KITCHEN KREATION: Cheesy Chicken & Spinach Bake

I have had this casserole recipe rolling around in my head for about a week and finally decided to give it a go. After making the donuts, I decided that I would go ahead and cook our meal for the weekend since I was in such a cooking mood. That way, breakfast, lunch, and dinner would be done all before 10:30. Yes, you read right, BEFORE 10:30.

That left the rest of the day to completely veg out, which I did... LOL

Hubby said our lunch/dinner casserole was great. It was even better today for dinner accompanied with a delicious side salad and a piece of garlic toast.


INGREDIENTS

32 oz. whole wheat penne pasta
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar Ragu Light Parmesan Alfredo sauce
1 can Campbells Healthy Choice Cream of Mushroom sauce
1/2 medium onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 cup fat free (or low fat) mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
salt & pepper - to taste
cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook whole wheat pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and set aside.
3. Lightly spray skillet with cooking spray.
4. Wash, pat dry, and cut chicken into bite-sized 1 inch pieces
5. Cook chicken in skillet until almost cooked through (should still be able to see some pink).
6. Toss in onions, stir and cook until tender.
7. Make a small clear space in skillet and add garlic. Cook until fragrant, approximately one minute.
8. Stir well to combine all ingredients.
9. Spray 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
10. In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken and onion mixture, whole wheat pasta, alfredo sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
11. Add Italian seasoning and stir well to combine.
12. Pour mixture into glass baking dish.
13. Add additional 1/2 cup of cheese to top of mixture.
14. Spray aluminum foil with cooking spray, and cover baking dish.
15. Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese is all melted & bubbly.
16. After done, let sit for 10 minutes and enjoy!

KITCHEN KREATION: Unstuffed Pepper Bake

Tonight's menu was inspired by a sample eaten at the grocery store this weekend. The lady at the counter told us that the name of this delicious concoction was the Unstuffed Pepper Bake. It was really tasty, so of course I quickly grabbed one of the recipe cards, looked it over and realized I already had all of the ingredients at home and started plotting how I could put my own spin on this tasty treat.

This recipe was an easy way to get the taste of a stuffed pepper without all the work! I hope you like it, because it was really good.

*NOTE: I used a combination of ground beef & ground turkey and less rice than the original recipe called for. Originally, the recipe was for 1 pound of lean ground beef and 1.5 cups of rice. Since I doubled the meat, I also doubled the seasoning, so if you are going to use the 1 pound of meat, divide all seasoning (including the Worcestershire sauce) in half for your recipe. The tomato, cheese, and 15 oz can of tomato sauce amounts are the same as the original recipe. I also added the additional 8 oz can of tomato sauce since there was more meat included in my version and we didn't want the casserole to be too dry.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef – extra lean
1 lb ground turkey – extra lean
1 bag frozen Onions & Three Pepper Blend - chopped
2 garlic cloves – minced
1 tsp seasoning salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
14.5 oz can Petite Diced Tomatoes – drained
1 cup Instant Brown Rice
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp Italian seasoning
8 oz package Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese – divided
15 oz can Tomato Sauce, no salt
8 oz can Tomato Sauce, no salt
Cooking spray


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté ground beef & turkey with the chopped onions/peppers blend and garlic for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned & vegetables are tender.
3. Drain off excess fat and water and season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, 8 oz can of tomato sauce, rice, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning.
5. Remove from heat and stir in ½ of cheese.
6. Spray cooking spray into a 13x9 baking dish.
7. Spread mixture evenly in baking dish and top with 15 oz can of tomato sauce and remaining cheese.
8. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes on center oven rack, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.
9. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
10. Enjoy!

Makes 8 servings.
According to the handy dandy Sparkpeople recipe calculator, 1 serving was only 307 calories! Eureka! I think I did a pretty good job adapting this recipe to make it healthier with less calories.

