Spicy Chicken Spaghetti

Spicy Chicken Spaghetti adapted from So Are You To Me
Ingredients:

**for 2**
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts; diced
8 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can Hot Rotel
1 can cream of mushroom soup
6oz. Velveeta
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente. Mean while, saute diced chicken breasts, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until chicken is no longer pink, drain and set aside.  Drain the pasta and return to pan. Stir in diced Velveeta, Hot Rotel, cream of mushroom soup, and the cooked chicken mixture. Season with salt and pepper.  Pour into a baking dish and top with sharp cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.

Modifications:
-I used cream of chicken soup.


Here’s what you’ll need:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Dice up a green pepper, mince 2-3 garlic clvoes, and dice up 1/2 of an onion

Cut up the chicken breasts and cook in olive oil.  Add the green pepper, garlic, and onion (forgot to take a picture)
Cook the spaghetti until al dente.  Drain and add the cut up Velveeta
Add the soup

Add the can of Ro-Tel

Add the chicken mixture
Put the spaghetti mixture in a greased 9×13 baking dish.  Spread the cheese over the top and pop into the oven

What you’ll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

This dish was so good . . . how could it not be?  It has Velveeta and Ro-Tel so it is basically cheese dip with spaghetti.  YUMMY!
Hope you enjoy!
April
4-Really good!

EPITOMES, REALIZATIONS & ACTIONS

Last year when I began my food blog, Always Eat On The Good China, I developed the name after reading a letter that Erma Bombeck wrote after she knew she was dying from cancer.  I even put a quote from her on my side bar from that I found extremely poignant.
It was around that same time that I had an appendicitis attack – I still have my appendix and it had been chronic since I was 9 years old.  Or at least I thought I was having an appendicitis attack.  We now know that I was having pain from my ovary that was growing into a cantalouped size mass.
Fortunately for me at my well woman exam the doctor noticed what she thought was an enlarged uterus and she ordered an ultrasound.  That was on the Tuesday after Christmas.
As I write this I’m preparing for the battle of my life, but as you read it I am, God willing, laying in a hospital bed preparing to go home in time to watch the superbowl with hubby and recover from an ovarian cancer tumor reductive surgery.  We won’t yet know the extent of the pathology until sometime next week, but we are prayerful that it was all contained within the tumor itself and that the abdominal surgery recovery is the worst we need to overcome.
It did make me think though about the letter Erma Bombeck wrote entitled, If I had My Life to Live Over and decided to offer up a short piece of my own to ponder.
IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER
I would make changes as I’m sure we all would, but they would be small changes – everyday changes.
I would use my favorite fruit infused soap everyday instead of trying to stretch it to last forever.
I would eat more salads, fruits and veggies despite the additional cost.  I eat quite a few now, but more are always better.
I would take a nap when I really want or need one instead of thinking I needed to fill every moment of every day with productive business.
I would take more time to slow down and truly smell the roses, listen to the birds sing and children laugh.  
I would  take more time to help stray animals and lonely elders.

I would forgive more readily and love even more often.

I would strive to make a difference in more than one child.  I know I have tried to live by this quote; “A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” I also know I made a difference, thank you Amber for telling me that often enough to bring tears of joy to my eyes. I love you as if you were my own.  But, I know I can do more and more often, my talent is not yet used up.

Fire Day Friday: The “Mc-Not-a-Rib”

I have to admit, this post started off as a joke.  It turned into something actually pretty good and just in time for the big game this weekend. 

I had a pound of ground pork and was trying to think of SOMETHING to make for Fire Day Friday.

As I struggled with what to make, Alexis taunted me with, “I could always go through drive through at McDonald’s.”

“Or I could always make a McRib,” I dodged and parried.

And from humor, inspiration arose.  I had a McRib last fall and wasn’t enamored.  I thought about how to capture the spirit of the McRib without all of the yuck factor for a processed pork patty.  I would need a good binder without all the chemicals and such.  So I decided to use potato starch and an egg yolk to make it hold together.

The good news is that these did NOT taste like a McRib.  These are a tasty BBQ pork burger that my kids just devoured.  A half of one each was enough for Alexis and me.

I am NOT a rib, I am NOT a rib!

The Mc-Not-a-Rib
Source:  NibbleMeThis
Yields 3 hearty sandwiches

1 lb ground pork
1 medium russet potato
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp BBQ Rub
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
dill pickle slices
sweet onion slices
3 hoagie roles

Peel and cube the russet potato into 1″ pieces.  Boil until fork tender, about 8 minutes.   Shock the potatoes in an ice bath for 5 minutes.

Smash the potato through a ricer into the ground pork (or finely mash potato with a fork and then add to the meat).

Whisk together the egg yolk, BBQ rub and black pepper.  Mix together with the meat/potato mixture.

Divide the mixture into thirds and make three oblong meat patties.

Preheat your grill to 450f (medium-high).  Cook the patties 4-5 minutes per side until they reach an internal temp of 165f.

Liberally glaze the patties fresh off the grill with your favorite sweet BBQ sauce.  The real McRib is DUNKED in sauce and it drips everywhere.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes. 

Serve on a hoagie bun with sliced onion and pickles.

I was pleasantly surprised with how this turned out, since it was all on a whim.  My 22 y/o son was just sad there wasn’t another one available.

TORTILLA ROLL UPS ~Perfect for upcoming Superbowl parties~CLASSIC GOOD EATS

TORTILLA ROLL-UPS
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cream cheese softened
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1/3 pound ham, chopped fine
7 ounce can roasted chiles, drained well
1 small can chopped olives
flour tortillas

  • In a small food processor blend all ingredients together until smooth.
  • Spread 4 tablespoons on each tortilla leaving 1/2 inch along one edge.
  • Roll up each tortill ending on the dry edge.
  • Lay side by side on a plate.
  • Cover loosely with saran.
  • Chill overnight.
  • Slice into 1/2 inch rounds just before serving.

Creamy Cheddar Potato Soup

 Join me at My Sweet and Savory and at Bizzy B. Bakes.  I would love to have you Cook with Chaya.

I am one of those gals who is cuddling by the non-existent fire place because outside, there are great mounds of snow, some weeks old and ice on the sidewalks.  One can slide from place to place.  Getting out of my car, the other night, I was greeted with a mountain blocking my way.  I wonder how many people threw their snow in that spot.

The truth is, there is no place left to throw snow for many of us.  We have piled up around the driveway, along the sidewalk, against the house.  You name it….there is snow.

These are days to stay home and make a warming pot of soup and what better than a creamy cheddar potato soup?

Cheddar Potato Soup adapted from Taste of Home Annual 2003
Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup chopped onion
  • 1/3 cup chopped celery
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cups diced peeled potatoes
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • Dash paprika

Method:

  • In a large saucepan, saute onion, red pepper and celery in butter until tender. 
  • Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Puree in small batches in a blender until smooth; return to the pan. Stir in the cheese, milk, pepper and paprika. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted.  I should have used my immersion blender but I forgot.  It would have been much easier than shlepping out the blender and then wash out the jar.