Cowboy Casserole Recipe – A Pinterest Success

When I discovered Pinterest a few months ago, the very first board I made was “Food I Might Someday Attempt to Make” and I frantically began pinning the yummiest, most amazing looking dishes I could find. From entrees to cakepops to cocktails – I pinned them all!!

And that is where they stayed….That is, until this week.

I am happy to say I am 3 for 3 on the Pinterest recipes – that each one of them has been just as mind blowingly amazing as I expected them to be. I am going to share all three – and give all of the credit to the sites where I found the recipes – as they are absolutely going to be made again and again here in the Moscato Household.

My first success – Cowboy Casserole – comes from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, and she says she adapted it from a Taste of Home Recipe. Well… she adapted it perfectly because this absolutely is one of the best casseroles I have ever tasted. I did have to change a few things - like I used minced garlic instead of cloves – but it was still beyond fantastic.

Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can (15.25oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons Daisy sour cream
1 bag Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns tater tots

Chop your onion and sautee in a few drops of Olive Oil until soft. Add minced garlic and cook on low for another minute or two. Add in ground chuck and cook until completely done and no pink is left. Drain and set aside.

In a separate bowl mix together soup, milk, and sour cream and mix together well. Pour meat mixture in and mix well. Add in 1 cup shredded cheese and corn and gently mix together.

In a 9×13 dish link a row of Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns. Pour entire mixture into dish and spread evenly across tots. Top with another layer of tots and sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350* for about 30 minutes or until Crispy Crowns are crispy and casserole is bubbly. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

This is an absolute “must try” recipe – truly. I wasn’t sure about this one, it was actually the last of the three that I decided to try, but it was absolutely fantastic and my family practically licked their plates clean.

Thanks so much to Lisa from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary for this amazing recipe (and Pinterest for helping me to find it!) You can check out Lisa’s blog and see all kinds of other yummy looking dishes – that I am sure I will be trying very very soon.

Breakfast Casserole Muffins… Take Two

Last week I told you about the Breakfast Casserole Muffins I made for my Life Group class at church. They were a HUGE hit so I decided to make them again… but this time using sausage instead of bacon, and adding in a “missing ingredient.” As someone who doesn’t like sausage all that much, I have to say I was surprised at just how much more I liked these! And apparently the class did too as I took 48 this time and they ate every single one of them!

Breakfast Casserole Muffins

Ingredients:

12 eggs
3 small packages of pork sausage
1 bag frozen hashbrowns, thawed
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups cheddar cheese
crescent rolls… the missing ingredient!!

See, last week I told my Life Group that they were “Breakfast Muffins” and had everything you would normally order for breakfast, but all together in a muffin. However, one of my buddies politely said …“where is the biscuit?”

Ah HA!!

Preparation:

First brown your sausage, breaking it up into the smallest bits you can. Make sure ALL of the pink is gone. Set aside.

In another bowl mix the eggs, cheese, and hashbrowns. Gently mix to make sure all is well coated. Gently stir in cooked sausage. Set aside.

Spread crescent rolls and pinch together perforations to make one big sheet of dough. Use a round cookie cutter (I used a glass… someone please tell Santa about me learning to cook after 30…) to cut little round “biscuits” to put in the bottom of a well greased cookie sheet.

Pour egg mixture over dough… and keep in mind, this one is gonna RISE!!

Bake at 375* for approximately 15 minutes or until egg is done and potatoes are browning. Be careful not to overcook crescent rolls! Muffins will easy pop out. Serve hot.

Breakfast Casserole Muffins are great for big group gatherings or just for making at home to feed your family. My favorite part about these is that they are quick and easy, and so much more nutritious than a PopTart or danish, and easy to freeze and reheat one at a time! My girls gobble them up every time I make them – and I can feel good about them getting a good source of protein before school. The crescent roll is just what they needed to make them absolutely perfect.

NOW they are an entire breakfast… all in one little muffin.