Close-up of a cheesy casserole topped with green jalapeño slices and fresh cilantro.

Warm dishes for cooler weather

By Paula Dream (AKA Kale Haygood)

Greetings to everyone on this cooler time of year. It makes me feel a lot “friskier.â€

In this issue I bring you some good, very simple, weekday (or anytime) recipes. We don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen, when we can be out running our traps and drinking, right? These are just good old down home comfort food recipes.

Enjoy, and have a great week.

CHICKEN ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE
1 package (6 ounces) stuffing mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
3 cup zucchini, diced
2 cup cooked chicken, cubed
1 can (10 ounces) cream of chicken soup
1 medium carrot, shredded
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream

Combine stuffing mix and butter in a large bowl. Set aside one half cup stuffing for topping. Add the zucchini, soup, carrots, onion, and sour cream to the remaining stuffing mixture. Transfer to a greased 11″x9″ baking dish, smoothing evenly. Sprinkle with saved stuffing mixture. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until browned, or for about 40 to 45 minutes.

MY GRANDMOTHER’S GROUND BEEF POTATO CASSEROLE
1 pound ground beef
3 medium size potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, diced
3/4 cup frozen trio (chopped red, green, and yellow bell peppers with onions)
1 or two can cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) add ground beef, onion and trio. Cook meat until done and browned.  Drain grease from skillet. Top meat evenly with sliced potatoes. Pour soup over potatoes and spread evenly.

Salt and pepper to taste. Bake in oven until soup is bubbly and potatoes are tender, for about 30 minutes.

MEXICAN HOT DISH CASSEROLE
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
3/4 cup frozen trio (diced green, red and yellow bell peppers with onions)
1 can mushroom soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 bag Tostitos corn chips
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
Sliced jalapenos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron), add ground beef, diced onions and trio. On medium high heat, cook until done and browned. Drain grease from skillet. Add mushroom soup and Rotel tomatoes to skillet. Mix well and cook for about eight to ten minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat. Add chips to skillet, topping beef mixture and gently pushing chips into mixture. Top with one more thin layer of chips. Now top chips with a layer of cheese, to your liking. Then sprinkle jalapeno slices over cheese, to your liking. Place skillet in oven and cook about 15 minutes until cheese is well melted and jalapeno slices are tender. Goes great with chunky salsa and guacamole.

Paula Dream (AKA Kale Haygood) owns Beyond Service, a Montrose-based home-cooking catering company. For more information, call 713-805-4106 or email barrykale@yahoo.com.

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