Kid Casserole

It never ceases to surprise me no matter how much I travel, how tired I am when I come back. The phrase, "I need a vacation from my vacation" describes me perfectly. Which meant the first day back ended up being me sleeping for hours and afterwards I actually felt refreshed (oh, how short lived that was), so the hubby and I decided to have dinner with Justin and Luke! We actually ended up trying a Justin and Luke favorite that the hubby and I have never tried- Fuego's Taco. I think based on how much it seemed Justin and Luke liked Fuego's I was expecting more. It was good--do not get me wrong--but that was about it. Like it did not blow me away.

The hubby had surprised me with a few things when I came back: a new iPhone case which I was in desperate need for, sprinkles (which you just cannot get enough of) and a new game to play with Justin and Luke. Since I got a new game, after dinner we decided to go back to our place to make it a game night. Though before we did, I made a major fail. So at first I thought Justin and Luke were going to run back to their place to grab Cranium and then head to our place. But apparently they were just heading straight to our place. Well since I got the message mixed up, I went with the hubby to pick up snacks to enjoy during game night. Sadly, when we got back to our place- I saw Justin and Luke already there! They were waiting for 15 minutes :( Sorry Justin and Luke :/

What's up with the kid casserole? Well- until recently when I made the Sour Cream Noodle Bake, I realized that I had not really made any casseroles! Which I love! Usually the casserole recipes that I have tried in the past have always used condensed soup. I found this recipe on Pinterest that gloated about not using condensed soup- it looked yummy too and so it caught my attention for something I could make for dinner. How did I get the "kid"? I am not sure about y'all (okay, the Texas is rubbing off on me ;), but I always loved turkey hot dogs (since I do not eat beef) when I was a kid! And something about eating hot dogs as a grown up just makes me so nostalgic and reminiscent of my childhood--those fun days where you would play outside all day, come home and just eat up a delicious meal! Although the recipe called for chicken, I just got this fun idea to try to make a kid friendly version of it! I figured it would be a good recipe to share with all you moms out there :) And hey, it's always fun to be a big kid and eat food that takes you back to a good place! It ended up tasting great!

Add some french fried onions as a garnish. 

KID CASSEROLE

Adapted from Culinary.net

INGREDIENTS

Preheat Oven to 350F Degrees

2 c. uncooked rice- cooked
2 c. shredded cheese
1-16oz package of hotdogs, diced
1- 12oz can of Evaporated Milk
1/2 c. green onions, diced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 c. diced jalapenos (optional)
Pinch of salt
French fried onions (optional garnish)

DIRECTIONS

Lightly grease a large casserole dish with either cooking spray or butter- set aside. In a rice cooker, combine rice with 3.5 c. of water- set to cook.

Once rice is cooked, in the large casserole dish combine rice, 1 c. of cheese, hot dogs, evaporate milk, onions, eggs, butter, jalapenos, and salt. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed and well incorporated into the rice. Spread mixture in casserole dish with a spatula and smooth the top until even. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese on top of casserole. Bake 35-45 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean and cheese is melted. Garnish with French fried onions for a crispy texture!

Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving! Keep refrigerated.

Enjoy,
Chika