to overcook it a bit so the noodles get a bit crispy. Mmmmmm This was the perfect meal to pop in the freezer for his next work rotation.

2. Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Know Kitchen really hit the mark with this delicious recipe. Because of the ham, I didn’t want to freeze it for Brent to take, so it went in the fridge for him to eat while we are gone. But I always take a bite ~ Baker’s Bite ~ and I LOVED it! Definitely worth trying and add a salad and a side veggie and you’ve got a great dish to serve company.

3. Funeral Potatoes {aka Hashbrown Casserole}

This recipe, from Lil’ Luna, is the closest one to mine I can find online. But this time I had to make a few alterations based on my ingredients. I had a couple leftover chicken breasts so I cubed them up and added them to the hashbrowns. I also didn’t have cream of chicken soup on hand {outrageous}, so I used two cans of cream of mushroom. I like the sauciness using two cans gives, so I usually use one cream of chicken and one cream of mushroom. I bought some Corn Flake crumbs so I used those for the topping…the only difference there is the size of the flakes/crumbs. I took one small bite before packing it away for the freezer and I was definitely happy. This will make a great meal for the Captain!

4. Daddy’s Hamburgers

Oh sweet mercy. I’ve made these about 5 times since the first time and they are just as delicious each time. I love me a good burger and have been searching for the perfect homemade recipe for years now. I am absolutely taken with this one and couldn’t help but make it for the Captain as well. It’s so incredibly fast ~ prep and cooking ~ and so ridiculously delicious. Great, now I want one. It’s after midnight and I want to whip up a batch of burgers! oy.

I do a few things differently, but the secret remains the same. First I add bread crumbs and an egg to the hamburger. I also add the garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce TO the mixture instead of just on each patty afterwards. I follow the rest and wait impatiently while they cook. The secret of course is the X drizzled with a small amount of Worcestershire and sprinkled with garlic salt…..THEN topped with a small chunk of butter/margarine {I think the Worcestershire and margarine is the REAL secret}. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350, top with cheese and put back in until melted…and then DEVOUR! Oh also, I did not bake mine on the bun.

I’m not kidding. They are THAT good! I will be a Foodie Crush regular as a direct result of finding THIS recipe on Pinterest.

There were 3 other things I had planned on making but just didn’t get to. I’ll make sure to try them soon so I can pass on any more winners! Hopefully this helps take out some of the guess work when you are wanting to try a new recipe. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed you like them as much as I do!

Happy Cooking!