Cheey Salsa Chicken Pasta Bake

Lately I have been making one of the two versions of this A LOT.  Why?  Well, it's stupidly easy and you don't have to remember to thaw your chicken!  Thawing is one of my biggest obstacles in the kitchen.  Isn't that sad?  I don't remember where I first heard this method, but it has been amazing.  Easy, delicious, right up my alley.

First I took a couple packages of frozen (yes, frozen!) chicken breasts and put them in the crock pot with a jar of salsa.  In our house we have several people that don't like "chunks" so I usually run my salsa through a blender first.  :)  I cooked them for 4 hours, shredded the chicken, and put it back in for 30 minutes to absorb all the juice.  We ate a little over half that night as chicken tacos and I froze the rest, so the casserole uses the portion that I froze.
You can also do the same thing with a bottle of BBQ sauce.  It makes fantastic BBQ chicken sandwiches and pizza.

Now for the new casserole recipe!

Doesn't it look like melty cheesy goodness?

Cheesy Salsa Chicken Pasta Bake

2 cups (you can use more or less, just whatever, it's a good way to stretch leftover chicken) of shredded salsa chicken
Tablespoon of cumin (we LOVE cumin at our house)
Couple teaspoons of chili powder
Couple teaspoons of garlic salt (I was out of real garlic so I just used garlic salt.  If you use real garlic don't forget to salt your mixture!)
2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
1 to 1 1/2 cups sour cream
Box of penne (but any smaller pasta would work) cooked just shy of al dente

Mix chicken, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, 1 cup-ish of mozzarella, 1 cup-ish of cheddar, and the sour cream until well combined.  Then mix in the cooked pasta.  If the mixture looks a little dry just add some milk or some more salsa.  Top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until the cheese is melty and bubbly and delicious! 
I warmed up my chicken before mixing it with everything but if you don't you will want to bake it a little longer.  You could easily make this ahead of time too, just bake it another 10 minutes or so!
This could easily be made gluten free by subbing GF pasta.

So Long, Farewell...

After watching The Sound of Music together Olivia has started singing this song at bedtime...and randomly throughout the day!  It makes me so happy.

What the camera didn't catch is that right after she finishes singing Olivia yells, "Ka-chow!" Lightening McQueen-style.  I love my silly girl!

Freezer Cooking: Making My Life Easier

Some friends of mine have been asking about the freezer cooking I like to do, so this post is dedicated to that.  I'll also add in some tips about what I do to make my cooking life easier.  I'd like to note that I do not have a larger freezer.  Oh, how I wish I did!  We're currently trying to figure out how to afford a small chest freezer so that we can buy half a cow and I can do more cooking ahead.

One of my favorite things to do is to brown hamburger with onion and garlic and then freeze it in one pound portions.  To make my life even easier I use prechopped garlic (I buy a huge jar because I use it all the time) and I use chopped freeze dried onions (I got a huge can of them - they are good for 2 years after you open them!) and I just toss them in with the meat.  Now you can just brown up an extra pound when you are already doing it for something else, but usually I like to do a couple pounds while I'm making sandwiches and cutting up fruit for lunch.  I just start the beef and then come back and stir it from time to time.  I use very lean beef so I don't even bother draining it.  Other than burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf I pretty much always just use browned ground beef so it's a big time saver to already have it done. 
I use the beef in things like:
Tacos - just add in some cumin and chili powder, maybe some salsa and you're good to go
Pizza
Sloppy Joe's
Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole
Meat sauce for pasta
Stroganoff sandwiches - mix some sour cream with the hamburger, spread it on french bread, top with cheese and broil until brown
Goloush
Soups
Hamburger gravy - like sausage gravy, only with hamburger
Chili

You also can just freeze batches of meatballs.  I like this recipe because it makes a double batch, although you may want to use more beef if you don't like to have very bready meatballs.  I usually add in garlic and parmesan.  I love meatball subs but Glenn doesn't like tomato sauce very much, so I usually heat up some for him in BBQ sauce instead and then he is a happy camper.  :)

When I make a turkey or buy a rotisserie chicken I like to make my own broth to freeze.  The easiest way I have found is the crock pot method.  I put the bones in the crock pot with some onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and cover it all with water.  Leave it overnight or about 18 hours on low, strain and freeze!
Oh, and another good thought.  Sometimes I like to make a turkey on a Saturday just for sandwiches.  I freeze the leftover turkey in useable portions and then have it ready for casseroles, soups, and sandwiches later.

I also like to make chicken strips.  I cut up chicken breasts into strips, bread them, and then lay them out on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper to freeze.  After they are frozen I pack them into freezer bags.  No need to thaw before you cook them, so that is a big help!  They take 20-25 minutes in the oven depending on how thick you cut them.

You can freeze muffins and breads easily as well as pancakes and waffles.  Instead of muffins lately I have been making these baked oatmeal cups which are GF and diabetic friendly.  They are so so good and very healthy!  Instead of doing toppings I just mix stuff in.  Our favorite combination lately is toasted walnut and blueberry.  Olivia and Glenn both pound them down.  One note, the recipe says it makes 18 but I always get 30-36!

