Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Noodle Bake

Two nights ago, I defrosted some chicken breasts only to realize that there were only two in the package and that it wasn't enough to feed (what I had planned) my family of five. I wanted to make a stuffed chicken breast meal, but that would have required at least 4 more pieces of chicken for our dinner and leftovers for the husband's lunch the next day. Doh! I had to do some fast thinking, since the chicken was already thawed and it was approaching the "witching hour" (parents, you know what I'm talking about...). I went digging in the pantry and extra freezer to figure out something else at the last minute. I formulated a plan for a casserole, since I knew I could chop my skimpy amount of chicken up and spread it throughout the dish. This meal-in-one ended up being really tasty and worked out perfectly. It really wasn't anything super creative (I know I have at least 3 similar recipes that I've posted in the past...maybe more); but it was a nice spin on classic flavors, and got me out of a dinner crunch. Hooray for casseroles!

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Noodle Bake

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 chicken breasts
garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 large bag of frozen broccoli florets
garlic salt
1/2 box of whole wheat rotini pasta (or your favorite pasta shape)
1 can of cheddar cheese condensed soup
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of cream cheese
6 slices of provolone cheese (or your favorite sliced cheese)
1/2 cup of shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 sleeve of butter crackers (such as Ritz)
cooking spray

Directions:
Place chicken breasts on cookie sheet and coat both sides with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Broil on high for 5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven when done, and let cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, dice into chunks and set aside.

While cooking chicken boil pasta in salted water. Drain and set aside once the pasta is cooked al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Place frozen broccoli in a microwave-safe container with a lid. Splash a couple of teaspoons of water into the container before cooking. Crack the lid, so container is not completely sealed and steam can escape. Cook for 5-6 minutes in the microwave. Drain excess water from broccoli, sprinkle with garlic salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together soup, sour cream, and cream cheese until smooth and well combined. Use some pasta water to thin out to the proper sauce consistency (you may only need a couple of splashes, not the whole cup of water.) Set aside.

Melt butter in microwave. Crush crackers into crumbs (I used my hands, working with a few crackers at a time) and toss into butter mixture until well-coated. Set aside.

Switch oven setting from broil to bake at 350 degrees.

Coat casserole dish with cooking spray.

Add cooked pasta, cooked/diced chicken, and cooked broccoli to bowl with soup mixture. Toss to coat all ingredients. Season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.

Spread mixture into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Layer cheese slices on top of Parmesan. Top casserole with buttery cracker crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Casserole Series #4: Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

A few months ago, I started a casserole series. I haven't updated it for awhile, because I really hadn't found any "worthy" casseroles to post lately. However, this one was pretty darn tasty, so I decided to deem it "Casserole Series-worthy". The flavor profile wasn't really anything new; I know I've made similar casseroles to this in the past. I also remember my mom making a version of this dinner, so it seems that this has been a family staple for years and years. However, even though this dish may not be totally unique, it was still a great example of what this meal-in-one has always embodied...homey, comforting, creamy, cheesy, chicken-y, broccoli-flavored goodness.



Creamy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hour.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1 cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of mayo
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup colby & Monterey jack cheese
1 bag frozen broccoli,thawed and chopped
salt & pepper to taste
cooked brown rice (optional, for serving)

Directions:
Cook chicken & shred. Meanwhile, chop the broccoli. Now, mix all ingredients together. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 2 qt. casserole dish & heat oven to 375 degrees.Cook for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with brown rice.



Casserole is never pretty on the plate...casserole photos always make me cringe. Oh well. Despite the tragic look of this meal, it was a crowd-pleaser. I do want to mention that this dish can be low carb if you choose to omit serving it over the brown rice. I did cut back on the amount of Cream of Chicken soup and mayo from the original recipe, and it still was creamy and delicious. My family loves a good casserole!

Casserole Series #3: Bubble Pizza Casserole

I promised my kids a "fun" Monday night dinner, since we've had a rough go of it lately. We had a monumentally stressful week last week, followed by the freaking flu. I thought a recovery meal was in order to help restore everyone's spirits back to normal. In our house a "fun" dinner equals pizza of some sort, but I didn't want to make the same ol'/same ol'. (I think my son would eat pepperoni pizza 24/7, if we'd let him.) Usually, I reserve these types of uber kid-friendly recipes for our Friday night meals, but considering the circumstances, I wanted to shake things up a bit. I found this recipe on a website I frequent that has cheap, easy, and kid-tested recipes on it. This bubble up pizza caught my attention because of the exciting title. Pizza that bubbles???? Yes, please! We have never been known to turn down any form of pizza (or casserole for that matter) in this house.

