Baked Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti is a dish that is easily found in the South at any given church potluck, family gathering and any other good ole comfort food setting.

Typically, when found at these gatherings, the ingredients include a box of Velveeta and a can or 2 of rotel...

Just not my idea of yummy.

Here's an easy, healthier and much tastier homemade version:

Mmmmm....

Baken Chicken Spaghetti

1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken

2-3 cups of uncooked spaghetti 

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1 cup chopped broccoli

1cup chopped cauliflower

2 cups of cheese

1 can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

*chicken broth-enough to cook spaghetti in, then, reserve 1-2 cups for casserole

parsley, salt & pepper to taste

Generally, I boil my chicken (whatever your preference-breasts, thighs, whole, fryer pieces, etc) to cook the chicken and make broth. I will pull the chicken out and let it cool before picking the meat off. Then, I use the broth for cooking the spaghetti just before it's al dente and reserve the broth needed for the casserole.

Today, I didn't use any chicken (our fridge/freezer died last week and our food had to all be replaced, so an organic chicken was out of budget this week) which meant, no chicken broth. So, I just cooked my pasta in some chicken Better than Bouillon and reserved 1 cup of it afterwards. 

Take the cooked pasta and put it in your baking dish ( I used a 9x13" pyrex). Mix in the veggies, chicken and the can of soup. I used an organic version that was not condensed, so I only needed to add 1 cup of the chicken broth.*If you are using a condensed soup, then add 2 cups of broth. Stir in 1 cup of cheese and continue stirring until everything is combined pretty well. This is when I like to taste before adding my parsley, salt and pepper just so I don't over season it. Based on your tasting, add the seasonings to taste. Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 25-35 minutes until it's bubbling with goodness.

Let it rest a few minutes before serving and then, enjoy!!

So much better than a processed cheese spread and a can of rotel.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'm pretty proud of myself. 

I cooked a great supper 2 nights in a row.

Lately, I've been otherwise distracted and cooking, the way I normally do it, has taken a back seat.

Yesterday, I made a tomato-free version of Chicken Tortilla Soup. 

I didn't even miss the tomatoes.

So, so yummy...

Two nights ago I roasted a delicious whole organic chicken. 

With the remaining chicken and carcass, I made the broth for the soup.

I threw in some carrots, onion and garlic and filled my pot with water and let it simmer all day.

Another big pat on my back, because this beckons to the olden days (before child number 2) when I used to meticulously meal plan.

I'd incorporate every detail to use and reuse everything we had on hand for delicious meals.

I've had a twinge of guilt hanging over my head lately about being so wasteful.

I'm kicking my own butt back into gear.

Okay, 

Back on topic...soup!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

-pot full of chicken stock (yeah, I don't really measure)

-1 can of black beans

-1 can of white northern beans (if I'd really been on top of my game, I'd have used dried beans)

-1 cup of frozen corn (off the cob)

-2 carrots, diced

-1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

-3-4 cloves of garlic, diced

-1 diced pepper...I was going to use a red bell pepper, but it was past due :( I'd imagine any pepper to your liking would make a great addition to this soup

-2 cups of cooked rice 

-Spices...approximately (because again, I don't measure) 1 Tablespoon of paprika & chili powder

-1/2 cup of heavy cream (or for dairy free use plain almond milk or other df milk)
salt & pepper to taste

Also, if you're not tomato-free like we are (99.9% of the time, sometimes I must cheat), then a nice addition to the soup would be a jar of canned tomatoes from last summer's garden. What you don't can your own? Well, you should. Grocery store tomatoes are not real tomatoes. :) Or at least, that's the Sanders' family opinion.

Optional Garnishes: avocado, sour cream, green onions, cheese, tortilla chips, cornbread, cilantro...

After making my stock, I strained it and picked the remaining meat off the chicken. After sauteeing the onion, garlic and peppers, add  everything but the rice and heavy cream. Let it cook until the carrots are tender. Add in the rice and cook for another several minutes. Taste to adjust for any seasonings. Just before serving stir in the heavy cream. 

I garnished mine with avocado and crumbled up homemade cornbread. It was delish!!

And don't worry, I'm sure I'll eat another bowl soon and update this post with a lovely picture :)

Tomato Free Sloppy Joes and Homemade Buns

I was pretty sad when I realized Charlie was reacting to tomatoes via my breastmilk. Eh, I got over it, but I miss a lot of my easy go-to meals like spaghetti, chili and sloppy joes, not to mention, fresh homegrown organic maters this summer. We have tons of our homegrown maters that I canned just dying to be made into one of these dishes. Alas, they still remain untouched. Lately, I have been craving these dishes, so I began my quest for tomato free versions. The last on the list to be conquered was sloppy joes. 

These, my friends, were the biggest success! SO yummy! The tomato base was not even missed.

Oh, yeah!

Tomato Free Sloppy Joes

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 yellow onion

3-4 garlic cloves

2 carrots

1 cup (or so) winter squash puree ( I used butternut squash)

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon dry mustard

2 tablespoons worchestire (or Bragg's Liquid Amino works just as well)

Pinch of chili powder

water

s&p to taste

I rough chopped all the veggies and sauteed them in EVOO. After a nice sautee and they are soft, toss them into the food processor with a little water to puree them. It doesnt have to be a smooth puree but enough so that this can become the "sauce". While this is going on, I browned some organic ground beef (lentils or ground turkey would work as well). Take the veggie puree and pour it over the cooked ground beef in the pan and begin adding the squash puree. *Hint: an easy trick is to buy the tetra-pak soup purees and just pour it into the sauce pan as needed. A lot less work and mess involved.* Add in remaining spices and allow to simmer. Check the sauce while cooking and add water or more squash puree as needed to thin out or thicken up the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. 

You know it's going to taste good with all those beautiful colors!

To serve, place a generous scoop on top of a bun. And by all means, make your own!

Another friend of mine passed this recipe on when I was frustrated by failing to find a fantastic bun recipe. I enjoy baking our breads and once I made these buns, we were hooked! And, shhh, don't tell, but they're EASY. You won't buy a better bun at the grocery store.

Moomie's Beautiful Burger Buns

 There's a reason they're called beautiful buns.

He's just a plain goose who just wants a plain bun. 

They are that good, folks.