Categories
Food

{Make Ahead Meals} Chicken Pesto Pasta Casserole

My Mom came down this weekend armed with this recipe which had been emailed around from her friends. The note on the recipe says it’s from Simple & Delicious May 2010 FYI.

Ingredients
1 box pasta {we used bowtie}
6 c cubed cooked chicken {we used a Costco rotisserie chicken}
4 c shredded Italian cheese
3 c fresh spinach, cut
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar Alfredo sauce
1 jar prepared pesto sauce
1.5 c milk
½ c seasoned bread crumbs
½ grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil

Cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the box. While that’s boiling, in a large bowl, combine chicken Italian cheese, spinach, tomatoes, sauces & milk. Drain pasta & add it in the bowl. Toss to coat.

Transfer to baking dishes {1 large 9×13 or we did 3 smaller 8” square pans}. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan & olive oil; sprinkle over top of casseroles.

Cover with foil &/lids. Bake covered on 350 for approximately 45 mins.

Can be frozen up to three months. If baking after frozen, recipe recommends thawing overnight in the fridge but still adding a few minutes to the baking time.

Chicken Pesto Pasta Casserole
Chicken Pesto Pasta Casserole

This recipe was so delicious! The square pan made enough for dinner Monday night & two lunches/snacks for me for work this week. I’m really looking forward to enjoying the other two we have frozen.

Categories
Food

Cheesy Mexican Chicken

I’ve been bored with our go-to easy baked chicken recipes. After seeing an email from Kraft Foods Tuesday, I searched their site & found this recipe. I did it a little different, so I’ll share what I did.

Ingredients
4 medium-large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pack taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 & 1/2 c cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 c milk
crumbled tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 375. While that’s warming, place chicken breasts in a dish. I used our favorite 8×11 one.

Mix together taco seasoning, soup, 1 c cheese & milk.

Mixture ready to top the chicken.
Mixture ready to top the chicken.

Pour mixture over the chicken.

Top with tortilla chips. I just crumbled what we had left of a bag & sprinkled a few handfuls over the chicken.

Oven ready
Oven ready

Bake for 30 minutes covered with foil. Top with remaining 1/2 cheese & bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered. IMG_20130108_203052

I served this is Spanish rice & it was awesome. Very easy & still tasty. We were full on one breast each, so this made enough for two dinners. Score!

Categories
Food

Snack Day Recipes

My work had their annual ‘snack day’ last Thursday. It’s a 60 person pot luck which equates to an all day eating feast!

I brought in cranberry white chocolate cookies that I’ve made for years because they’re delicious & look festive for the holdiays.

There were lots of biscuits, cookies, cupcakes, donuts, sausage balls & meatballs. But what stole the show for me was the two recipes below. I begged for the recipes before 10 am & just had to share {plus posting them helps me remember the recipe}!

Fiesta Dip

8oz cream cheese, softened
16 oz sour cream
11 oz can sweet yellow & white corn, drained
15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

I love the easy directions. Just dump it all together, mix it up & cover for at least 24 hours. It can be served cold or warm with tortilla chips. It had just the right hint of spicy to counter all the sweet dips & cookies I’d eaten that day. Perfect for any event.

Chicken Salsa Wraps

1 can chicken, shredded
1 container garden veggie cream cheese
1/2 c thick & chunky salsa
tortillas

Mix the chicken, cream cheese & salsa together in a small bowl. Spread thin layer on tortilla. Roll up the tortilla & slice in approximately 1 inch pieces. My coworker served them with extra salsa on the side & red & green tortilla chips!

Categories
Everything Else Food

Tuttorosso Tomatoes {review & giveaway}

You know you love tomatoes & have had a bit of a love affair with them when a tomato company finds you!

I was contacted a little while ago from a rep from Tuttorosso tomatoes. She’d seen my Make Ahead meals and wanted to send us some tomato products to try.

The Tuttorosso package arrived just in time! My Mom has been down to help the last couple weekends & she’s cooked!

This Sunday we took The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe {from her latest cookbook} & switched it up a little {my Mom’s adventurous like that}. We made it in the crockpot, boiled the chicken breasts before shredding, & just tossed in a little less of the spices {probably could’ve done more}. We also subbed a big can of Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes instead of the little bit of tomatoes & didn’t include most of the water. The Tuttorosso tomatoes were delicious! We topped the soup with cheese & have had it for three meals this week.

PW’s Chicken Tortilla Soup; Tuttorosso style

My parents’ stayed in town Monday to help take care of sick Zach. Mom took ingredients we had on hand, chicken, breadcrumbs, cheese, red peppers, mushrooms & Tuttorosso tomato sauce & created baked Chicken parmesan while Zach napped. The tomato sauce was so yummy. And a perfect warm dinner to come home to after a long day of work Monday night. The Chicken Parmesan with the sauce made for great lunch leftovers too.

Mom’s Chicken Parm topped with Tuttorosso tomato sauce

You can purchase Tuttorosso tomatoes at your local Koger. Or even better, one of you can win your own Tuttorosso tomatoes prize package. Perfect for you to make your favorite tomato dishes to warm up the cold winter nights!

Enter by leaving a comment on what’s your favorite tomato based dish. I’ll close the giveaway next Thursday the 27th & announce the winner Friday morning.

Tuttorosso is also having daily giveaway’s on the Tuttorosso Facebook page leading up to Christmas. Feel free to check it out if you’d like. A little bird told me that today’s winner will get a gift pack of Tuttorosso products and recipes. Friday’s prize will be a utility Set {4 piece} by Wusthof knives, & they’re ending it Saturday with a Tumbleweed Ceramic Tomato Dip Dish {set of two}.

Good luck!
I received the canned tomatoes, some recipe cards & a cute pot holder for purpose of this review from Red Gold/Tuttorosso tomatoes. I was not otherwise compensated for this post & all opinions are genuinely my own.
Categories
Babies Food

{Make Ahead Meals} Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice Casserole

We’ve received a bunch of chicken casseroles as chicken is my go to meat. This was one of our favorites {& I have this recipe written down}. SIL Beth made this one after finding it on eatingwell.com

Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice casserole
Ingredients
2 c water
1/2 c wild rice
2 lb boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp EVOO
2 leeks, rinsed & chopped
1 & 1/2 lbs mushrooms, sliced
1 c dry sherry
1/4 c flour
2 c milk
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/2 c sour cream
1/3 c chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 c frozen French cut green beans
1/2 c sliced almonds

Combine water & rice in small saucepan. Bring to boil, then cover & reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cook until tender for 35-40 minutes then drain.

Meanwhile, place chicken in large skillet, add lightly salted water to cover & bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat & simmer until chicken is cooked through {10-15 mins}. Transfer to plate or cutting board to let cool.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add leaks & cook until lightly brown {4-5 minutes}, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms, continue stirring while cooking until their liquid is out & evaporated {12-14 minutes}. Add sherry & bump the heat up to high. Cook until most of the liquid is gone {5-7 minutes}. Sprinkle the vegetables with flour then add them to the skillet. Add the milk then bring to simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the cheese, sour cream, parsley, salt & pepper. Remove from heat.

Spray a 9×13 dish with cooking spray. Place the rice in the 9×13 dish. Cut the chicken in bite sized pieces then add them on top of the rice. Add the green beans then pour the sauce over & spread evenly. Sprinkle on the almonds.

At this point, you can either cover & freeze. Or bake on 350 until almonds are golden brown {about 30 minutes}. Enjoy ~ we sure did!