Bubble Pizza Casserole
Adapted From: MomsWhoThink.com

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 Tablespoon minced, dried onions
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 tubes refrigerator biscuits
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Brown the beef in a skillet and drain. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Stir pizza sauce and spices into browned hamburger and simmer until heated through.
3. Quarter the biscuits and place in a 13-in x 9-in x 2-in greased baking dish. Top with beef mixture.
4. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake 5-10 more minutes, until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.





The Result:
Oh man, can I tell you that I felt a little dirty while enjoying this meal??? Is that weird? Okay, don't respond to that...I don't want to know. It was all the canned biscuit dough that did it. I know there is little--if any--nutritional value in canned biscuits. With that said, this was AWESOME. The only way it could have been better is if there were $100 bills baked into the dish. Cheesy, doughy, beefy, pizza-ish...Y-U-M! AND it was cheap to make! AND it was easy to put together! This was a hit with kids and adults alike. Fan-freakin'-tastic!

Casserole Series #2: Holiday Green Bean Casserole

I bet you thought I forgot about my casserole series, didn't you???? Well, I didn't. We just hadn't had any good casseroles pop up on the menu plan lately. I decided to bust this one out just in time for Thanksgiving. You're welcome!!!

This is my favorite green bean casserole recipe. It is traditional enough to satisfy the typical, holiday green bean casserole requirement...but with a twist. I loosely based this concoction on a side dish recipe that my friend, Dani gave to me a few years ago. I say loosely because I meant to follow Dani's recipe, but I got a little sidetracked. Usually, when preparing something from an actual recipe, I start out with the right intention. I want to make the dish as it is written--I really do---but it sometimes doesn't work out that way. I don't have patience for reading directions or ingredients lists thoroughly. I typically miss something, or I don't have something I need on hand, or I have something else that needs to be used up. Yeah, that's just how it goes most of the time, AND that is exactly what happened in this case. I had the caramelized onions to use up and I was out of some of the other "casserole" ingreidents. I decided to go ahead and make my own spin on this classic recipe and, thankfully, it was delicious. Whew!

Casserole Series #2: Holiday Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons AP flour
1 cup milk (more if needed to thin the sauce)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb. of shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese (I used a combo of both)
1 cup of sour cream
1 cup of caramelized onions
2-3 small bags of frozen green beans, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I used butter crackers, such as Ritz)
1 cup of fried, dried onion topping
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Mix in cracker crumbs, until all are coated. Set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of AP flour. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the flour is starting to turn a light beige color. Add milk and whisk continually until thickened, making a roux. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese. Once cheese is melted, remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Add additional milk if needed to thin out a bit. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add thawed green beans to a large bowl. Combine with caramelized onions. Add cheese sauce. Top with cracker crumb mixture. Add an additional layer of dried/fried onion topping over the cracker crumbs. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until heated through. Serve and enjoy!

The Result:
Yummy green bean casserole goodness!

Casserole Series #1: Chicken Stuffing Casserole

I've been toying with the idea of putting together a casserole series on my blog for awhile. I love a good casserole, and I seem to be finding an over-abundance of casserole recipes lately. I think the sometimes frowned-upon casserole deserves it's moment in the spotlight. So many people poo-poo the casserole, and I don't understand why. Really, why all the hate???? Obviously, they are not gourmet fare with well-balanced, inventive flavor profiles...but casseroles are yummy! They are such a cheap and easy way to feed our entire family of five and still have leftovers the next day. Also, casseroles are usually kid-friendly. I think we should elevate the casserole to a respectable spot on the dinner table! So, I've decided to go for it and give casseroles they're own special feature on my blog. Casserole lovers unite!!!

Chicken Stuffing Casserole
From: momswhothink.com via Pinterest

Ingredients:
4 whole chicken breasts, boiled
2 cans cream of chicken soup mixed with 1 cup chicken broth
3/4 to 1 pound Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter
2 cups boxed stuffing

Directions:
1. Chop chicken up into bite-size pieces.

2. Layer in bottom of 13 x 11-inch baking dish.

3. Pour soup mixture over chicken. Cover with cheese slices.

4. Melt butter and mix into stuffing. Spread the stuffing mixture over the cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

6. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer.



The Result:
This was really, really good...albeit a little soupy. It did thicken up after it cooled down a little bit, but it was very saucy. I think you could get by with one can of soup and 1/2 cup of chicken broth...but that's just my opinion. Overall, this was a fantastic casserole and a great way to kick off my casserole recipe series!