Crockpot Noodle Casserole

This recipe is basically an adaptation of my Tuna Noodle Casserole recipe that I made in the crockpot and substituted chicken and turkey instead of tuna. It was an easy two-hour meal in my pressure cooker crockpot, and turned out tasty and filling. I didn't have fresh chicken handy, so I used a can of chicken and a can of turkey for the meat. I also used a can of roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup instead of plain, which gave it a wonderful savory flavor!

Ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk or 1 can of evaporated milk mixed with water
1 cup water
1 cup shredded cheddar or fiesta blend cheese, divided
3/4 cup peas, frozen or canned
Garlic powder, seasonings as desired
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, turkey, or tuna
3 cups dry medium egg noodles

Mix the soup, milk, and water together in the crockpot. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese with the peas, seasoning, and meat, and mix thoroughly. Add the noodles and stir to cover the noodles with the liquid mixture. Cook on low setting for 4 hours or high setting for 2 hours. Check that the noodles are tender and most of the moisture is absorbed, if not cook longer. Top with the other 1/2 cup cheese and cook for another half hour. Serve and enjoy!

Tortellini Alfredo with Spinach

This was a relatively simple meal to make. It would have been easier with two pans, but my electric skillet worked just fine. I used a package of premade tortellini and a package of grilled chicken for this tasty, easy dinner. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
Butter or olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 package premade tortellini
1 cup cooked chicken
1 jar garlic alfredo sauce

Lightly sautee the garlic in heated butter or oil. Add the spinach and sautee until wilted. Set aside.

Boil the tortellini according to the directions on the package till tender, drain. Add the chicken, sauce, and garlic spinach mixture. Simmer all ingredients together until heated through, stirring frequently. Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Orzo

Yummy!

I am part of a Facebook community called Big Truck Cooking, all about truckers cooking, that has a Chopped Challenge every month. For my entry this month, I'm submitting this easy, oh-so-delicious one-skillet recipe for Chicken Enchilada Orzo.

Since it can be difficult keeping enough fresh or perishable food in the truck to last us 3-5 weeks, I have been developing more recipes using mainly (or exclusively) non-perishable ingredients. The only perishable ingredient in this recipe is cheddar cheese, which can be substituted with shelf-stable cheese like Velveeta or omitted altogether.

Ingredients

Ingredients:
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can mild Rotel
1 can chicken in water
1 1/2 cup dry orzo
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 package taco seasoning
Cheddar cheese

Pour the enchilada sauce, Rotel, and chicken into a skillet without draining. Add the orzo and about a cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until orzo is cooked. Add the drained black beans and corn, stir and continue to simmer. Add half a package of taco seasoning and mix in thoroughly. By now mixture should be thick. Reduce heat, pat mixture firmly down in the skillet, sprinkle cheese on top and let sit to melt cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Serving hot from the skillet

Easy Beefy Noodles

Easy, quick, and delicious!

This is one of those fantastic, super-easy, 3-ingredient meals you can make in 15 minutes, start to finish. I kinda feel like it's cheating, since I use precooked packaged steak strips, but any cooked or leftover beef will work. And if you feel extra creative, feel free to chop some mushrooms or veggies and toss them in.

Ingredients

Ingredients:
8 oz (half of a 1lb bag) egg noodles
1 jar beef gravy
1 cup cooked steak strips

Place egg noodles in skillet and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and stir frequently till noodles are soft and water is mostly absorbed. Add the gravy, mix well, and let simmer 2-4 minutes. Add steak strips, stir, and cover. Simmer another 2-3 minutes until steak pieces are warmed through and gravy is hot and bubbly. Serve and enjoy!

Buttery Garlic Orzo

I like trying new things, and recently decided to try cooking orzo. Orzo is a pasta, though it looks similar to long grain rice, and has a texture resembling al dente spaghetti. It actually cooks fairly quickly and takes on a good savory flavor in this recipe, partially due to the qualities of fresh garlic. Can I just say that I love cooking with fresh garlic? Garlic powder is good but fresh garlic is GREAT!