Some people love to freeze pasta casseroles or enchiladas.  I personally am VERY particular about the texture of the noodles or tortillas so I don't do this at our house.  Instead, I love this cheesy beef and rice casserole that my friend Laura makes.  It truly is just as easy to make 2 as it is to make one.  I don't have tons of dishes so I like to line the dish with foil, assemble the casserole, then freeze it.  After it is frozen I pop it out of the dish and wrap it in another layer of foil.  When it comes time to use one I simply peel off the foil and then put it back in the dish overnight in the fridge to thaw.  That way I can still use my dishes and they take up less room in the freezer.
I've been thinking about adding in some green beans to Laura's recipe in the hopes that Olivia will eat them, but I haven't tried it yet.

I also like to just make extra of things like beef and vegetable soup and freeze them.  Ok, that's a lie.  I just tend to make a lot whenever I make any kind of soup and we never eat through the leftovers quickly enough so I just freeze them to use later so they won't go to waste.  :)  So yeah, this has been my foray so far into the world of freezer cooking.  I know there are other things but I can't think of them right now - perhaps a future post.  Hope some of you find it helpful!

Meal Plan for The Week

On the menu this week:

Monday - Homemade pizza (well, I use Trader Joe's pizza dough that I freeze and then thaw when I need it) with hamburger and/or turkey pepperoni (pepper-ponies if you are Olivia).

Tuesday - Chicken and sausage paella using this recipe.  I always have leftovers and they taste great!

Wednesday - I'm working at the library, so Glenn will be taking the girls out before church.

Thursday - Black bean and bacon soup using this recipe - Deena's birthday dinner at the Tandy's and we're doing a soup night where people will bring several kinds of soup.

Friday - Asian Meatball Subs, courtesy of Food Network, found here.

Saturday - Leftovers!

Sunday - We'll be at my folks' house all day!  Mom is making prime rib - woohoo!

For breakfasts we will have cereal or oatmeal with fruit.

For lunches we eat turkey, scrambled egg and cheese, or PB&J sandwiches or eat leftovers.  Occasionally I will make a mac and cheese because Olivia loves it so much.  Usually I throw in some more fruit or carrot sticks.  Really I just try to have some things on hand and go with what sounds good.

Mental Health Update

I've tried to be pretty open and honest about my mental health issues since I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when Olivia was 7 months old.  They are things that I've always struggled with to some extent, but the postpartum period became unbearable for me shortly after Olivia's birth.  You can read more about when I finally came clean and got help here if you are so inclined.  You can also read here the best parenting advice I ever got and my pledge to be proactive about my mental health this time around. 
This time around we had a plan in place to deal with the fact that I was pretty likely to experience depression again.  I started back on medication the last few months of my pregnancy with Molly.  I also discussed with Glenn what I would do to take care of myself and came up with a plan of evaluating how I was doing.
Well, I am happy to report that between being on the medication again and the coping skills I learned in counseling last time (not to mention lots of prayer!) I am doing fantastic!  I am far less stressed with a two-month-old and a two-year-old than I ever was when Olivia was tiny.  I actually like being a mom!  I actually like being around my baby!  Yes, I know some of it is that I'm just a more relaxed parent and that Molly isn't as difficult as Olivia was, but the difference in how I feel is astounding to me.  Before trying to get pregnant with Molly I used to say with Glenn, "Well, the first year will be rough and then it will be fun again."  But the reality of it has turned out so much better.  And don't get me wrong - we have rough days, very rough sometimes.  And sometimes I feel like my patience is not going to make it until 5:00 when Daddy gets home to relieve some of the pressure, but this time I'm able to manage.  I'm also not wasting tons of energy trying to hide that my life is not perfect.  Good grief that was exhausting!  Being open and honest about where I am and what I am dealing with has been freeing, once I got the courage to come forward.  And so many other people have now shared with me that they have had similar struggles.  It's good to hear that I'm not alone.   

So here is my little public service announcement:  if you are struggling with depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issues you need to get help.  Yes, it's scary and it involves a lot of hard work but it is so worth it!  You don't have to be miserable.  You aren't alone.  Don't keep waiting thinking things will get better because a lot of times it won't on its own.  Be proactive and do what it takes to take care of yourself.  It won't be an easy road - mine wasn't - but things did get easier and life did get better again.  And if someone that cares about you tries to talk to you about getting help, try to listen.  And if you are concerned about someone you know that might be struggling, don't give up on them if they don't listen to you the first time.  It took more than one person expressing their concerns to me on more than one occasion before I finally really listened. 

Sometimes you don't even realize how bad things were until you start feeling better.  Looking back it almost scares me at how deeply depressed I was.  I'm so grateful that I now know that it doesn't have to be that way  - and it doesn't have to be that way for you either!