Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

3-4 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can rotel

1 onion, chopped
tablespoon of cumin

12 oz. package spaghetti

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
half block of velvetta, cubed

butter

Preheat oven to 350

Cook your chicken and spaghetti to your liking. Saute onion in butter.

Mix together cream of mushroom, sauted onion, cumin, chicken, and velveeta cubes.

Drain spaghetti and place in a prepared casserole dish. Pour soup mixture on top. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. Cook at 350 for 25 minutes.

When removed from oven stir together and serve.

Comments: I love chicken spaghetti. It could be one of my favorite dishes. I like it so much it was served at my wedding. I've tried many, many chicken spaghetti recipes. This is the conglomeration of my two favorites. It comes from my friend, Meredith, and my Mother-in-law. I love how cheesy and creamy combining the two recipes have made it. J and C both love this recipe just as much as I do. I like to use the Hot Rotel to add a little spice. Other veggies could always be added to up the nutritional value.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Cassrole

From Bunny's Warm Oven

1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup water
1 cup Thick and Chunky Salsa
3/4 cup uncooked long grain, white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 can Mexicorn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 chicken breasts
Mexican blend cheese

stir together soup, water, salsa, rice, onion powder, corn and beans in a casserole dish.

Season the chicken (I used a southwestern rub) and place on top of rice-soup mixture.

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until chicken is well cooked

Sprinkle with cheese and allow to melt before serving

Comments: This was SOOOO good. I actually put off making this because I wasn't excited about it. I was afraid it was going to be bland and no fun. But there was great flavor. It was colorful (thats important to C). The best part though: SO SIMPLE. This will definitely be a dish we have in heavy rotation.

Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake

From ZOE

1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz tomato paste
1 cup water
1 cup milk
4 tbsp chicken broth
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp thyme
8 oz spiral pasta (or whatever you have/like)
2 cups mozzarella
1 tbsp bread crumbs

Heat a pan over medium heat with olive oil. Cook diced onion until softened. Mix in minced garlic.

Place chicken in pan and cook until no longer pink.

Pour in tomato paste, milk, water, and broth, Stir together. Mix in thyme and oregano.

While sauce is simmering boil water and cook pasta until al dente.

Prep dish. Layer half of pasta, half of cheese, and half of sauce mixture. Repeat.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs

Bake at 325 for 25 minutes

Comments: I don't do a lot of measuring when it comes to spices. I can usually judge pretty well and make adjustments according to our (aka: my) tastes. I missed it on this one. I definitely did not put in enough oregano or thyme. Otherwise this dish would have been wonderful. Next time I make it I will definitely adjust my spices. I also will probably use a different cheese, possibly an Italian blend. The leftovers on this have been really great also.

Taco Casserole

From Cully's Kitchen

1 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning
Mexican blend shredded cheese
15 oz refried beans
1 cup salsa
2.5 oz sliced black olives
1 tomato, chopped
corn chips, crushed

Brown beef and drain. Add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions.

Prep casserole dish and layer crushed tortilla chips on the bottom

Heat beans according to directions. Add 1 cup cheese and 1 cup of salsa. Mix well

Pour mixture over chips. Top with beef. Sprinkle with cheese and olives

Bake at 375 until cheese melts. Sprinkle with tomatoes before serving.

Comments: This was pretty good. Very simple and quick. I wasn't overly impressed. I have several different types of Mexican casseroles and this would probably be among my least favorite. It did, however, give me a craving for King Ranch Chicken casserole. I'm sure you will be seeing that recipe in the coming weeks.

Marsala Chicken Casserole

From Living The Road Less Traveled

2 tbsp butter
10 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
1.5 tbsp flour
1/2 cup Marsala or white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups chopped/shredded chicken
2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large skillet, heat butter over medium high heat until just melted. Saute mushrooms in butter about 5 minutes..

Sprinkle with flour and stir for about a minute

Stir in wine and cream. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. About 3 minutes.

Stir in 2 cups of water, parsley, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

In a casserole dish, spread (uncooked) rice in an even layer. Top with chicken. Pour the mushroom gravy on top. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Sprinkle with parmesan to serve

Comments: I love chicken marsala, so this was any easy way to serve it. I had very high hopes for this dish. I was a little disappointed by it though. It didn't have the flavor I hoped it would. It was good and I will likely serve it again, but it was just slightly bland for my tastes.

Baked Spaghetti

J loves spaghetti. I'm ok with it. My big issue is that I can't eat it leftover for some reason. I'm always look for recipes that J and C will love, and that I can eat leftover. I found this recipe and thought I would give it a try. Usually a layer of cheese on top will make anything acceptable leftover.

Baked Spaghetti

16 oz Angel Hair pasta (any pasta will work. J prefers Angel Hair and thats what was in the pantry)
1 Jar/Can of Spaghetti Sauce (we had big cans in the pantry. I think it was 26 oz)
1 lb Ground Beef (any ground meat will work)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 flour
1/4 Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Garlic Powder
12 oz Evaporated milk
3 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook noodles and brown meat.

Combine noodles, sauce and meat in a large bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium to low heat. Add flour, parmesan cheese, salt and garlic powder.

At this point the recipe said to stir until smooth and bubbly. Mine never got smooth and bubbly so I just stirred until everything was mixed together well.

Add evaporated milk and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese. Stir until thickened.

Pour half of the noodle mixture into greased casserole dish. Top with cheese mixture. Pour the remaining noodle mixture on top. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on top.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 min

Review: This recipe was great! It makes A LOT, so its good for a big crowd or if you want leftovers for several days . C has become less of a human garbage disposal and a little more picky, but she loved this. I also think this is going to be great left over. Next time I make it I might add in some veggies to the sauce (olives, chopped onions, etc).