Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole

This was also super delicious! But my boyfriend said it had too much cheese, while I secretly thought that it could always use more cheese…

Ingredients

8oz medium pasta shells, uncooked

no-stick cooking spray

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper = 1 medium bell pepper (I didn’t include this)

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, undrained (I didn’t use this)

1 15oz can tomato sauce (since I didn’t use the above, I put extra sauce on the top of the casserole to make sure it wasn’t dry)

1 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese, divided (I think it would be nice to use just a bag of mozzerela)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt.

Meanwhile, spray 8×8” baking disk with cooking spray.

Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sprinkle with garlic powder. Cook 2-3 minutes and then add bell pepper. Cook until pepper is tender and chicken is no longer pink in centers.

Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, 3/4 cup cheese, and cooked pasta.

Transfer mixture to prepared dish and sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake 15 minutes or until cheese melts and mixture is bubbly.

Source: Walmart Meal Solutions magazine in the paper.

Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Dinner last night was wonderful! I’ve found that I like cooking and feeding people. I’ve also discovered that I have a secret longing to spell “potato” with an “e” at the end.

The first time I had this dish was when a friend of mine made it for the two of us to eat while she was introducing me to Dr. Who, which is amazing, by the way!

Alrighty, the recipe is as follows…

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons garlic powder

6 tablespoons hot sauce (since only two out of five of the people eating this enjoy hot sauce [my boyfriend and I], I didn’t include the hot sauce in the sauce; I had it on the table in case anyone wanted it)

double the above ingredients to have two sauces; see directions below

10 whole medium potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (the recipe suggests you leave the skins on, so I did, and it was tasty)

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (this was my first experience cutting raw chicken; Grandma helped me, actually she took pity on me and did much of the chicken cutting)

2 cups fiesta blend cheese or a mix of cheddar and Monterey jack (2 cups of shredded cheese = one standard sized bag; depending on how much of a cheese person you are, I’d suggest that you put two bags on there)

1 cup diced green onion (I don’t like onions, so I didn’t include this)

1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon (I adore bacon, but didn’t include it; I think it was primarily out of laziness)

Directions

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. (Yes, you really do have to turn the oven on that high.)

Coat an 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray and set it aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. (I mixed this by hand because it was easier to manage than with a spoon.)

Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the sauce as possible.

Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside.

While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the leftover sauce to coat. Put it in the refrigerator to marinate until the potatoes are ready. (Realistically, there won’t be any sauce left after you’ve coated the potatoes, so make a second, separate sauce for the chicken.)

When the potatoes are fully cooked, remove them from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken.

In a bowl, mix together the cheese, bacon, and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mix.

Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly.

Serve with extra hot sauce, ranch dressing, or sour cream