Chicken Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

We had a casserole with chedder cheese, macaroni, pimentos, mushrooms, and chicken the other night, and my it was good. We forgot to get cream of chicken soup, so we had to skip that but it was still tasty. We'll get it and try again.

An illustrated guide to Chicken Quesadilla Casserole.

Pasta Sauce

I've burned my last couple of pasta sauces due to cooking them in a skillet at too high a heat, and thankfully a light bulb went on the last time: a skillet is not the right pan for cooking sauce. A skillet will dissipate heat too quickly with a liquid like pasta sauce. You need to cook in in a sauce pan, so it can retain the heat, but not get burned.

Simple, but true.

Speaking of pasta sauce, I have to agree with the Phantom Gourmet's opinion that Classico sauce is the best consumer brand pasta sauce out there. We like to get the triple mushroom, around $2.00 a bottle.

Dining Certificates

Just picked up 4 new dining certificates: 2 for Tullio's and 2 for Spazio's. Can't beat the price: $0. I'm finally getting to use up my old United Airlines frequent flyer miles, or "Mileage Plus" miles as they call them. I've got a bunch, not much use for plane tickets but for a night out on the town: priceless!

Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli

Tonight's menu:

Chicken Stir-Fry with cashews and broccoli!

1 chicken breast chopped into chunks
1 onion chopped into pieces
1/2 tspn ginger powder
1/2 tspn chopped garlic
1 tbsp honey
1 tspn lemon
1 tspn corn starch
Small crown of broccoli chopped
1 cup of unsalted cashews
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Salt and pepper, less than a dash of crushed red pepper

1 cup of brown rice too!