Just about everyone who reads my posts knows that my family and I are BIG on food. Good food brings people together, fills our tummies and satisfies our souls. There’s just something comforting about good food.
One of my most recent recipes is definitely a comfort food that fills tummies and will leave you feeling satisfied!
Introducing my Cheesy Potato Bacon Casserole!
This delicious dish is perfect for pot luck dinners, families and for feeding a crowd since it’s loaded with all sorts of delicious ingredients such as bacon, chicken, sour cream, garlic, spices and of course cheese. 🙂
It’s inexpensive and a people pleaser too!
Before I get to the recipe for this amazing dish, I just wanted to take a moment to share with you an awesome contest connected to a cause that I care very much about and I think you will too!
Find out below how you can help those in need and also get a chance to win free groceries for a year!
This time of year can be a real struggle financially for families – especially with the buildup of post-holiday bills and also with rising food costs.
It’s not only a challenging time for families, but it’s also difficult for many non-profit organizations that rely on donations in order to continue helping others. Unfortunately, it’s most often the case that after the Holidays and Christmas time has ended, donations to these organizations slow down.
The need, however, of the people never slows. The services of non-profit organizations such as foodbanks and others continue to be in demand throughout the year – not just the holidays.
With this in mind and to help combat the pressure many Canadian families are experiencing, I’ve teamed up with Maple Leaf Foods in an effort to help bring awareness to this important issue.
Starting on Feb 15, Maple Leaf has been giving 10,000 families across Canada $100 of free groceries – this totals nearly $100,000 in free groceries for those in need!
That’s amazing!
As part of this, Maple Leaf has launched the “Feed it Forward” contest in an effort to help Canadians #FeedItForward and give back to the volunteers who’ve made a deep impact on their lives.
We’re asking Canadians to Feed It Forward and recognize the great people in their communities who help others (especially those who face hunger) through their support and volunteerism.
Do you know someone or an organization who’s made a positive difference by feeding the potential of others?
If you do, please take a moment to fill out the nomination form at this link. It’s a very simple form and will take less than 5 minutes to fill out – so please do!
Your nominee could receive a $10,000 donation toward their organization AND also receive free Maple Leaf groceries for a year!
Also, just by nominating someone, YOU have the chance to receive free Maple Leaf groceries for a year!
For the contest I’m nominating the Red Door Family Shelter, here in Toronto. They’re a wonderful organization who assists families, refugees and women who are escaping violence in their lives. They provide shelter and support to over 500 families every year and this includes 24-hour emergency housing, childcare and counselling as well as a weekly foodbank.
I’m nominating them for all their hard work and for the hope that they’ve provided so many. As a way of sharing my gratitude for the work they’ve done, I’m also giving the shelter this $100 gift card to put toward their grocery costs.
Did you know that 1 in 8 families and 1 in 6 children face hunger on a regular basis here in Canada? To me, it’s just inconceivable that in such a wonderful and abundant country such as ours, this continues to be an issue.
To help these children and families reach their potential, it’s important to have access to good food. Mothers shouldn’t have to worry about where their children’s next meal is going to come from. Children should be able to concentrate on having fun and just be kids without the worry of hunger.
You can #FeedItForward too – just by nominating someone! 🙂
Good food isn’t just for filling tummies – it nourishes the soul as well.
I’m thankful there are so many hard working volunteers who work tirelessly to help people lead better, healthier lives with good food. The Red Door Family Shelter and it’s volunteers have been there for so many women and families in their time of need.
Do you have a heart-warming story of a volunteer or person who has gone above-and-beyond to make people’s lives better with good food? Please take a moment to fill out the nomination form!
Thanks so much for taking the time to read about this wonderful contest that’s helping so many families in need across Canada. I hope you will consider nominating someone you think deserves who deserves to be recognized for their volunteer working to help others. 🙂
As promised, please fin my Cheesy Bacon Potato Casserole recipe below!
This is a wonderful comfort food and I’m sure you and your family will LOVE it!
PrintCheesy Potato Bacon Casserole
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 - 8 large servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pack (500g) Maple Leaf bacon, cut into pieces, cooked and drained.
- 2 tsp bacon fat – reserved from the cooked bacon
- 3 – 4 lbs cooked Maple Leaf chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 lbs potatoes, cubed (peeled or not, it's your preference)
- 3 – 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 14 oz plain cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- Salt, pinch – adjust to your taste
- Pepper, pinch – adjust to your taste
- 2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 green onions OR a bunch of chives, chopped and divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, butter, Italian seasoning, garlic, bacon fat, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl (Make sure it's big enough to fit everything – potatoes, etc).
- Into the mixing bowl add half the green onions and 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese. Combine well.
- To the mixing bowl, add the potatoes and the chicken. try to coat everything.
- Spray a 9″x13″ glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- Pour the contents of the mixing bowl evenly into the baking pan.
- Place in the oven covered with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove the foil and stir around the potatoes.
- Bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with half the bacon pieces.
- Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.
- Sprinkle remaining green onions on top.
- Return the casserole to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes for the cheese to melt on top.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Disclosure – This blog post was sponsored by Maple Leaf Foods but the opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
#FeedItForward Contest Rules/Criteria
- Visit this link to nominate someone in your community who is using food to make a positive difference in people’s lives. They could receive a $10,000 donation towards their organization and enjoy free Maple Leaf groceries for a year. And just by nominating them you could have the opportunity to receive free Maple Leaf groceries for a year.
- The nominee must volunteer with or work for a registered not-for-profit organization or community group (kids camp, community drop-in centre, school nutrition program, etc.) that uses food as a key component of supporting their program goals.
The organization or community group must rely on donations for the majority of their operating costs. They cannot be registered businesses or for-profit companies. - The organization must have a clearly defined strategy, vision or program for how it uses food to improve people’s lives through, but not limited to, nourishment and skill building (nutrition education, meals and food hamper delivery, cooking and food preparation skills, etc.)
- The nominee must have a deep commitment to the organization based on either their years of service, contributions to advancing the organization’s food program or service delivery, commitment to go-above-and beyond to their defined roles and responsibilities.
- NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES: A maximum of ten (10) Prizes (each with a retail value of approximately $10,000) are available to be won. One (1) of these Prizes is available to be won by an eligible resident of Quebec. The remaining nine (9) Prizes are available to be won by eligible residents of other Canadian provinces and territories, namely, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Maximum of one (1) Prize per Nominee. Entrants do not receive Prizes or any other form of compensation.
