Seeking Toddler-Friendly Casserole Recipes

I am the queen of invention and my experiments work sometimes. If you don't like soups, you can try shredded cooked chicken in a casserole dish mixed with frozen peas, carrots (any veggie really) and ten use some chicken broth and some cream. You wouldn't need a lot. I usually top it with instant mashed potato mix just to give it a crust (or mix it in for a firmer consistency. It took me two tries to get the cream-broth mixer down and have the meal not be too soupy. Good luck. hope it works.

Both of my kiddos also like plain pasta with a tiny bit of butter mixed with peas and canned tomatoes. It super simple, but they love it. Sometimes I will sprinle cheese on it.

Just made this Shepherd's Pie recipe (www.allrecipes.com) for my 15-month-old. She eagerly ate every ingredient of it, and Daddy loved the leftovers for lunch at work.

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 c chopped onion
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried basil
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 (15-oz) cans mixed vegetables, drained (I used 1 16-oz bag frozen veggies instead)

2 lbs red potatoes, quartered (I left skins on)
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. grated Romano cheese (I used Parmesan)
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/3 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a medium baking dish (I used 9x13 glass cake pan).

2. Place the beef and onion in a skillet over medium heat. Season with rosemary and basil. Cook until beef is evenly brown; drain grease. Mix in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and mixed vegetables. Cook and stir until vebetables are heated through. Transfer to the baking dish.

3. Place potatoes in a pot with evough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook until tender (15-20 minutes). Remove from heat and drain. Mix butter, Romano cheese, garlic, salt, oregano, and milk into the pot. Mash together with a potato masher. Spread potato mixture over beef mixture.

4. Bake 30 minutes. Turn oven to broil, and continue cooking 3 minutes until potatoes are golden brown (I stopped after the 30 minutes of baking.)

I love it when people ask this question, I'm always looking for a good recipe! Here is the link to the archives of other times similar questions have been asked, so you have a few more ideas...
http://www.mamasource.com/requests/11093219103236685825/1...
And a recipe my son (now 3, but he has always loved it!) loves! Dad likes it too, so that's a big plus :)
Santa Fe chicken
1 cup reg raw rice
1 1/2 cups water (I through in a ckn bullion cube for more flavor)
1 cup salsa
garlic to taste
chopped onion (I think the origional recipe says 1 small onion, but I only use about a 1/3 of a onion, whatever you like)
1TBS butter
2 Chicken breasts (origional recipe says to use whole chicken breast, but I like cutting it up, easier for a kid to eat)

Saute your onion in butter until tender in a large frying pan (that you have a lid for), add salsa and water and bring to a boil, stir in rice and garlic, top with raw chicken, cover and lower heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 15 min, stir, turning chicken over and let simmer for another 15 min or until rice is done (my chicken is always done before the rice) top with shredded cheese and serve.
Obviously the hotter your salsa, the hotter your dish. If you are using a thicker salsa, you may need to add more water. Once I made it for my cousin's kids and all they had was a medium salsa, and it came out too spicy for the kids, so we topped it with some sour cream and it was just fine.

My son absolutely loves this:

1 large can of spaghettio's
1 pound beef
1 can peas
1 can corn

Cook beef and drain. Drain corn and peas. Combine all and heat until warm. It's better with canned spaghetti, although spaghettio's are easier for a toddler to eat

Tuna casserole

1 pkg egg noodles
1 large can mushroom soup
1 large can tuna

Cook noodles and combine all

Chicken casserole

1 pkg egg noodles
1 can chicken rice soup
1 can mushroom soup
1 large can chicken

Cook noodles and combine all

Most of the casseroles I make use canned soup-I, like you, am not very big on it. There are two casseroles that I make, that both of my kids LOVE!

One is just a goolash (sp?) type casserole. I use:

-Whole wheat spiral noodles
-1 jar of spaghetti sauce
-1 lb ground turkey, beef, or chicken
-Canned corn, frozen peas, etc.

What I actually do is pour a jar of spaghetti sauce in a blender. I usually add 1-2 whole carrots, fresh spinach, or zucchini to the blender. I have not tried all of them together, I usually just pick one. I blend the veggie with the sauce, while the noodles and meat are cooking. Once everything is done, throw it into the noodle pot and you have a pretty nutritious meal. My daycare kids used to LOVE this too! My nephew who only likes peanut butter sandwiches, has also eaten it!

Another recipe I make is called Pizza Pie-which is what my son named it. I use:

-1 lb ground turkey
-1 jar of spaghetti sauce (again I usually mix in a veggie)
-Approx. four servings of mashed potatoes
-Other veggies if wanted, but my kids don't really care for corn or canned peas, but you can experiment with different veggies.
-Shredded cheese-no specific amount, just what you want

Mix the ground turkey and 3/4 jar of spaghetti sauce. Reserve 1/4 of the jar for later. Layer the meat sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Add mashed potatoes on top. Pour the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese. Put in oven at 350 for approx. 20 minutes or until the mixture starts to bubble around the edges.

These are both really good, not sure if they are easy, but I do know that the kids love them!

Quick and easy and great for summer

1 package of wackymac (or any pasta, my daughter likes the colors in wacky mac)
2 12.5 ounce cans of chicken (or tuna)
Mayo
spices

cook pasta, drain and cooldown
add chicken (or tuna)
and mayo to taste
and pepper, onion powder, galic powder and itatian spices to taste

I usually make a big thing, and we munch on leftovers throughout the week

I get many of my favorite recipes (casseroles included- without soup) from the Cooking Light magazine. They also have a website www.cookinglight.com Check it out !

My mom used to make this caserole when we were young, she called it Potluck Caserole (I assume at some point somebody took this to a potluck). Now I make it but with a few changes and I call it At Home Caserole (I don't take it to potlucks). My husband calls it Goulash. It is a good homecooked meal and takes ingredients you may already have in your pantry.

1 lb. Macaroni noodles (cooked)
1 lb. Ground Beef or Turkey (cooked & drained)
1/2 jar Spaghetti Sauce
1 can Diced Tomatos (with basil, garlic, etc sauce)
1 can Kidney Beans or Red Beans (I use chili beans or beans that come with basil, garlic, etc. in the sauce)
1 can corn (drained)
1/2 onion(diced)
1 bell pepper (diced)
shredded cheddar cheese (some goes in the mix and some goes on top, as much as you like)

Cook noodles & ground beef seperately and drain. Mix all ingredients together using some of the cheese in the mixture. Put mixture in a caserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has melted. Serve.

My sister has her own variation on the recipe as well. You can adjust it to your taste and use different kinds of noodles, beans and spaghetti sauce. You can omit the bell pepper and onion if your kids don't like those as most kids don't.