Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Bake

I'm not sure why I call this a "bake" instead of a "casserole." For some reason, a casserole just sounds like something your mother makes, and we're not mothers right? We're cool, trendy cooks! Okay, so some of us are mothers who just pretend to be cool, trendy cooks...but whatever.

You may recall my Tortellini Alfredo recipe from a while back. This meal uses nearly the same alfredo sauce recipe, which is to die for. If you don't want to bake this, you really don't have to it would be wonderful just tossed together. However, I like the crunchy, cheesy topping that results from a quick trip to the oven. Its your choice. This is a dish fancy enough to serve to guests, or it could be a paper-plate-kind-of-dinner...but I don't know who would serve a meal this nice on paper plates...

Chicken and Spinach Alfredo Bake

• 1 - 1.5lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or you could strip a rotisserie chicken!)
• 1 box (roughly a pound) of short pasta (I used Ronzini Smart Taste Rotini)
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• 1C mozzarella cheese
• 1t garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Sauce:

• 1 pint fat free half and half
• 3T low fat cream cheese
• 2/3C grated parmesan cheese
• 1 stick of light butter
• 1t garlic powder

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and saute on medium heat in a large pan with cooking spray. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat.

Add in cream cheese until melted.

Whisk in half and half and garlic powder.

Allow sauce to simmer for 15-20 minutes, adding the parmesan cheese in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Steam spinach in the microwave.

Toss pasta, chicken, spinach and sauce together until well mixed.

Pour into a greased baking dish and top with 1C of mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted.

Chicken & Rice Skillet

This meal is what I like to call a "leftover round up" recipe. I basically took a few ingredients I had sitting around, mixed them together, and bam - dinner was born. I did a basic chicken and rice version, but on any given day I could have also had corn, mushrooms, peas, spinach, broccoli or other vegetables sitting in my fridge that would have been great additions to this casserole. I wasn't even expecting to post this recipe on the blog because honestly, I didn't have high hopes for its outcome. I didn't think it would be bad, but I didn't think it would be "blogworthy" either. Boy, was I wrong! This ended up being so delicious, you have to give it a try!

Now, its not "pretty," but a casserole's job isn't to be pretty, its to taste great...and this one does!

Chicken & Rice Skillet

• 2C cooked rice (I used one cup of wild rice and one cup of white rice. Any rice will do, but I really love wild rice. If I'd had two full cups I would have used all wild rice.)
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 can cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup
• 1/2C fat free sour cream
• 1C 2% shredded cheese
• 1t garlic salt (or 1/2t of salt and 1/2t garlic powder)
• cooking spray
• any other veggies you want to add!

Directions:
Cut chicken into bite size pieces.
Put a large skillet on medium high heat and add chicken and garlic salt. Saute until chicken is browned.
Add in all other ingredients until well incorporated, and serve!
If you like that crunchy, cheesy "casserole" top, you can put it in a baking dish and pop it under the broiler for a couple minutes.

Cheeseburger & Fries Casserole GUEST BLOG!

Today I am very excited to direct you to a different blog for my recipe of the day! One of my favorite food blogs, TJs Test Kitchen, invited me to guest post a recipe over there and I'm just thrilled! TJ's blog focuses on healthy eating and counting Weight Watcher points. She has fantastic ideas and recipes. Not only that, she's an inspiration, having lost over 70 pounds so far. How awesome is that? Head over to TJ's blog and check out her recipes along with my recipe of the day...Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole!

TJ's Test Kitchen