Why do I even start with a recipe?

I found a recipe in Cooking Light magazine. I wanted to try it but decided I would make some of my changes. In the end, it was WAY different than the original recipe. Here are the ingredients I used.

8 oz chicken breast

8 oz elbow macaroni

2 Tablespoons of flour

2 Tablespoons of light butter

3 cups of skim milk

2/3 cup reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded multi-cheese blend (like 4 Mexican blend)

3/4 shredded Colby jack cheese

cooking spray

1/2 bag of frozen peas

head of broccoli

I had some leftover grilled chicken breast (already cooked) and some smoked chicken and pork (thanks to my husband). I chopped that up and threw it in a pan with the chopped up broccoli and 1/2 bag of frozen peas. I also cooked the macaroni according to the box directions. When it was all cooked and hot I mixed it up in a big bowl.

Meanwhile, I made the sauce. I started with the butter and flour. I cooked it in a sauce pan for 2 minutes. In a bowl I mixed the cream of mushroom soup and milk. I slowly added the milk mixture to the pan and brought it to a boil for about 3 minutes to thicken it. I removed from the heat for 4 minutes. Then stirred in the garlic powder, salt, dill and the 1 1/2 cup of multi-cheese blend. It turned into like a white cream/cheese sauce.

I poured it over the meat, veggie and macaroni mixture. I put the mixture in a 8 inch square baking dish (after I sprayed it with PAM). I topped it with 3/4 Colby jack cheese. I put in under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

It yields 4 humongous servings. I am guessing it is about 600-650 calories each. I was not too specific in my measurements and I deviated from the recipe quite a bit. But it is still pretty healthy and very hearty.

Verdicts

Me: Yum, yum. I liked it alot. It was like a creamy casserole. Normally I do not like that sort of thing but this one was good. I kind of want to call it "crap in a pan." But good crap.

Hubby: "This is even better than the last one. If we owned a restaurant this would be on the menu." Cleaned his plate.

The original recipe did not have any veggies in it. I have to sneak them into hubby's food. Most people have to do this for their children. I have to do it for my 37 year-old husband. Okay, I have procrastinated long enough (like ALL DAY), I need to work on some report cards. Hope you all had a great weekend!