Pages

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

I don't know about you but I always seem to be short on time. I usually forget that I need to even prepare a dinner until it's 5 o'clock and my toddler starts whining about being hungry. "Dinner mommy, EAT!" and to be 100% honest, there are many nights where dinner is thrown together and consists something of a bowl of kix and a bagel with cream cheese. So I have hit ummmm the dairy food group.... oh and breads?! Great, mom of the year. Usually my husband isn't too fond of these types of dinners. He works afternoons and  evenings so our dinner becomes leftovers for him to take for lunch and dinner at work the following day. When I don't make a legit dinner.... you guessed it, he goes without. Ok, not really. He packs himself something boring like a salad and maybe a frozen dinner. Not really gaining myself any wife or stay at home mommy points. 

So, when I want to make something super simple that will guarantee plenty of leftovers for the hubs,  I go with a casserole. Over the last 2 years as a stay at home mom I can safely say we have this about once a month and it satisfies us all. No complaints yet! I call it a loaded baked potato casserole, and then I also add chicken to the mix. 

Bear with me here because at this point in the game I just throw everything together without measuring a thing. I am positive you can't mess this bad boy up. So here ya go....


{with chicken}

Ingredients: 
  • 4-6 russet potatoes
  • 2 uncooked chicken breasts
  • olive oil
  • hot sauce
  • minced garlic
  • cheese
  • green onions
  • cooked bacon or bacon bits
  • sour cream ( optional for topping )
Prep time: 10mins
Cook Time: 60 mins. 


-Preheat your oven to 475 or 500 degrees, yes that is HOT, but perfect for roasting your taters. Now let's get started.....

First, chop both your potatoes and chicken into bite size pieces. ** Don't cross contaminate people, I assume you know those rules** Set aside. Next, in a medium size bowl mix together about 1/4c. olive oil, aprox. 4TBS. hot sauce ( I use Frank's RedHot original or buffalo sauce but I'm sure any favorite would work) you can use more or less depending on the amount of heat your family likes, and then I throw in about a spoonful of minced garlic. Mix. 

Now toss the potatoes into the mixture to coat them well. Use a spoon to remove potatoes once coated and place in casserole dish. The trick here is to make sure you have left some of the sauce mixture behind when removing the potatoes. Next, add the chicken to the sauce in the bowl and coat it well. Set it aside in the fridge to marinate while you roast the potatoes. Place your casserole dish of potatoes into the oven to start roasting! * Check the potatoes and stir them around every 15mins for even roasting* While they are cooking start cutting up your onions, bacon and grate some cheese. Once your potatoes are fork tender (about 30-45mins) remove the dish, TURN THE OVEN DOWN to 450 degrees and pour the chicken and sauce mixture onto the roasted potatoes. Bake for an additional 15 mins. or until chicken is fully cooked through.

Last, remove casserole dish, top with onions, bacon, and cheese and return to the oven for an additional 5mins or until cheese is melted. Now, Serve with sour cream! Yummy!! 









I hope you all enjoy this as much as we do around here. I know personally, these are all staple ingredients in my house, so I never have to worry about running to the store last minute. Also, while the hour long cooking time may seem like some planning needs to be involved, it really goes by so fast and even my 2 year old loves watching it cook and will stop whining for dinner knowing this is on the way.

What is YOUR favorite 'go to' dinner? 
             

2 comments:

Organized Chaos said...

Oh my! These look so yummy! I can't wait to try them!

Liesl said...

This looks SO delish! I'm going to have to make it. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, I'm loving yours and your love of gold and a little sparkle! :)

Post a Comment

 
Content A Dash of Time | Design Poppiness Designs