{recipe} Chicken Spaghetti

Test Recipes Week 9!

Back home in Minnesota, a meal like this would be called a HOTDISH, never a casserole.  Most hotdishes follow the same basic principle:

* meat (chicken or ground beef, or even turkey on occasion)
* creamy soup or tomato sauce base
* pasta or potatoes (my all-time favorite is still Tator Tot Hotdish!)
* may or may not include veggies
* bake 350* until yummy

Mix and match any combination of the above, and BOOM - hotdish!  Here's the latest HOTDISH I came across:

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI (Pioneer Woman)
**disclaimer** These are the proportions posted by PW.  I made HALF a recipe, and it still filled a normal-sized casserole dish.

2 c. cooked chicken
3 c. dry spaghetti, broken into 2" pieces
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/4 c. finely diced onion
4 oz. diced pimentos, drained
2 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. additional grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions (until al dente).  Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.  Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil - mine got a little overcooked before I caught it).

YUM YUM YUM!  I did things a little differently than PW (natch...).  I used canned chicken instead of a chicken fryer.  I also added much more green pepper than called for (probably double).  Next time, I will use half the cheese.  As mentioned above, I made a half recipe (since I'm only cooking for myself) and it still filled a casserole dish.  Sadly, my refrigerator went out the day after I made this and all the leftovers of this HOTDISH were lost during the ordeal.  I will definitely be making again.  EXCELLENT!

{recipe} Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Test Recipes Week 4!

I was excited to test out this next recipe, because I got to try my new blender!  It's just a cheap-o one from Target, but it worked great!  It's kind of sad how excited I got over a new blender.  Oh well!  I also actually remembered to take pictures of this recipe for my blog! 

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE SOUP (delish.com)

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 lbs) cauliflower, cut into 1" chunks
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 pkg. (8 oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 c. water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.  In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.  Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, storring occasionally.  Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 c. cheese until melted and smooth.  Don't let boil or cheese may get stringy.  Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

It seems lately I just can't make a recipe exactly the way it is written.  I'm always making little tweaks and changes to adapt things to my own taste.  Here are the changes I made to this recipe:

1) I added chopped carrots for a little color, but I think I should have waited to add them until the cauliflower mixture had already gone through the blender so that they could be seen.

2) Instead of 2 cups milk I added 1 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. cream...just to make sure it was nice and yummy :)

3) I also added a little ground white pepper.

Not as good as broccoli cheese soup (my all-time favorite), but still pretty good!  I rated it GOOD, and will probably make it again some day.