Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

A return to cooking, to hosting community dinner, and to blogging on Needs More Butter! This recipe is easy, easy, easy (hence why I thought I could swing it for community dinner). The recipe is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and I made only the slightest modifications (added more chicken, green pepper, and onions; nixed pimentos). Go to her site to see pretty pictures.

3 cups cooked chicken
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 finely diced green pepper
1 finely diced onion

3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make three cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar. Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil.)

Tuscan Bean Soup

My folks made this recently and it’s really good.

2 T EVOO or butter
2 C onion, chopped
2 C carrots, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
4 C chicken or beef stock
1 1/2 C dried white beans, soaked overnight
1-15oz can tomatoes
3/4lb Italian sausage, browned
1/2 C red wine
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1 t sage
1 t thyme
1 t parsley
1 bunch kale, washed, torn into pieces, stems discarded
parmesan or romano cheese

Saute onions, carrots and garlic in soup pot until onions are translucent. Add too stock, beans, tomatoes, browned sausage, wine and herbs. Bring to a boil, then simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add kale the last 15 minutes. Serve with grated parmesan or romano cheese.

Juicy Roasted Chicken

Snagged from Allrecipes.com, this was my first attempt at roasting a chicken–and it turned out moist and delicious! My family enjoyed a very yummy butterific meal between this roasted chicken, the carrot recipe below, green peas and brown rice.

1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon onion powder, or to taste
1/2 cup margarine, divided
1 stalk celery, leaves removed (I used carrots, didn’t have celery!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder.

Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken’s exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.

Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). [I baked the chicken longer and the temp was below 180, but it looked done to me.] Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

Buttery Cooked Carrots

Originally from Allrecipes.com, altered per other cooks’ recommendations. Declared by Jeremy to be the best cooked carrots he’s ever had. Let’s face it, everything’s better with BUTTER and sugar.

1lb baby carrots
1/4 C butter
1/3 C brown sugar

Cook carrots in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain carrots and set aside.

Stir butter and brown sugar in the pan. Simmer and stir until the margarine melts. Return carrots to the pot, and toss to coat. Cover, and let sit for a few minutes to allow flavors to mingle.

Spinach & Spaghetti

Marlene Lehl (from Zion Church) brought me this as a mercy meal (I think it was when Liv came home) and it was delicious. I passed it on as a mercy meal last night and wanted to share this meatless main dish with the rest of you.

1-10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 beaten egg
1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C milk
2 T grated parmesan cheese
2 t minced dried onion
1/2 t salt
dash pepper
2 C shredded monterey jack cheese (8oz)
4oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 T grated parmesan cheese

Cook spinach according to directions, drain well. Combine egg, sour cream, milk, 2 T parmesan cheese, onion, s&p; add monterey jack cheese and mix well. Add spaghetti and spinach and mix well. Turn into a 8×8″ square pan. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15-20 minutes more or until warmed through.

Oven Scrambled Eggs

From allrecipes.com.

1/2 C butter, melted
24 eggs
2 1/4 t salt
2 1/2 C milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Pour butter in 13×9″ baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and salt until well-blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Pour mixture into baking dish.
3. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir and bake additional 10-15 minutes or until eggs are set. Serve immediately.

**I recommend either cutting back on the butter or simply spraying your pan with Pam. (I had to sop up butter from the top of the eggs.) Also, it took at least 10 minutes longer for the eggs to set. Still, this recipe produces yummy eggs cooked in a simple fashion. Next time I’ll definitely add cheese, meat and veggies!

Mocha Mousse Brownie Trifle

From my Taste of Home Cookbook which states, “Use some extra brownies to create this tempting time-saving trifle. It’s a snap to assemble with a packaged mousse mix and whipped topping, yet it looks so special that folks will think you fussed.”

5 C prepared brownies
1 package (2.8oz) mocha mousse Mix
1 carton (12oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/4 C English toffee bits or almond brickle chips
grated chocolate

1) Place half of the cubed brownies in a 2qt serving bowl. Prepare mousse mix according to package directions.
2) Spread half of mousse over brownies. Top with half of whipped topping; sprinkle with toffee bits. Repeat layers of brownies, mousse and whipped topping.
3) Sprinkle with grated chocolate. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Vacationing

I thought it needed mentioning that I know I’m not posting many recipes these days (or perhaps it would be more truthful to say NO recipes), but time doesn’t even allow for cooking right now, much less transposing recipes from my head/cookbook/card to More Butter.

I wanted to whet your appetite, though, and tell you to be on the lookout for some fresh, tasty Asian recipes come March — looking forward to you joining me in my tiny Japanese kitchen!

Here’s to not being able to read labels in the grocery store!

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Makes about 8-10 biscuits

1 egg

2 C Bisquick baking mix

2/3 C milk

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 C melted butter

3/4 tsp Garlic powder

1/2 tsp parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix Bisquick, milk, and egg together. Work into soft dough, adding more baking mix if necessary. Mix in shredded cheese, working with it as little as possible. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Melt butter, garlic, and parsley together and brush over warm rolls when they finish baking. Serve.

SO GOOD! Tastes just like the ones from Red Lobster! :)

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia & Linguini- A Red Lobster Favorite!

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

4 tilapia fillets (5-6 oz. each)

Non-stick cooking spray

1/2 lb. Linguini, cooked (I like the pre-packaged, in refrigerated aisle)

Parmesan Crust:

1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs (Japanese style breadcrumbs and are usually found in the ethnic or breading section of the grocery store)

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, pre-shredded

Parmesan Base:

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, pre-shredded

1 Tbsp. Parsley, dried

10 oz. Prepared Refrigerated Alfredo Sauce

Parmesan Cream Sauce:

1 Tbsp. dried chopped basil, or 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped basil

1/4 cup Half and Half

1/4 cup Chablis or Chardonnay Wine, optional

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 9×13 pan baking dish/pan with Non-stick cooking spray.

Place 4 Tilapia fillets in the dish and set aside. Make sure the fish has room. In small bowl, mix the Panko bread crumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese to make the crust for the topping. Set aside.

To assemble the Parmesan base, place 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp. parsley and the prepared Alfredo sauce in a medium bowl and stir well. Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture (reserving this to make the Parmesan Cream Sauce) and spread the rest onto the 4 pieces of Tilapia, making a thick, even coating on the top of the fish fillets. After spreading the creamy mixture, evenly sprinkle the Parmesan Crust on top of the fish. Bake the fish for 15-20 minutes or until fish reaches 140-150 degrees and the crust is golden brown.

Meanwhile the fish is baking, make the Parmesan Cream Sauce. Place the remaining Parmesan Base mixture in a medium sauce pan, add the Basil, half and half, and white wine and heat over medium heat until simmering, stirring often.

Toss the Parmesan Cream Sauce and the Linguini together and serve with the Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. Also serve with the famous Red Lobster biscuits for a all-around Red Lobster inspired dinner.

Very easy!