Quick And Healthy Dinner Option

I don't know what it is about summer, but I always seem to be short on time in the evenings.  I think it is because I try to cram as much in during the summer as possible.  I always want to be out in the yard, or out on a patio somewhere.  The last place I want to be on a beautiful summer evening is stuck in the kitchen working on dinner.  Today, I wanted to share a quick dinner recipe that I found on Pinterest.  We have had this a couple of times this summer and love it!  It is super simple to make and can be made fairly healthy as well!







I have made a couple of modifications to the original recipe since I have made this a few times now.  Once, I used canned chicken breast to save time.  Another time, I had cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot over the weekend and had meat left over that was in the freezer.

* Tip for getting more chicken for your money if you are willing to do a little dirty work.  Take a whole chicken without the giblets and neck and place it in a crock pot.  Sprinkle some salt, rosemary, and whatever other spices you would like over the chick.  Put the lid on and let it cook for eight hours on low.  At the end of eight hours, you have a super moist chicken.  The meat I'm able to pull off a whole chicken is enough for two casseroles for us.  What I'm not using that day, I place in the freezer.  I also save the broth that comes off the chicken and use that in recipes as well.  A whole chicken costs around $8 versus two to three chicken breasts which can cost almost as much and only works for one meal. 

Here is the recipe for this delicious spaghetti casserole!

2 Cups chopped, cooked chicken
2 Cups uncooked spaghetti noodles (I usually throw mine in some boiling water for about 5 minutes), broken into 2 inch pieces.
1 Cup sliced celery
1 Cup chopped red bell pepper
1 Cup chopped onion (more or less depending on how much you like onion)
1 Cup less sodium chicken broth (or broth from cooking the chicken)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (10.75 oz) cans of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese (reduced fat)

The original recipe calls for mixing things in two different bowls and then combining them.  Anytime I can avoid dirtying multiple bowls to mix things in, I do.  So, all these ingredients go in the same bowl and get mixed together.  Then, I pour it into a greased 9x13 baking dish or a 2 qt casserole dish.  I sprinkle with cheese, cover the dish with a greased piece of foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  After 35 minutes, take the foil off and let the casserole bake for an additional 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and enjoy! This makes good leftovers the next day for lunch as well as the flavors have a chance to blend together.

Happy cooking!
-N