Susan Sullins' Pasta Shrimp Casserole

This is a casserole John's mom, Patti, made for us over spring break. It comes from the cookbook John's grandmother gave us that I mentioned in my last post, and is sooo yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 12 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 8 ounces shredded swiss
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked
• 1 (16 oz) jar salsa
• 1 1/2 pounds medium size shrimp, uncooked, peeled, and deveined
• 8 oz shredded mozzarella
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In large bowl mix eggs, milk, yogurt, feta, swiss, parsely, basil, oregano, and garlic
3. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain
4. Spread half of pasta on bottom of greased 9x13 casserole dish, then cover salsa, then half of the shrimp
5. Put remaining half of pasta on top of shrimp, then cover this with the egg mixture
6. Top with shrimp, and then mozzarella cheese
7. Bake 30 mins, then remove from oven and let stand 10 mins before serving

Soooo good!

Poulet de Normandy

So, I apologize for such a long hiatus. I have been EXTREMELY busy with school, and I haven't tried many new recipes lately. However, this week I have tried out two recipes never-before-seen on this blog, and in this post and the next I will share them with you. Monday, I made "Poulet De Normandy," which is a super yummy dish that I get when I go to one of my favorite Huntsville restaurants, Victoria's cafe. I found a recipe for it in a cookbook given to me by John's grandmother as one of my shower gifts...it is from her church, and it has a ton of fantastic recipes (including Joy's Chicken, which I posted about before, as well as the recipe I will put in my next post). Anyways, here it is:

Poulet De Normandy

















(The fact there are carrots in this picture, which I abhor, indicates that I found this picture online...haha)

Day 1

Ingredients

• 1 (16 oz) package seasoned stuffing mix
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups milk
  

Directions

1. Combine stuffing mix w/hot water and butter, and then set aside
2. Mix onion, celery, mayo, salt, and chicken, and then set aside
3. In a lightly greased 9x13 dish, spread half of the stuffing mixture
4. Spread all of the chicken mixture over stuffing, then spread the remaining stuffing mix over the chicken
5. Combine beaten eggs and milk, and beat again
6. Pour egg mix over chicken and stuffing
7. Cover and refrigerate over night
   

Day 2

Ingredients

• 1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
  

Directions

1. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking, and spread soup on top
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Bake 30-40 mins or until heated thoroughly
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese on top
5. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 mins

I looove Poulet; its a lot of work, and ummm, calories, but every now in then, worth it!

Oriental Chicken Salad & Broccoli Casserole

Sorry I haven't posted since last week...I had a huge DAD (Drugs & Diseases) test this Wednesday, which I spent most of my time studying for (not that that helped). Anyways, tonight I made two recipes from Mary Etta Neiland (often known as "ME"). ME and her family have lived around the corner from my grandmother for years--in fact, my mom grew up playing with her sons. ME and her family also attend the church I grew up at, so suffice it to say she and her family have always been dear to mine. So it was no surprise that she was one of the hostesses of my Bridesmaid's Luncheon, where two of her delicious recipes--Oriental Chicken Salad and Broccoli Casserole--were served (as well as other yummy things). Those two dishes are what I made tonight...thanks ME!:

Oriental Chicken Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

· 4 TBS Sugar

· 1 tsp Salt

· ½ tsp pepper

· 5 TBS Vinegar

· ½ cup oil

Other

· 4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped

· 3 green onions, chopped

· 3 oz package sliced Almonds, toasted

· 1/8 cup poppy seeds

• 1 can Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Directions

Day 1

Mix together dressing ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

1. Mix together other ingredients

2. 4 to 5 hours before serving, mix dressing with chicken mixture and refrigerate

3. Just before serving add 1 can Chinese Chow Mein Noodles

Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients

· 2 (10 oz) package frozen, chopped broccoli

· 2 beaten eggs

· dried minced onion

· 1 can cream of mushroom soup

· ¾ cup mayo

· 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

· Ritz, crushed

· Butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cook and drain broccoli, and then put into a casserole dish sprayed w/cooking spray.

3. Mix together other ingredients, and then top the broccoli with the mixture

4. Mix Ritz with melted butter, and sprinkle on top of casserole

5. Bake for 30 minutes

Ever since my Bridesmaid's Luncheon I've been wanting to make these, and I am glad I did! Soooo delicious!

