For lunch today, I was inspired by a website I recently came across, adventuresinbentomaking.com, (now http://www.aibento.net/). Bentos are packed lunches, and mine was clearly not, but the goal of making a beautiful meal is the same. This is my first attempt, but it was fun to do, and fairly easy, so expect to see more.
Dinner tonight was chicken tetrazzini. It was a favorite from my childhood, published in a cookbook from my grandma's hometown the year that I was born. It's even better when you take the time to cook the chicken, but I generally use a large can of chicken instead. I know, it's sad to see some of the flavor go, but it's neglible when compared to the time gained, at least for me. Here's how you put it together.
CHICKEN TETRAZZINI
Preheat your oven to 375°, and pull out a 1 1/2 qt. casserole dish.
Ingredients:
4 oz. spaghetti, broken (approx. 1 cup broken up)
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 c. milk
1 c. diced, cooked chicken (or one large can chicken, drained)
1/4 c. chopped pimientos
1/4 c. green pepper
1 T. minced onion
1 c. shredded cheese
1/4 t. black pepper
Chop all vegetables, and drain the pimientos (and chicken, if needed) before beginning assembly.
I prefer to mix the soup and spaghetti first, with the chopped vegetables. This way the spaghetti is nicely broken up by the time everything else is mixed in.
Add the milk next.
When you add the chicken and pimientos, be sure that you break up any large pieces of chicken so that it blends well with the rest of the dish.
Finally, add the shredded cheese and pepper, reserving some of the cheese for sprinkling on top.
Mix everything well and place in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes.