KITCHEN KREATIONS: Ground Beef and Turkey Enchilada Casserole

Off to Mexico we go again, fam! I wanted to try this recipe for Chicken Enchiladas, but when I went to the grocery store, I didn't know if I was supposed to get the green enchilada sauce or the red enchilada sauce. I ended up getting the red enchilada sauce. After watching the food network and a couple of Youtube videos, I learned that for chicken enchiladas you are supposed to use the green sauce. For beef, you are supposed to used the red sauce. So, my menu changed from Chicken Enchiladas to Ground Beef and Turkey Enchiladas. Hey, I can be flexible...

On tonight's menu is the enchilada casserole. We are also having Mexican rice (Zatarain's Yellow Rice + Green Giant Mexicorn), and refried beans. Since I still wasn't able to find the recipe that I was looking for, I decided to free-style it again and make my own. I seem to be on a roll today...

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground turkey

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 chopped yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 package McCormick Taco seasoning
1 package McCormick Enchilada seasoning
1 tsp dried cilantro
1 1/2 cups water
8 oz can of tomato sauce
10 oz can of Rotel tomatoes (Mexican)
Old El Paso Mexican flavored 60 second rice (optional)
12 corn tortillas
1 package shredded cheese
4.5 oz. can mild green chilis
2 cans red enchilada sauce
2 Tbsp olive oil
Pam's cooking spray
sour cream - to garnish (optional)
green onions - to garnish (optional)

Zatarain's Yellow Rice
11 oz. can Green Giant Mexicorn (drained)
1 Tbsp butter

16 oz. can Fat Free Refried Beans
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil in large skillet.
Saute onions and garlic in skillet until tender.
Add ground turkey & ground beef to skillet. Cook until browned completely.
Drain fat from meat and crumble into small pieces. Return to skillet, reduce heat.
Add Rotel tomatoes, cilantro, water, taco & enchilada seasonings, tomato sauce, green chilis & enchilada sauce to meat.
Microwave 60 second rice. Add to meat mixture. Stir well.
Bring to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat.
While meat is cooking, prepare rice according to package directions. Add Mexicorn. Let simmer together until rice is done. Add butter and cover.

Prepare casserole:
Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with Pam cooking spray.
Layer meat and sauce mixture in bottom of casserole dish.
Cut tortillas in half or in strips and place over meat mixture.
Add shredded cheese.
Repeat layers as needed.
Place shredded cheese on top of last tortilla layer.
Cover casserole with aluminum foil.
Cook in oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and place back in oven for additional 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.

Add 1/8 cup water to microwave-safe bowl. Add refried beans and seasonings. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until hot.

Enjoy!

KITCHEN KREATIONS: Mexican Rice Casserole

Sunday Dinner:

Ok, for dinner tonight, I'm going to experiment a little bit with our dinner.
I recently came across an amazing blog called "For The Love of Cooking" and there is a beautiful picture of a mexican rice casserole that I am anxious to try tonight.

So, I am going to adapt it a little bit using ground turkey instead of ground beef and omitting the sliced tomatoes on top. I'll try to post a picture to let you all know how it came out.

UPDATE: Sorry, the hubby and I were so anxious to try this casserole that we forgot about taking pictures until after we were done eating. Here is the picture from her blog. My casserole didn't come out quite as pretty and we left the sliced tomatoes off the top, but it was oh so delish and turned out nicely.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of white rice, prepared per instructions
1 tsp of olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
3-4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (divided)
1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
3-4 tomatoes, sliced thickly
Sour cream (topping)
Salsa (topping)
Guacamole (topping)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare rice per instructions. While the rice is cooking heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
3. Once the skillet is hot, add the ground beef, making sure to break it up into crumbles. Cook the beef for 3-4 minutes then add the diced onion and all of the seasonings.
4. Stir until well combined and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the beef is cooked through and the onion is tender.
5. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly for an additional 60 seconds.
6. Add the cooked rice, drained and rinsed black beans, tomato sauce and a bit of cilantro (reserving some for garnishing) to the beef and onion mixture.
7. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, taste and re-season if needed.
8. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray and pour the rice mixture into the dish, spreading it evenly.
9. Place the tomato slices on top of the rice mixture then top with cheddar cheese.
10. Spray a piece of tin foil with cooking spray (so the cheese won't stick) and cover the baking dish.
11. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the tin foil. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.
12. Top with a dollop of sour cream and the remaining chopped cilantro. Enjoy.