When summer ends  I look forward to seeing the leaves changing and a plate of my  Slow Cooker Summer Squash Casserole.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:
3 large carrots, finely grated
10 small or 5 large summer squash, thinly sliced
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 ½ cups white onion, diced
2 cups sour cream
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 (8 ounce) package chicken stuffing
½ cup butter/margarine, melted
1 teaspoon black pepper

How to:
1. Combine carrots, squash, onion, and cream soup into a large
bowl; set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix sour cream with flour and fold into
vegetable mixture. Mix well.
3. In extra large bowl, mix melted margarine with stuffing. Pour
half stuffing mixture then vegetable mixture into slow cooker.
4. Pour sour cream mixture and remaining squash into slow
cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.

Tips:
#1 Use an empty ice cream tub to mix vegetables together.
#2 Substitute zucchini for yellow summer squash.

From my book: © Ask Ms Recipe: Simple Recipes that Make Cents Cookbook

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

By Nina Marana

Avocados are a  unique fruit with it’s flavor and shape so I decided to pick up a few. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make, but I soon decided that a lasagna sounded  great to me.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup half and half creamer
1 cup 1% milk
2 cups cooked white rice
2 medium-large ripe avocados remove seed and peel, slice thin
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken diced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, add butter, flour, dried basil, thyme, marjoram, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper continuously stirring until smooth.
3. Slowly add half & half and milk then bring to a boil over low heat. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes and remove from burner.
4.  Layer half of the rice, avocados, chicken, white sauce, and cheese like lasagna into greased 13 x9 x2 baking dish.
5. Place into the oven on 350 degrees F and bake covered for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling. Uncover for the last five minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow cooling for five minutes before serving.

5- 6 servings

Tips:
#1:  Serve with fresh garden salad and toasted french bread.
#2: Work with avocados fast as they turn black, but it doesn’t affect the flavors.

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

(Serves 10)

Photo: Melanie Acevedo

One of my favorite cooks is Ina on Barefoot Contessa. I love and admire her style of cooking and watch her show daily.

A few ideas from Ask Ms Recipe- I’d change the salt to 2 teaspoon  Black Truffle sea salt, change the cheese to Parmesan cheese, and  have a garden salad on the side.

And  Now for the Recipe:

2 small fennel bulbs
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 pounds russet potatoes (4 large potatoes)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 1/2 cups grated Gruyère cheese (1/2 pound)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter the inside of a 10x15x2-inch (10 cup) baking dish.

Remove the stalks from the fennel and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise. Remove the cores and thinly slice the bulbs crosswise, making approximately 4 cups of sliced fennel. Sauté the fennel and onions in the olive oil and butter on medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until tender.

Peel the potatoes, then thinly slice them by hand or with a mandoline. Mix the sliced potatoes in a large bowl with 2 cups of cream, 2 cups of Gruyère, salt, and pepper. Add the sautéed fennel and onion and mix well.

Pour the potatoes into the baking dish. Press down to smooth the potatoes. Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and 1/2 cup of Gruyère and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the top is browned and bubbly. Allow to set for 10 minutes and serve.

Recipe is from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten. You can find her website here

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

People all around the world love spaghetti thought everyone has their own version.
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (8 ounce can) tomato sauce
1 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1 (28 ounce can) crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1.Prepare spaghetti according to package directions. Add salt to water..
2. Meanwhile, in large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef with onion and green pepper in olive oil until meat is no longer pink. Drain and return to skillet.
3. Stir in tomato sauce, mushrooms, tomatoes, seasoned salt, garlic powder, chili powder, hot sauce, and brown sugar into skillet.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
5. Drain spaghetti (do not rinse) and stir into meat mixture. Pour into a large shallow baking dish/pan, cover and place on bottom rack. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Tips:

#1:Use ground chicken or turkey instead of ground beef.

#2:Omit the beef for vegetarian casserole dish

#3 Add meat alternatives such as: tofu or tempeh.

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

Here is my take on an oldie, but goodie, which has always been a favorite for children and adults alike.

Pulled for upcoming book askmsrecipe: Simple Recipes that Make Cents

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

Image Source Wikipedia

Is it a week before payday and you don’t know what to make for dinner? Here’s an economical recipe that’s full of flavor, but not full of cost. It’s one of those recipes you can change to suit your family’s taste buds.

Pulled for upcoming book askmsrecipe: Simple Recipes that Make Cents

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

Not everyday you see a casserole made with carrots. Now your Mother can be proud that you ate your carrots and better yet your eye doctor will be happy with you too.

Pulled for upcoming book Ask Ms Recipe: Simple Recipes that Make Cents

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

A simple way of making shepherds pie without all the fuse of preparing all the ingredients. This is a great dish for the family that’s in a hurry all the time, but wants their family to have great meal with all the necessities in life.

Prep 10-min
Cook 55-60 min
Serves 5-6

Ingredients

1 28 ounce package family size Salisbury Steak patties by Banquet frozen Meal
4 cups instant mashed potatoes- follow direction or use homemade mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese, or Mexican blend
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup green onion  (chopped)
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 of 16 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables

Directions

1.Place contents of banquet meal into a 10X6 Baking Dish. (best transferred frozen)

2. Mix the sour cream, onions, cheese, garlic salt, black pepper with mashed potatoes in a large bowl.

3. Pour mixed vegetables on top of Banquet Meal in 10X6 baking Pan. Next, spread mash potatoes on top of mixed vegetables and cook uncovered at 375 degrees oven on middle rack for 55-60 minutes.

Optional: The entire meal can be cooked in the microwave. Times will vary depending on microwave watts.

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

Many of us are looking for ways to stretch there money and I’m no exception. As prices go up many of those not so frugal people are having choice, but to stretch a dollar to feed their families.

Pulled for upcoming book askmsrecipe: Simple Recipes that Make Cents

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011

The holidays are right around the corner and I figured you all needed a side dish to add to your holiday celebrations. This green bean side dish is not your typical green bean casserole dish, so you can share one of my recipes with your loved ones. And yes, the recipe can be used all year round.

Prep 10 min

Cook 10-15 min

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 15 oz can green beans; (set aside 1 cup green bean juice)

3 strips of bacon

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1-tablespoon flour

1 1/2-tablespoon sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Fry bacon in a large skillet and set bacon aside.

2. Brown onions in bacon drippings with flour until light brown on low heat. Next, add green bean juice and bring to a boil; stir constantly.

3. Add broken up bacon and remaining ingredients to skillet and stir well. Cook for 5-8 minutes on low and serve.

This post was originally published on Ask Ms Recipe If found anywhere else, this content is illegally copied and should be reported to askmsrecipe.com. Copyright 2008-2011