Pizza Hot Dish

1 lb. ground beef
Chopped onion
2 cans tomato soup
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 oz noodles, cooked fresh and/or canned mushrooms
1/4 lb. grated cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Brown meat and onion. Drain. Add soup and spices. Simmer 10 to 15 mins. over low heat. Grease 13 x 9 pan. Place noodles in bottom of pan. Pour over meat sauce. Top with mushrooms. Sprinkle on cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 mins in 350 degree oven. Remove foil and bake 10 mins longer.

Submitted by Cara Knipfer

Bloggers Note: We used Sargento cheddar jack cheese, and Ronzoni whole wheat egg noodles.

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This delightfully fresh recipe came from our Oregon Preschool Cookbook. It too was a thrift store find and is stuffed full of all sorts of goodies like this one.

When I came upon this recipe, I remembered that the Dodgeville School District lunch ladies used to serve something by the same name. I'm pretty sure, having tasted it, that it's pretty close to what they used to serve me when I was in elementary school.

Again, very easy to make. Tastes very good.

When I first looked at the recipe I tried to think of some veggie that I could serve with it. Because most veggies are in the actual pizzas I really couldn't think of anything. With that being said, I do think the next time I make this I will add black olives and green peppers.

Easy Shrimp Casserole

Easy Shrimp Casserole

3 cups medium noodles

1 can cream of shrimp soup

¾ cup of milk

¼ cup diced celery

1 tbsp green onions

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup shredded natural cheddar cheese

1 cup cooked shrimp

¼ cup chow mein noodles

Cook noodles according to directions; drain. Combine soup with milk, mayonnaise, celery, onion and salt. Mix well. Stir in cheese, shrimp and cooked noodles. Turn into a 1 ½ quart casserole. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 30-35 mins. Top with chow mein noodles. Bake 10 minutes longer.

Yield: 6 servings.

Submitted by Dawn Jacobsen of Madison, WI

Blogger's Note: Good luck finding cream of shrimp soup. I substituted cream of mushroom soup, and I think it made a better dish. Shrimp have a powerful taste, and to add more shrimp flavoring could have made the dish a smidge on the gross side. Also, I upped the amount of shrimp to 1 ½ cups to make up for the lack of cream of shrimp.

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This is an extremely easy recipe to make. I think it’s interesting to note that this dish is meant to serve six people. That says something about the proportions of a pre-McDonaldized nation. We had a glass of wine with some brie goat cheese followed by a simple green salad while the casserole was baking. While serving it I made a very conscious effort to serve smaller portions and I’m really happy I did. I can only speak for myself, but I was full the rest of the night. Even after a few cocktails with a friend.

Homorific pre-meal munching aside, this dish really reminded me of what my mom made as a child. Granted, shrimp was probably a little on the fancy side for Sharon, but I do remember eating a lot of casseroles as a child. Not to mention, you don’t have to fight a kid to eat creamy artery claughing goodness.

With that said. there isn’t a whole lot about this dish that is healthy, but with few minor changes it can become slightly better for you; like using fat free mayo (which I did).