Guilt Free Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

So, when I first started this blog, I made a post about my favorite Enchiladas recipe (for that post, go here), which I initially found on All Recipes (entitled "Chicken Enchiladas V"). I have made these enchiladas multiple times since finding the recipe a few years ago, and have always loved how scrumptious they were. So, I just couldn't let the fact that I am reducing my cals/fat stop me from enjoying these, so I made a lower calorie/fat version. The recipe is below:

Ingredients (FF = Fat Free; RF= Reduced Fat)

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can 98% FF condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup FF sour cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (or 2 (10 oz) cans chicken breast chunks in water))
  
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 8 (8 inch) 96% FF Mission flour tortillas
• 1 bag RF Mexican Cheese Bland (Like Sargento)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl mix the soup and sour cream; set aside.
3. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and chili powder, and saute until tender. Stir in the chicken, chile peppers, and 2 tablespoons of the soup mixture. Cook and stir until heated through.
4. Spread 1/2 cup of the soup mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam-side-down, in the baking dish. Spoon remaining soup mixture on top, and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Nutrition
Per Enchilada: 306 Cals; 10 g Fat; 3 g Fiber... 6 Weight Watcher's Points (I double checked to make sure my calculations are correct, so hopefully they are)

The Verdict
Considering all the swaps I made, I was pretty happy with these. They were still creamy and yummy, and not nearly as bad for you as the original! John liked them, too. =)

Chicken Divan

Wow, it has been awhile since I updated this...I guess it's because we've been in Huntsville the past 3 weeks for Christmas break, and our wonderful mothers have been feeding us (and we ate out some). Anyways, I am pretty excited about the meals I will making this week--tonight's dish (recipe below) is Chicken Divan, and later on in the week I will be having a "French" night, and another night I will be making a seafood dish. But, those recipes will come later. For now, I will share what we had tonight:

Chicken Divan
(you can find this recipe on various cooking/recipe sites, cookbooks, etc...the one I am using is from Paula Deen):

Ingredients
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen broccoli, chopped
6 cup shredded chicken, cooked
2 (10 3/4 -ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup cheddar or gruyere cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove the outer wrappers from the boxes of broccoli. Open one end of each box. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, until thawed. Drain the broccoli and put into bowl. Add the shredded chicken.
3. To the chicken and broccoli, add the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, and wine. Whisk together to make a sauce.
   
4. Place the mixture into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula. Combine the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the top. Finally, top the whole dish with cheddar or gruyere cheese.
5. Bake for about 30-45 minutes (depending on your oven)
   

BTW, I halved this recipe, since it was just John & I....and still had plenty of leftovers! I think in the future I'll omit the wine--even though it cooks out, it still gave the dish a flavor that wasn't my favorite. But, I i will probably make it again...

Green Bean Casserole

So this Thanksgiving, I had the *best* Green Bean Casserole (and I say best because it is fully of delicious, fattening ingredients...which made me really enjoy a dish I normally do not like) I've ever had. It was made by John's Aunt Nina and her son Chris. I am sharing the recipe below that Nina sent me. Enjoy!:

Ingredients

• 2 large cans French style Green Beans
• 2 cans Campbell Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 can French’s French Fried Onions
• (optional: 1 large spoonful sour cream)
• (optional: some whipping cream (however much you think is good))
  

Directions

1. Drain the green beans put them in a bowl.
   
2. Add both cans of cream of chicken soup, and the "optional ingredients" if desired (it makes it taste sooo good!)
   
3. Place in casserole dish
   
4. Bake it covered on 325 degrees for about 45 minutes. It should look bubbly all the way to the middle.
   
5. Take the lid off and put the fried onions and bake for about 15 more minutes. Make sure the onions do not get too brown.
   

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe is courtesy of the Pioneer woman (see link to her page on the left). I omitted the green pepper, onion, and pimentos (John & aren't fans), but others may enjoy them. Anyways, it turned out pretty good:

Ingredients

· 2 cups cooked chicken

· 2 cans cream of mushroom soup

· 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

· ¼ cup finely diced green pepper

· ½ cup finely diced onion

· 1 4oz jar diced pimentos, drained

· 2 cups chicken broth

· spaghetti

· 2 additional cups chicken broth

· 1 tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt

· 1/8 to ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper

· salt & pepper to taste

· 1 additional cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350^o

2. Break spaghetti up into two inch pieces (ends up being around 3 cups dried)

3. Cook spaghetti in 2 cups chicken broth till al dente

4. Once spaghetti is cooked and drained, mix it with all other ingredients (except additional 1 cup cheddar)

5. Place in casserole pan and top with remaining cheddar

6. Cover and

i. Freeze up to six months

ii. Refrigerate up to 2 days

iii. Bake immediately -->

7. Bake at 350^o for 45 minutes till bubbly

Macaroni Cheese Pie

I got this recipe from John's mom, Patti, who got it from her mom (his grandma June). John had mentioned several times how good it was, so I thought I'd ask Patti for it. She confirmed it was indeed a family favorite, and passed along the recipe. I made it the other night--both John and I liked it. I shared some of the left overs with Katharine, who also really liked it.

