Spinach Chicken Casserole

This is a big deal. Seriously. This is MY recipe. Well, I didn't create it, but I found it and haven't had anything like it. Anyway, to spread the love, I'm putting it out there for all ya'll.

Spinach Chicken Casserole
2 1/2 c uncooked noodles
2 c cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/8 t garlic salt
1/8 t crushed dried rosemary
dash pepper
10 oz frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 c cottage cheese
3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 2 quart baking dish (I use Corningware).
Cook noodles. Combine cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, garlic salt, rosemary, and pepper in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine spinach, cottage cheese, and 1/2 c mozzarella. Drain noodles and place half in the dish. Layer with half of the chicken mix and then half of the cottage cheese mix. Repeat the layers. Cover and bake for 25 min. Uncover and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake another 10-15 min.

Turkey Roll Ups

This is a recipe I got from my in-laws. I first had it after Thanksgiving, using the leftover turkey. Since I never buy turkey other than Thanksgiving, I use chicken the rest of the year.

Turkey Roll Ups
8 oz cream cheese
1 T chopped onion
1/8 t pepper
2 c pre-cooked turkey/chicken (shredded or cubed)
2 can crescent rolls
Melted butter
Breadcrumbs

Mix first three ingredients, then add turkey. Roll out crescents. Divide the mix onto the rolls. Roll up starting with the large end and tuck the ends up, making balls. Dip in butter and roll in breadcrumbs. Bake at 400˚for 15 minutes (should be golden brown).
Top with sauce (see below) and grated cheese.
Sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c sour cream
3/4 c milk

Mix and heat on the stove until hot.

Chicken Kabobs

Okay, I know it's been forever, but I've had computer drama. The good news is now I can post the oodles of recipes I have stored up all quick, fast, and in a hurry!

So this recipe needs to be used with a bit of judgement. I can have pineapple if I've been SUPER good for about a week and if I'm not stressed out. Or if I'm cheating. Let's face it, I LOVE pineapple, and next to tomatoes, it's probably been the hardest thing to give up. But not everyone is willing to sacrifice for pineapple. Really, you can put anything you want on the skewer (this isn't a strict recipe) and just go with it! You have to be willing to try new things or food just gets routine and boring.

These kabobs are simple and tasty and work great for the hot summer days when you don't want to use your oven.

Chicken Kabobs
Thawed chicken breast, cubed
Anything else, cubed

Simply take thawed chicken breasts and cut into about 1 or 2" chunks. Coat with olive oil and your own combination of spices. I used garlic powder, rosemary, and basil, but really, you can use anything. The olive oil is key though. If you have time, marinate in the oil, but if not, simply put the chicken, oil, and spices in a bowl and mix. Slide chicken onto the skewers, intermixing with your other ingredients.

I used pineapple to space in between the chicken, but you can use peppers, squash, other veggies, etc. I happened to be low on groceries when we made this meal, so ours aren't very varied. :)
We don't have a full-sized grill, but our camping grill did nicely. They took about 10 minutes to cook, but we made sure to check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Food safety first, and poultry is the worst (needs to be up to 165˚).
They even looked pretty when we were done! If I was smart, I would have made rice and served the kabobs over it. But hey, I'll do that next time.

Go-To Meals-Brown Sugar Chicken

Once upon a time, I was living on oatmeal and pasta, and life was very bland. While I was figuring out what foods triggered my IC, I went on an elimination diet--meaning I cut out pretty much everything and added foods back one at a time to see what triggered flares. Needless to say, food was rather plain. This was a recipe that I figured out early on because it's very simple and yet added some flavor to my otherwise dull meals.

I cook my rice in a rice cooker because one, I can't cook it on the stove and two, it is VASTLY superior to minute rice. But minute rice works too, depends on how much time you have.

Brown Sugar Chicken
Rice
Chicken
Brown Sugar
Carrots
Celery

Wash the rice and start it in the rice cooker (takes about 20 minutes, by which time everything else will be done). Defrost a chicken breast and cut into cubes. Cook in a saute pan on medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the chicken starts to turn white and opaque, sprinkle about 1 T of brown sugar over it. Continue cooking until chicken is done (completely white and opaque). While the chicken is cooking, dice carrots and celery and cover with water. Bring to a boil and add about 1 T of brown sugar to the water. Boil on medium for about 10 min or until veggies are soft (yet still firm).

When everything is done, serve chicken and veggies over rice, using the extra juice from the chicken as a sauce.
Simple, fast, and flavorful. Gotta love it.

