Another Day, Another Dinner

I made another casserole last night. You will notice that I go a little overboard on the casseroles, but I love the ease of them. I throw veggies in, and it is basically all I need to do for dinner. Well, and they are usually pretty economical. Anyway, here is the recipe.

Pizza Casserole

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion chopped

8oz. rigatoni noodles, cooked

1 pkg pepperoni

8 oz. mozzarella cheese shredded

1 (16 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 small jars mushrooms

1 package frozen spinach

Brown and drain ground beef, add onion. Heat spaghetti sauce and mix mushroom soup in with it. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Layer in dish 1/2 ground beef, sauce, noodles, mushrooms, pepperoni, spinach and cheese. Start over using the other 1/2 of the ingredients ending with cheese on top. Cook for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until browned and bubbly. You could also layer in a crock pot and cook on low for 3 hours.

note: I used my homemade tomato sauce, so my casserole has tomato chunks in it. Use what you have . :)

Chicken Casserole

You could easily use leftover chicken for this casserole, but I used boneless skinless thighs. They are cheap, and taste fine when you put them in something. You can also freeze this, if you are into cooking ahead. You will need:

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti noodles broken into thirds
10 oz. jar Alfredo sauce or make your own (i used the previous post Easy Cheesy recipe and subbed Parmesan for the cheddar)
3 cups shredded chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. drained sliced green olives
1/4 c. chopped cashew nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook your pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta well. Transfer pasta to a large mixing bowl and add the Alfredo sauce, mushroom soup, reserved water, chicken, Parmesan, and olives. Stir until combined. Pour into a 13x9 inch baking dish. Scatter the nuts on the top. Bake until is is slightly browned and bubbling. Let sit for 5 minutes before scooping out. Serve with a vegetable. Enjoy!