Macaroni Cheese Pie

Ingredients

· 1 cup Macaroni

· ½ tsp salt

· 1 tbsp butter, melted

· 1 egg, beaten

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 tsp dry mustard

· 2 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese

· 1 cup velveeta, cubed

· 1 cup milk

· Ritz crackers, crushed

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Cook Macaroni in 2 cups boiling water and 1/2 teaspoon salt

3. Placed cooked macaroni in casserole dish.

4. Melt butter

5. Beat egg

6. Stir in melted butter, beaten egg, 1 teaspoon salt, mustard, cheddar cheese & velveeta.

7. Pour 1 cup milk over macaroni mixture and stir.

8. Top with crushed ritz crackers and dabs of butter.

9. Cook 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Lasagna!...With Chicken??

That's right, chicken Lasagna! I found this recipe on another recipe blog (Sunday Baker--I have listed the link to her website under links, on the left). It is more of a chicken/pasta casserole than it is an Italian dish, but boy is it delicious! But before I give you the recipe, I have to tell you a funny story about my experience making this:
Not surprisingly, making this involves some layering (of lasagna noodles, chicken, cheese, and a "goopy" mixture of cream soups, sour cream, and ricotta cheese), followed by topping the whole dish with cheese. Well, I made my layers, topped the dish with cheese...and then realized I had completely forgotten the chicken! A bit hard to have chicken lasagna without the chicken, isn't it? Well, I wasn't about to toss the dish, so I basically had to
(1) remove the layer of cheese on top--however, it had settled into the goopy mixture, so I had to remove them together, meaning the cheese got mixed in.
(2)Remove two of the layers of noodles--however, the noodles were of course covered with cheese and the goopy mixture, so they made my hands messy.
(3) Add the chicken to the remaining "first" layer, then top with some of the messy noodles, then add chicken again, then top with the last bit of noodles
(4) At this point I was left with the goopy mixture with all the cheese that was supposed to be on top (i.e., separate from the mixture) mixed in...so I put it on top, and then added more cheese so I could have the cheese crust


It still turned out fine, but I was a bit annoyed with myself (and amused, too) for having done that. Oh well. Guess this proves my hair color is natural. ;-) ANYWAYS, for the recipe: the original recipe is here... and below is my *slightly* modified version (i.e.: she uses a whole chicken, whereas I use frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (which I of course cook first))


Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and chopped up/shredded
12 lasagna noodles
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 -3 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 c. shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
2 t. minced garlic
fresh cilantro


Directions

1. Boil the noodles according to package instructions; make sure to add 2 T. oil to the pan to prevent noodles from sticking together. Rinse in cold water and set aside.
2. Mix the cream soups, sour cream, ricotta, garlic, and cilantro together until well combined.
3. Spread a little sauce baking pan before adding layers
4. Layer the ingredients:
   

• Layer 1: 4 lasagna noodles, followed by a layer of the sauce, followed by the chicken and 1/3 of the cheddar cheese
• Layer 2: 4 lasagna noodles, followed by a layer of the sauce, followed by the chicken and 1/3 of the cheddar cheese.
  
• Layer 3: 4 lasagna noodles, followed by a layer of the sauce

5. Top the 3rd layer with the remaining cheddar cheese and the Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted. Do not overbake it or the
noodles will be rubbery and dry

Broccoli Casserole

This Broccoli Casserole (courtesy of Paula Deen) goes great with the Hot Chicken Salad I mentioned in the previous post.:

Ingredients

• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups crushed crackers
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, mayonnaise, cheese, soup and eggs. Mix well with a metal spoon. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Top with the crushed crackers and pour the melted butter evenly over the crackers. Bake for 35 minutes or until set and browned.

Hot Chicken Salad

John's mom, Patti, made this for dinner one night this summer, and we both really liked it. It was in a Paula Deen cookbook, which I then found on the food network's Paula Deen section of their website. The potato chips on top make it especially yummy! Also, this goes great with Paula Deen's recipe for Broccoli Casserole, which I will post next.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken breast meat, cubed
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
• 2/3 cup crushed potato chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, celery, almonds, salt, pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and cheese. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spread the crushed potato chips on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.

Poppy Seed Chicken...with a Twist!

So, for the first few years of undergrad, John and I would go to ACF's (Auburn Christian Fellowship) "free dinner" on Thursday nights. One of the dishes people (including us) liked most was their Poppy Seed Chicken...however, unlike normal Poppy Seed Chicken, this one had noodles. It was delicious, and for a few years I searched around for a recipe online that also included noodles. And, a few nights ago, I found one! So, I decided to make it tonight, and it turned out great! Both John & I liked it, and to me it tasted just like it had at ACF! So anyways, here is the recipe (it was taken from http://heartrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/06/poppy-seed-chicken.html, but I modified it slightly):


Ingredients

• 1 (12 oz) package egg noodles
• 3-4 cups cooked chicken
• 1 package of 8 ounce cream cheese
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 1-2 packets Ritz crackers
• 1/4 stick butter, melted

Directions

1. Cook chicken, cut up. Cook noodles and drain.
2. Mix other ingredients.
3. Place noodles in greased casserole dish. Pour chicken mixture on top. Crush Ritz crackers that has been tossed with melted butter, and put on top. Bake at 350 for around 25-30 minutes.

I also served it with some french bread with a garlic spread that I had made myself, and which I will include in the next post.