Chicketti

When Eliza was born my friend brought dinner to us one night. We loved what she brought and asked her for the recipe. Unfortunately it has cream of mushroom soup in it. I hesitate in posting this recipe after Steph and I talked about possibly banning cream of anything soups from this blog! Too bad those not so healthy soups make everything taste good and are so darn convenient!! But this chicketti really is so good and easy to make and it's a good way to use up some red/green pepper that’s about to go bad. We like this so much we have it every month or two.  

CHICKETTI

 

Ingredients:

½ pkg. cooked spaghetti

1 ½ c. chicken, cooked

¼ c. red and green peppers

½ c. onion

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ c. chicken broth

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1 ¾ c. grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

While spaghetti is cooking, chop chicken, onion, and peppers. Combine in bowl. Add cream of mushroom, broth, salt and pepper. Add drained spaghetti. Stir and pour into casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake at 350F for 30 min.

I buy noodles in large quantities so I just guess on how many to cook. Enough to fill a 9x13 pan but not too many to where the final product is dry. I don’t follow all the measurements above; I go pretty light on the chicken and cheese and heavy on the peppers and sometimes add sautéed mushrooms. I made it once without chicken and it was good but I prefer it with chicken even if it’s only a little bit. I like the chicken, peppers, and onions diced up pretty small.

As a side note, this is what I use to make broth. My mother-in-law gave it to me. It works just like bouillon cubes but it's better for you (no MSG, etc.) and it has to be refrigerated after opening. I'm all for healthier alternatives that taste the same! 

Also I bet you could use left over turkey from thanksgiving, switch it out for the chicken, and make a delicious "turketti."

Rotini and Sweet Pepper Primavera

All through college I had one main cookbook that I referred to for any recipe that wasn't from my mom. It is my oldest and dearest cookbook. Enter, Better Homes and Gardens.

In the book it says, "Primavera means 'springtime' in Italian. This creamy pasta, brimming with tender asparagus, crisp sweet pepper, and tiny baby squash, is the essence of that welcome season."

How can you not make this meal with an intro like that? I'm here to vouch for it--our family loves this meal! I never really stick to the measurements suggested here, just throw in however much you want of everything. It seems to always work out in the end.

14 ounces asparagus spears
8 ounces dried rotini (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 large red or yellow sweet pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup halved baby pattypan squash or sliced yellow summer squash
1 10-oz. container refrigerated light Alfredo sauce
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh tarragon or thyme (I usually put in 1 tsp. dried tarragon)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I leave that out because it's WAY too hot for us)

Chop up your veggies into 1-inch bias-sliced pieces. Cook pasta according to directions, adding the asparagus, squash, and sweet pepper to pasta for the last 3 minutes of cooking. (Isn't that such a cool trick? I love how it saves dirtying another pan!) Drain. Return pasta and vegetables to pot.

Meanwhile, heat up your sauce with tarragon. If you are a vegan or just an over-achiever, you could always make Steph's vegan alfredo sauce instead of the bottled stuff. Pour it over your pasta and vegetables, stirring gently to coat.

Picture to come...

Fajitas

This is another one of those "idea" posts. It's not a fancy recipe but it's an idea for dinner that may come in handy! We LOVE fajitas at our house. It's another one of those meals we eat once or twice a month. Our 2 year old can't eat them very well by himself so we just make rice and put the fajita filling over rice for him and he loves it. We've tried several different fajita seasoning packets and this one is by far the best! Just follow the instructions on the packet.

For the tortillas we usually buy the uncooked refrigerated ones. Or you may even try using Lindsay's homemade tortilla recipe! We sometimes top them with sour cream too. Mmm.

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers

I'm sure you're all aware that 70-80% of my recipes have come from Our Best Bites. It's no secret--they're awesome. If nothing else, I am just compiling some good meatless recipes so when I feel like I need to resort to my old recipes just becasue I can't think of anything to make, I'll have a good collection on this blog. Plus, these are super good. I love meals where you eat "the whole package". Like soup in bread bowls, or these stuffed bell peppers.

Ingredients:

4 (if they're very large) - 6 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange but not green)

Olive Oil

1/2 cup rice or quinoa

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 – 1 jalapeno, minced (or you could sub a small 3oz can of mild green chilies)
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 green onions, sliced
1/2-1 tsp chipotle chili powder (you can start with 1/2 and add more to taste)
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 black pepper, plus more to taste
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
1 1/4 C jack or pepperjack cheese, divided
3-4 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
tortilla chips, just a handful and more for serving if desired.

Start by cutting off the tops of your peppers and hollow out the middle.

 Then you'll want to put them in a big pot of boiling water for 4-5 minutes till they're a little softer.
Take out the peppers using tongs, and drain the water off of them. Throw in that half cup of rice into the pot of boiling water and cook till it's done, about 13 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno (or chilies) and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add corn, beans, green onions, chipotle chili powder, kosher salt, and pepper. Stir until corn and beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Place peppers in a baking dish. Remove skillet from heat and add rice, tomatoes, 1 cup cheese, and cilantro. Stir to combine well and give it a taste. Add additional salt, pepper, and chipotle powder to your liking. Then evenly divide mixture between peppers.

Top peppers with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

I only added maybe 1/3 cup of cheese to the whole thing, and it still tasted great. I can't say this meal satisfied my picky eater, but the rest of us gobbled it up!