Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti

Last week I must have been in the mood for spaghetti.  In my mind I was trying to think of good freezable foods so I made my list of two recipes and headed to the grocery.  Came back home only to realize it was for two spaghettis!  One is one that I make quite frequently and is my Mom's favorite.  It's a tomato base spaghetti out of Paula Deen's "Paula Deen & Friends" cookbook.  It is very easy, very good, and makes a ton.  Perfect for freezing! 

The other spaghetti is a chicken spaghetti casserole that I found on My Recipes.  This is turning into one of my new favorite websites.  The one thing that caught my eye is this recipe is prepared to make two casseroles in 8 in casserole dishes.  Perfect for me....Tay and I can eat one and I can throw the other in the freezer.  Turned out that Jon was home for dinner this one particular night so I threw it all into an 11x13 dish.  My one suggestion for this dish is to cut the veggies up finely.  I don't know if it's cause I put it in a bigger dish than what it called for but the veggies were a little crunchy.  It was still delicious though!



Chichen Spagetti

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (I used a rotessirie chicken from the grocery)
2 cups uncooked spaghetti noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces (about 7 ounces)
1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices celery
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (10.75-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine broth, salt, pepper, and soup in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add soup mixture to chicken mixture; toss. Divide mixture evenly between 2 (8-inch) square or (2-quart) baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over each casserole. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Alice Jo's Spaghetti Sauce
 
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (6oz) cans tomato paste
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
 
 Brown the beef in a large, heavy bottomed pot, then drain off the fat.  Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic, and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, 1 cup water, and seasonings.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Let cool.  The sauce will keep for several days, covered, in the fridge.