I made mention on my facebook page about how I needed some ideas on making mealtime easier for our busy family and my fans of course came through with some awesome suggestions!  One of the suggestions was to make large meals in advance and then freeze them in smaller portions to be used later for a quick meal.  I thought this was a great idea, so I spent one Sunday making several things to freeze and eat at a later time.  One of the things I made was a cheesy chicken and pasta dish.  As you read more of my food posts, since I do intend to have more, you will learn pretty fast that I don’t always follow a recipe, or if I do I make my own modifications based on what I have or don’t have.  I feel the best way to cook is to try new things, and what better way than just using up things you already have in the house.  This avoids any unnecessary trips to the grocery store for “special” ingredients, and helps clean out food from the refrigerator that otherwise may have gone bad.  Plus, it’s always fun when you make something and it turns out great!  This dish was just such a dish, I just used some ingredients that I happened to have on hand, and wallah!

Let me give you a picture to get started, and then I’ll go about telling you what is in it (although I don’t do a lot of measuring unless I am baking so my ingredient list will include a lot of estimates).  🙂

Lots and Lots of Cheese! — Hey, I’m from Wisconsin, it’s required!

As you can see, this is very cheesy!  I love anything with cheese and more cheese!  Also, this is an extra large baking dish.  I think it is 15 x 11 or something, not your normal 9 x 13.  A couple extra inches all around, haha!

So anyway, what is in this bad boy?  Well glad you asked!  Let me see if I can remember…. I made this a while ago and just now getting to posting so I have to try to remember since I didn’t use a recipe.

Cheesy Chicken Penne
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Ingredients

  • Penne Noodles. 1 whole box (1lb)
  • I also used 2 cans (15oz) diced tomatoes (with the juice).
  • Chicken. I like to just use frozen chicken breast or tenders and then cook them and cut them up. I'm all about easy and convenient and for me that is the easiest way to go! Depending on the size of the breasts or tenders in the bag you may need more or less, but I used 3 average sized breasts.
  • Corn. I used 1 quart size bag full of corn kernels.
  • Half and Half or Cream.
  • Seasoning to taste, I love using Mrs. Dash seasonings, but use whatever you like.

Instructions

  1. Basically just cook the chicken and dice it. Cook the pasta al dente, mix all of the other ingredients together and pour them all into a baking dish, load it up with cheese and bake! I usually put cheese in with the mixture, and then also load up the whole top really thick, but I love cheese, so if you don't like things as cheesy then hold back a little.
  2. Bake at 375-425 degrees (depending on your oven) until the cheese is nice and melted and bubbly.
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https://mommybunch.com/preparing-meals-in-advance-cheesy-chicken-and-pasta/

Nutrition

Calories: 1225 cal
Carbohydrates: 82 g
Fat: 43 g
Sodium: 749 g
Cholesterol: 382 g
Protein: 127 g
Fiber: 6 g

Here is another picture after it was done and I scooped some up for myself.  Oh, it is making me hungry just looking at it, good thing I have some left in the freezer!

mmmmmmmmm!

In the end, I’m glad I took the advice of my fans and made dishes that can last us a while, they have really come in handy because my husband has been working double shifts twice a week for the last three weeks.  The kids and I get home late, and it is just nice to have an easy meal available without having to heat up a frozen box meal, or grab fast food.  Hopefully some of you will try it out and do the same!  Try this one if you want, modify it to suit your taste, and come back and let me know what you think!