chicken and noodle casserole.

Ever since I got married I’ve been trying to figure out good recipes for two people. Most of the recipes out there are for families of four or more. So we usually have leftovers forever. And I have never been a big fan of leftovers. Sorry, Mom.

That’s where casseroles come in. I’ve found that it’s nice to not have leftovers, but also to make a freezer meal at the same time. Almost every recipe calling for a 9×13 pan can be put into two 9×9 square pans instead. I like to make two pans and freeze one. It makes life a lot easier. I like easy life, even if it’s only for a night.

This casserole is perfect for anytime you’re wishing for cold winter months. That would be today for me, but I know I’ll be dreaming of summer months in December. It’s a trade off in the Midwest. We deal with it.

I love pasta and I love chicken. So this is a good casserole to serve that love. You know what else I love? Crushed buttery round crackers mixed with more butter and browned to perfection on top of…well…anything really.

This casserole calls for cooked chicken cut into pieces. I like to boil a chicken breast in chicken stock with a few seasonings, but to make it even easier you can buy a rotisserie chicken and cut that into pieces. Whatever you please will be wonderful. Cook some egg noodles, throw everything into a bowl, stir it all together, call it a day.

Happy cooking, friends!

Chicken and Noodle Casserole
makes 1 9×9 pan

1 cup chicken, cooked and chopped
8 ounces egg noodles, cooked according to directions
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tube crushed buttery-round crackers
1 and 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9×9 square pan and set aside. Combine the chicken, noodles, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and cheese in a large bowl. Mix until everything is coated in soup and sour cream. Pour into the 9×9 pan. Mix the crushed crackers and melted butter until the mixture is crumbly. Cover the top of the chicken and noodles with crackers.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
This can also be frozen: Do all the steps until baking. Cover well with a lid or plastic wrap and foil. Freeze. Thaw completely before baking.
Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

chicken cordon bleu casserole.

Now that I can no longer call myself a poor-college student I’ve come to the realization that I have to support myself. That means food. That means spending money. Which I sometimes have an aversion to. Especially because rent is expensive. Real life, huh? That’s pretty scary.

Fortunately I was brought up by a woman who knows a lot about freezing meals for later. She’s a pro at casseroles. I learned it all from her.

This recipe comes from my Aunt Donna, who is also awesome. It runs in our family. It’s super simple to make and it is so delicious. This is definitely a crowd pleaser. You know all about chicken cordon bleu right? It’s just chicken, ham, and Swiss cheese. This takes that and combines it all.

This easily makes a large 13×9 casserole or you can split it into two. I made two 8×8 casseroles and I’ll eat one and freeze the other one. We used to make these a lot and give them to people for meals. You can bake it halfway and then cool it completely and freeze it. When you’re ready to bake it, thaw it out and bake it the rest of the way. Easy as pie.

I ate half a pan of this by myself. No shame. At all. It was worth it.

Enjoy your last few weeks of school. Don’t freak out. Go outside, it’s nice out there.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
makes 1 13×9 pan or 2 8×9 pans

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed1 8-ounce package diced ham
10 slices Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken
1 tube Ritz crackers (crushed)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease pan.
In the pan layer the cubed chicken, diced ham, cheese, and cream of chicken. Top with crushed crackers. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and everything is cooked through. Serve right away.
If you are making 2, bake one halfway (25 minutes) and let cool completely before wrapping with foil. When ready to use, thaw completely and bake 20 more minutes.

Keep leftovers wrapped in the fridge.

creamy pasta chicken bake.

I’m still trying to figure out good ways to make meals for one or two people. Sometimes that ends with me getting a pizza from somewhere and just keeping it in the fridge for two or three meals. This is not good. Sometimes I forget about eating until late in the evening and by that time it’s too late to thaw chicken or something so I just eat cereal. That’s normal, right?

This meal came out of my brain last night after 5 hours of pep band because I wanted pasta but didn’t have any spaghetti sauce or anything like that. But I had a package of Italian blend cheese and that makes everything okay! I’ve also had boneless chicken tenders in my freezer for awhile (which, by the way, are the perfect size for a meal for one or two people) so I had protein. (This is really how my brain works, I don’t get it…)

I’m not much of a cook; I’m more of a baker (and usually when I make something it involves pasta), but I decided to attempt making cream sauce for the first time. What do you know, it was way super easy and pretty delicious. SO. All you have to do is make each thing and then throw it all together and bake it until everything is all melty and delicious. (I love the word melty.) I baked mine in a 8 by 4 1/2 casserole dish and it worked out really well. But this is one of those things that you can adjust all the quantities and make for a few people or a bunch of people. How good is that?

Gosh. Melted cheese is one of my most favorite things ever. Seriously. Right up at the top of the list with yarn, my cat, and cookies.

Make some pasta. Watch too much Psych. Eat too many Girl Scout Cookies. Save the world.

Creamy Pasta Chicken Bake
serves 1-2 (adjust as needed)

for the cream sauce:

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano leaves), to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. When completely melted, whisk in the flour until smooth. Stir in the milk and cook over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in desired spices. I used about a half teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a pinch of black pepper, and a pinch of crushed oregano leaves. Use what you want and what you like.

for the chicken:

2-3 bonesless chicken tenders

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Slice chicken into strips. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and toss to coat. Saute over medium heat until opaque and cooked through.

for the pasta:

about 1 cup of your favorite pasta (I used penne rigatoni)

Cook according to the package directions.

for the pasta bake:

cooked chicken

cooked pasta

cream sauce

1 cup of Italian cheeses (mozzarella by itself will also work)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together the pasta and cream sauce. Add chicken and stir until coated. Pour half the mixture into a casserole dish (either an 8×8 or 8×4 1/2). Sprinkle on half the cheese. Pour the remaining pasta mixture over that and cover with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and golden brown.

Serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days.