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!

Leftover Soup

I finally went to the grocery store, but I swear I don't know what I got. I can easily spend $50 and come home with milk and bread. Anyway, I fixed the last of our turkey for dinner. We didn't have our Thanksgiving dinner until Saturday, so our turkey isn't that old and gross. I made a turkey noodle soup, but it could be chicken and noodle just as easy. Also, something you should know about me is I use what I have. I never buy liquid chicken stock. I always use the powder, because it is much cheaper, or I make my own from a carcass. Bottom line...I'm cheap. So, this is how I made my soup which made a little over 4 servings.

2 cups leftover chicken or turkey

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup frozen peas and carrot mix

1/2 cup frozen spinach

small bundle broken whole wheat spaghetti noodles

Put stock in a saucepan, cut chicken or turkey up into bite sized pieces and dump into pan. Put in frozen veggies and let cook until veggies are hot. Throw spaghetti noodles in and cook until noodles are soft. Season with salt and pepper if you think it needs it. Enjoy! I am going to make a grocery/stuff bag for my son's teacher tonight. Hope it turns out.