Chicken Manicotti

Emily, this recipe was made for the freezer. It's designed to make two...one to cook up for dinner and one to freeze for later, but it does make a lot so you might even get away with splitting it in thirds and freezing two. We have also frozen successfully sloppy Joe's, the meat mixture for taco salad, taco soup, and burrito filling (Bean Burritos in Mandy's cookbook p.41). I'm also going to post a Italian bread recipe, as most bread freezes well, and a white chili recipe that should freeze well also.

Chicken Manicotti

1 T garlic powder
1-1/2 lbs boneless chk
16 uncooked manicotti shells
2 jars 26oz each spaghetti sauce, divided
1 lb bulk Italian sausage, cooked and drained
½ lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 C water

Rub garlic powder over chicken; cut into 1 in strips. Stuff chicken into manicotti shells. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce in each of two 13-in x 9-in x 2-in baking dishes. Place eight stuffed manicotti shells in each dish. Sprinkle with sausage and mushrooms. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Drizzle water around the edge of each dish. Cover and bake one casserole at 375 for 65-70 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and pasta is tender. Cover and freeze remaining casserole for up to 1 month. Yield: 2 casseroles (4 servings each).

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature for 30 min. Bake as directed.

Cajun Chicken Fettuccine

I found this in a magazine and turns out, hubby and I both really liked it...very rare. The kids tolerated it, (that is pretty good for my kids) until the heat caught up with them...except Laser Boy, ever since the Tabasco fiasco the kid can take just about anything, and he had three helpings. Sorry no picture..it was pretty, and went pretty fast.

8oz uncooked fettuccine (I used penne)
1 large sweet onion halved and sliced
1 med green pepper cut into 1/4 in. strips
2 T olive oil
2 C cubed cooked chicken
4 tsp Cajun seasoning (use your own judgement)
1 tsp minced garlic (I used about 2)
1 jar (17 oz) Alfredo sauce
1/2 C spaghetti sauce
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't have any so I left it out)

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion and peppers in oil until tender. Add chicken,Cajun and garlic; heat through. Add drained fettuccine. Stir in Alfredo and spaghetti sauces.

Transfer to a greased 13X9 baking dish. Sprinkle with cheeses. Cover and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 min longer or until golden brown.

Note: I used the frozen pepper/onion mix so it all went together really quick. When I have more time I'd like to try it from scratch, including the spaghetti and Alfredo...I have a spaghetti recipe that I think would work great, but I've never tried Alfredo sauce.