Grown-Up College Casserole
When I made this dish, my original plan was to make College Casserole, a long-time favorite of my kids when Jess is away. I didn't have Kraft Mac & Cheese, so I decided to modify it a bit. I had fresh garden tomatoes and bell peppers and wanted to incorporate those somehow. In the end, this turned into a full fledged, independent recipe loaded with nutrition and protein (ok, and some carbs and fats). It's not even close to the original, so I renamed it accordingly.
I also only had 1 big can of chicken and 2 cans of tuna. So I added both and didn't tell the kids. They didn't care and shrugged when I said there was tuna in it. And they loved it. Bridget even had seconds, which rarely happens.
You can make this even healthier by using spiralized zucchini, some other fru fru fake pasta, or none at all and avoiding the cream cheese. Most of the ingredients are quite good for you.
Ingredients
Amounts are approximate:
- 6-8 tomatoes, diced (maybe 2-3 15oz cans)
- 2 yellow, orange, or red bell peppers, diced
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 8oz light cream cheese
- 2-3 cups cooked penne pasta
- 1 lb of cooked, shredded chicken (or tuna)
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 cup Italian bread crums
- 3 tbsp Italian herbs/spices mix
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Cook pasta until tender
- Melt 1-2 tbsp of butter (or use olive oil) in a frying pan. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add peppers.
- Add diced tomatoes and Italian herb mix. Cook for 10 minutes
- Add chicken/tuna, and Cream of Mushroom soup until heated through
- Add cream cheese, melt, and mix in evenly
- Combine the cooked ingredients with the pasta in a separate bowl and mix evenly
- Add to casserole dish, cover evenly with shredded cheese and then Italian bread crumbs
- Heat in oven until cheese is thoroughly melted
- Let cool for 5 minutes and serve