Orzo served with chicken

Ingredients:
2 cups dry orzo
Water
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Start by placing the orzo in a pan or skillet and adding just enough water to cover it. Since orzo is difficult to drain (it tends to fall through a normal colander), it's easiest to use just the amount of water that it will absorb while cooking. Bring water to a boil and cook orzo, stirring periodically. Meanwhile, mince garlic.

When orzo is cooked al dente and water is absorbed, add garlic and butter and continue to cook. At this point, you are basically sautéing the orzo and garlic in the butter. Remember, fresh garlic can be bitter when raw, so contine to stir the orzo and cook for a few minutes till garlic bits are transparent. Add parmesan and stir thoroughly. Serve onto plates and garnish with a little extra butter and sprinkle of parmesan. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie Pasta

My poor hubby has caught another cold ad is currently feeling miserable. I'm trying to take care of him best I can and fight to keep from catching it. We'll see if I evade the cold, but in the meantime, as I had no soup on hand, I made chicken pot pie pasta for lunch. It was warm, soft, and soothing, just the thing for feeding a sick hubby!

I like that this recipe makes 4+ servings and is made completely from non-perishable items: canned meat and veggies and dry pasta and herbs. That means I can keep the ingredients on hand and make it whenever necessary. I made it in my crockpot, mostly because we're on the road and the crockpot, electric skillet, and microwave are really all I have to work with, but it can just as easily (perhaps more easily) be made in a pot on a stovetop. For serving a larger family, simply double the recipe.

A note on the seasonings: I used garlic powder, dried herbs, and a squirt of bottled lime juice for flavor. Other suggestions would be powdered or minced dried onions, dry ranch or Italian dressing mix, salt and pepper, or whatever seasonings you prefer. You can also add any fresh veggies you have on hand in place of the canned veggies, or use precooked chicken instead of canned. For the pasta, I used mini bowties as they cook relatively quickly, but any smallish pasta would work, such as penne or shells. Also, I used only half a small can of evaporated milk to make the sauce; if you prefer a creamier soup-like consistency, use a full can or more.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb small pasta, cooked and drained
1 can cream of potato condensed soup
1/2 can evaporated milk
1 small can mixed peas and carrots, drained
2 12oz cans white meat chicken, mostly drained
Seasonings to taste

After cooking and draining the pasta, place pasta back in the pot and turn to low. Add the condensed soup and evaporated milk, stir. Drain and add the can of peas and carrots; mostly drain and add the cans of chicken (a little of the water is okay). Add seasonings and stir well. Simmer 10 minutes and serve. Enjoy!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

There came a time when my sweetheart told me that he remembered a tuna noodle casserole that his mom made. So of course, being a good wifey, I asked his mother (who, by the way, is a very wonderful, sweet lady and totally another mom to me - I'm so thankful for my relationship with my in laws!)...problem is she didn't really remember a specific dish like that. So she gave me some basic ingredients, I did some research, and came up with with a pretty reasonable facsimile.

I'll be honest. The casserole is really tasty. However, I have come to realize that I really don't care for tuna. I might try making this casserole with canned chicken though, because the casserole itself is pretty good.

A note on the soup. I've always thought it is weird to put cream of chicken soup in a tuna casserole, and my honey and I don't really care for cream of mushroom or cream of celery, so we like to use cream of onion. It's up to you, though, however your family prefers it.

So, ingredients...

1 can cream of onion soup
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup peas, frozen or cooked
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Garlic powder
2 cans tuna
2 cups cooked noodles (egg noodles, elbow macaroni, bowties, whatever you like)
Optional: Seasoned breadcrumbs or crumbled crackers

Preheat oven to 350. Mix soup, milk, peas, cheese, and garlic in a bowl, then add tuna and mix thoroughly. Pour noodles into a casserole dish, spread soup mixture evenly on top and lightly mix in. Cook 15 minutes. Pull out and sprinkle breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs on top, and more cheese if desired, and bake another 4-5 minutes or until everything is hot and bubbly and the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Let cool a few minutes and serve warm.