Go-To Meals-Chicken Broccoli Fettuccini

Still in that week of not wanting to use the 400˚ oven, so another go-to meal of mine is pasta. I try to dress it up with veggies and chicken, but it's really just pasta. Tasty, easy, non-400˚-oven pasta.

Chicken Broccoli Fettuccine
Pasta
Broccoli
Chicken
Alfredo sauce

Yup. That's why it's a go-to meal. :) Just cook the pasta according to package directions. While cooking, wash, cut, and steam broccoli and warm up some chicken. Mix together and cover with alfredo sauce.

I actually can eat the Classico brand of alfredo sauce, but if you have IC, be careful, everyone is different on what artificial ingredients they are sensitive too.

A great alfredo sauce recipe can be found here. Thanks to SIL Brooke!

A note about chicken. For a lot of my go-to meals, I use pre-cooked, frozen chicken either that I made myself or that comes in neat little packages like this. It saves time and tastes fine and is all natural so it doesn't make me sick. :)

Go-To Meals-Quesadillas

So here's the deal. This week was hot (mostly) and I REALLY don't like cooking when it's hot. Usually the summer of my childhood consisted of pasta salads, potato salads, anything COLD. However, I haven't found a lot of cold IC recipes (pasta salad has vinegar dressing, potato salad has mayo, etc). So I'm still looking for those if anyone has suggestions.

My solution has been using the oven as little as possible, and that turns into quick meals that I don't really have recipes for. They are so easy, I feel a little silly putting them up, but maybe it's something you didn't realize was so easy, so it'll help you . . . maybe.

Quesadillas
Flour tortillas
Cheese
Warmed Black Beans
Pre-cooked, warmed chicken
*You could put anything--olives, tomatoes, peppers, etc. This is just what I can have and what I usually have on-hand.

Really, that's it. Derek LOVES them, and they take about 5 seconds to make (more like 10 minutes from start to finish, but still, fast!). You put the beans all over the tortilla, then the chicken, then the cheese. Place in an pre-warmed skillet and cover with another tortilla. Flip when bottom tortilla becomes stiff. Then I slice it with a pizza cutter. Pretty simple. Derek usually dips his in BBQ sauce. But he's been dipping just about everything in BBQ sauce lately . . .

Stuffed Manicotti

I love Italian food, but there's the little problem of everything has tomatoes in it! Not that I'm bitter. :)
This recipe has a great flavor, even leaving out the tomatoes. I cut the quantities in half since there are only two of us (yes that picture is a half recipe). Then I usually make it again about a week later since I have all the stuff ready to go!
Stuffed Manicotti
1 pkg manicotti shells
1 16 oz carton cottage cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, well beaten
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1 quart spaghetti sauce (I use Alfredo sauce, but the red would have looked nicer on top)

Cook manicotti according to package. Drain. While cooking, mix the cheeses, eggs, and parsley in a bowl. In a 9x13 pan, spread sauce to cover bottom of pan. Fill each shell with cheese mixture until it spills out both ends. Place shells in pan. Top with sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350˚ for 25-30 min or until cheese is melted.

Variations:
I cook a chicken breast in the pressure cooker, then shred it and add it to the whole mix before stuffing. I gotta have some meat in my dinner. :)

I also add a dash or two garlic powder.

I use nowhere near a quart of sauce. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan and the top of the pasta.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Okay, who doesn't love soup, right? With IC, I can't eat tomatoes, preservatives (bouillon), extreme spices, etc. Thus, a lot of soups are ruled out and I'm left with bland, boring water with some vegetables. Not very exciting. This recipe is great because it's hearty, flavorful, and a nice change from just plain ol' chicken noodle.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
1 T oil (I use olive oil-yummo)
1 onion, chopped (I use dried onion flakes and some green onions)
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 large chicken breasts
3 1/2 c water
1 can organic chicken broth
2 c wide egg noodles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Put first four ingredients in a pot and saute until vegetables are soft. Add chicken, water, and broth and simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken and shred. Add noodles and simmer until tender (~10 min). Add canned soup and chicken and heat through (~5 min).

Variations:
Cook the chicken breasts in at least 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Use that resulting stock to sub out plain water and can of chicken broth. This also speeds up the process as you don't have to boil the chicken for 30 minutes. :)

I go back and forth between regular pasta and whole wheat. The wheat pasta is thicker and more filling, but more expensive. Either taste great, so you can't really lose!

I also add some sprinkles of rosemary, parsley, garlic powder, etc.