Foodie Friday: moms casserole

So I know I'm kind of late for foodie Friday but well life gets in the way and I'm gonna do it on Saturday.

Growing up my mom made this great easy casserole. It was all stuff she had in the pantry usually (well a few fridge items as well) and it was quick and easy. Since we have been trying to east less caned food and more fresh food I've updated my moms recipe using fresh foods.

Chicken casserole

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package of waky Mac colored spiral pasta. I've found a few versions that have a full serving of vegetables in the noodles which is awesome.
1 package fresh sliced mushrooms
1 bag frozen organic mixed veggies (carrots, green beans, peas, corn and potatoes)
1 can olives (large)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or if you make your own that's even better. I plan to start making my own)
8 oz sour cream
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of butter

1. Cook the chicken and cut it into cubes
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions
3. Mix pasta, vegetables, chicken, cream of mushroom, sour cream, and olives and spread in 9x12 pan
4. Melt butter
5. Mix butter, bead crumbs and Parmesan cheese until completely coated and lumpy.
6. Spread bread crumb mixture over pasta mixture
7. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes

This is one of our go to fall/winter meals. It's filling and oh so good

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday

Hey All! I thought it would be fun to switch things up a bit here at Crafting in My Closet. Besides sewing and crafting I love to cook. I love experimenting in the kitchen and I love when things turn out right. So I thought how fun would it be to have a new feature here on Crafting in My Closet where I tell you all about my cooking adventures/successes/disasters?! I can assure you not everything turns out the way I want it to but hey we're real here so its ok. So welcome to Foodie Friday!
For this first week I'm gonna share a new recipe for black bean soup. Now I know there are tons of black bean soup recipes out there, but the other night I wanted to throw something together and soup sounded so good that I just kind of winged it. Morgen liked it so much he requested I make another batch so he could take it with him to school for lunch friday as well. Score. Love when that happens!

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

3 teaspoons better than bouillon- chicken flavor
3 cups of water
1 large onion diced
2 tablespoons of crushed garlic
6 cans of black beans (drain the liquid from 2 of the cans)
1 can of crushed tomatoes with sweet onions
1 can diced green chilies
1-2 cups of frozen corn (optional)

Makes 12 servings

1. in a large soup pot sauté onion and garlic
2. add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil
3. add 3 teaspoons of better than bouillon (can substitute 3 8oz cans of chicken broth for water and bouillon) and whisk till combined
4. add all 6 cans of black beans (drain 2 of the cans before adding them)
5. add the tomatoes
6. add the green chilies
7. add the corn if you like.
8. bring to a boil then lower to simmer.
9. let simmer for at least 1/2 hour. I let it cook for 1 hour the first time and 2 hours the second time. The longer it cooks the better it tastes.

Top with chips and cheese and you have a delicious filling meal!