~Recipe Monday: Chicken Noodle Casserole~

This past weekend I really wanted to make a casserole for dinner.  With the weather getting colder it sounded perfect.  I had all the ingredients for this casserole so I gave it a try.  It must have been delicious because me and the hubby ate about half of the casserole! 

I had to use penne pasta and instead of cheddar cheese I used a cheese blend.  Prior to putting the casserole in the oven I sprinkled a layer of frozen peas on top then finished it off with a bread crumb and olive oil mixture.  I baked it for 20 minutes at 350 and it came out amazing!  We sprinkled some grated parmesan to make it a true pasta dish.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Ready In: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried savory
• 3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 8 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked and drained

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, sauté onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chicken; cook and stir until no longer pink. Add the broth, carrots, celery and savory. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted. Pour over chicken mixture. Add noodles; mix well.
3. Transfer to a 3-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

*Recipe courtesy of All Recipes*

~A Recipe For The Best Pork Roast Ever~

The only thing I had defrosted for dinner yesterday was a boneless pork roast. Since I do not have many roast recipes I decided to browse through some recipes at www.allrecipes.com. I found this recipe titled: Easy Roasted Pork. If you like applesauce and pork you will looooove this recipe!   Here is the original recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cinnamon applesauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly flour an oven bag.
2. In a small bowl, blend brown sugar, applesauce, and ginger.
3. Place pork roast in the prepared oven bag. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the roast. Seal bag, and cut several small slits in the top.
4. Cook the roast 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

I did modify the recipe slightly.  2/3 packed light brown sugar seemed like a lot to me so I used 1/3 of a cup.  It was perfect.  Also, I didn’t bother flouring the oven bag.  Since I didn’t have any cinnamon applesauce I used plain unsweetened and added a teaspoon of cinnamon. 

To go along with the roast I cubed some red potatoes and put them in a plastic bag with some olive oil and lawry’s seasoning.  After coating the potatoes I spread them out on a cookie sheet and sprinkled with dill and some paprika to add color.  Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

For a vege I heated up a sugar snap pea steamer bag.  Dinner was complete and very delicious.

*Recipe courtesy of www.allrecipes.com*