Chili Macaroni Caserole

I made this and could not get over how good it was. 

Ingredients:

½ pound elbow macaroni

Olive oil

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

2 medium onions

6 cloves garlic

2 tbs. chili powder

1 tbs. ground cumin

2x 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoe

14.5 oz. diced fire roasted with garlic tomatoes. (Hunts)

2 ½ cups Cheese (Colby jack, Chedder, Motz., Etc.)

Cook pasta and set aside: save ¾ cup of water.

Sauté chicken with a little olive and cook until brown and set aside. Sweat onion with a little salt over medium heat until soft. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, and chicken into the skillet and simmer for about 20 minutes. Put the mixture with the macaroni in a 9x13 pan. Mix in the cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes to heat through. 

Quick, Cheap, Easy: Broccoli Cheese Soup

Every single time I have made broccoli cheese soup, I have tried to get it as close to Panera Bread as humanly possible. After a few tries I just gave up and settled for canned soup. Well NOT anymore!! This is so good, quick, and easy a caveman could do it. I never asked Rachel how she liked it and this time she volunteered her response, “I would put this right up there with Panera.” I was so tickled. I do not remember if Panera has their broccoli cheese soup with potato in it or not. I added it in because, well, we have nearly a full bag and need to use them up. I also added some carrot, but I think theirs has some as well.

For the Recipe:

2 Tbs. butter

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 whole stalks broccoli cut smaller the better.

2 Carrots grated

3-4 medium potatoes

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups milk

½ cup flour

1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes into small bites and boil them until almost cooked through.

While the potatoes are cooking: add butter to pot over medium heat and melt. Add the onion and a little bit of salt to sweat the onion. Once soft, add garlic, carrot, and broccoli and cook for about a minute. Add the chicken stock and cover to steam the broccoli and carrot.

While the broccoli is steaming, whisk the flour and milk together. Once the broccoli is the doneness you want add the potatoes and then the milk mixture. Once the soup starts to thicken you can add your cheese.

Side notes: This whole thing takes about 20 minutes to put everything together plus cooking time. It just does not have ingredients that take a long time to cook.

I added the stalk of the broccoli as well. I cut off the flower part and peeled the stalk. I ran it through the side of the grater with the one blade on the side to slice into thin coins. I figured since the grater was out for the carrots I would use it to cut the broccoli faster.

You can opt to not have the potato in the soup or not, I used them because I had some I needed using.

This would be delicious served in a bread bowl just like they do in Panera Bread!