Hunt’s Signature Recipe Collection – Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole…
I love cooking for my almost 88-year old Mom, Rita. Rita was a great cook when I was a child, always experimenting with food and recipes and way ahead-of-her-time with healthy eating choices for herself, my Dad and my brothers and me. My Dad grew up on a farm in Michigan (where I was born!) and never ate anything that wasn’t grown by his own parents. I still remember picking vegetables and fruit with my grandparents. I think this shaped my life. Back in the 60’s, my Mom literally began to restrict sugar-intake in our household, too!
Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole
Rita loves taking the senior bus to her local Senior Center where she exercises at least 3-4 days per week. I cannot remember a time in my life when my Mom wasn’t doing ahead-of-her-time things to keep herself physically fit. In the 1950’s and ’60’s and all the way ’til now, my Mom has done strength training exercises every single day. My Mom golfed and bowled and danced and hula hooped and rode her stationary bike until her arthritis made these things prohibitive.
Now, my Mom walks up to a mile a day, up and down the long corridors of her senior complex. She loves being with my family and participating in the activities and antics of my 9 grandkids, her great-grandkids! She is a marvel to fellow seniors and my greatest role model.
Rita is now widowed, lives alone in a senior housing facility and just does not enjoy cooking for one person – herself. One of my greatest joys is cooking for my Mom and/or sharing everything I make. Rita is so appreciative and happy about this… but she’s still very interested in every single ingredient in every single cooking creation.
That’s my Mom. And this is why I feel so good about the recipes I’ve been cookin’ up with Hunt’s Signature Recipe Collection.This week, I delivered the most delicious Tomato and Bacon Tortellini and Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole. Each surpassed the highest Rita taste-test and healthy eating test!
Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole
I wrote about Hunt’s Tomato and Bacon Tortellini here.
This is how I made Hunt’s Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole in 35 minutes:
Ingredients for a Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole:
Medium pasta shells. PAM Original No-stick Cooking Spray. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Garlic powder. Chopped green bell pepper. 1 can Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes. 1 can Hunt’s Tomato Sauce. Shredded Italian-blend cheese.
I doubled the above recipe because I know how popular this meal is with my family, and how many “hands” would be raised for take-home/lunches/dinners from this Mom- me!
Steps How to Make Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole:
I feel good about Hunt’s Tomato Sauce because it’s made from all-natural, vine-ripened tomatoes with spices, salt and natural flavors. Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes are peeled, packed in their own juices; and FlashSteam – no chemicals – is used to bring us the best, most fresh, most delicious product. This is very important to me.
Cook pasta.
Brown bite-sized chicken, sprinkled with garlic powder.
Add chopped green pepper and cook until tender.
This is where I traded the skillet for the stock pot recipe-doubling…
Add Diced Tomatoes and Tomato Sauce to the Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole
Add 3/4 Italian-blend cheese.
Add cooked pasta.
Transfer mixture to prepared (PAM Cooking Spray) baking dish (mine is 4-quart for doubled recipe)…
Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly…
A healthy, nutritious, easy, QUICK meal in 35 minutes of Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole
How easy what that to make the Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole
Well, two healthy, nutritious, easy QUICK meals in 35 minutes. I made both Hunt’s Tomato and Bacon Tortellini and Cheesy Chicken and Pasta Casserole simultaneously. They were that easy…
A little taste-test of my own…
… a little cooling, and packing up for Mom’s dinners –
Ready to deliver to my beautiful Mom!
Here’s a photo of Mom and me…
If you enjoy this wonderful, easy recipe, try these others from Hunt’s Signature Recipe Collection:
Hunt’s Chicken with Mediterranean Vegetables and Hunt’s Fire-Roasted Beef Chili
Have you ever used Hunt’s canned tomatoes? Take this quick-and-easy survey about Hunt’s to let us know! CLICK HERE to take the super-quick survey.
Disclosure: I am proudly working with Hunt’s. Although this is sponsored content, Hunt’s has always been my go-to favorite and all of my opinions are my own.
