Freezer Friendz: Chickaroni (formerly called: Chicken Macaroni Bake) by Jackie

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Chickaroni (formerly called: Chicken Macaroni Bake) by Jackie

The original recipe came from Tricia Callahan @ onceamonthmom.com. I amended the original recipe to give it more creaminess.

Ingredients:
· 1/2 cup onions, chopped
· 4 Tablespoons butter or margarine
· 1/2 cup milk
· 2 - 10.5oz. cans cream of chicken soup
· 2 cups chicken (or turkey), cooked & cubed
· 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
· 4 cups cooked bite-size pasta, any variety (This is the equivalent of 8oz. dry pasta.)
· 1/4 cup buttered bread crumbs

Assembly:
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Brown onion in butter. Stir in soup, chicken, milk, and 1 1/2 cups cheese; heat until cheese melts. Blend sauce with cooked noodles; pour into buttered baking dish. Mix the remaining 1/2 c. cheese and bread crumbs and place on top. Cover with plastic wrap and foil. Freeze. Alternate freezing option: Place noodle mixture in Ziploc freezer bag. Place bread crumb mixture in pint size freezer Ziploc bag. Freeze both bags.

Serving Day:
If in baking pan, remove foil and bake.
If in Ziploc bag, pour into buttered baking dish and top with bread crumb topping before baking.

If thawed: Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot.
If frozen: Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until hot.

7 comments:

JenDecember 13, 2009 at 10:02 PM
YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!! Scott really enjoyed this meal! He had seconds and thirds. Brian and I also enjoyed. Wasn't sure what to do with the 2 of 2 bag. I put it on in the last 5 mins. I was probably suppose to put it on at the beginning of the cooking session. I cooked it frozen and it took 1 hour exactly. That was really nice, not having to de-frost anything.
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AnonymousJanuary 4, 2010 at 4:58 PM
We enjoyed this meal! It was a good comfort food.
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AnonymousJanuary 6, 2010 at 3:12 PM
Wonderful dish. I really enjoyed it. I cooked in the microwave long enough to get the meal out of the bag. I placed it in a stoneware 9x13 and nuked it long enough to get it to fit into the pan. I sprinkled the bread crumbs on and cooked it at 400 until the bread crumbs browned. -Debbie K
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WendyJanuary 16, 2010 at 3:24 PM
This was a dish loved by all in my family. Even my picky eater ate this. I thawed it and poured it in a 9x9 pan. It cooked up great. The noodles came out perfect.
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MagsFebruary 11, 2010 at 8:36 PM
This was super-delicious and got thumbs up from everyone in the family!! Make this again!
:) Mags
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HeatherDecember 5, 2010 at 7:22 PM
I am making this this week!
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MissyDecember 13, 2010 at 6:14 PM
YUMMY! We really enjoyed this. Thanks:)
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Freezer Cooking Quick Tips

When wrapping meals for freezer: make sure to double wrap to prevent freezer burn. Using one layer of plastic wrap and a top layer of foil is best.

Freezer Bags: Use GOOD freezer bags! Don't skimp on cheapo freezer bags or your food will taste like plastic!

Meat in Freezer Meals: Thawed meat must be cooked before it can be refrozen. Frozen cooked meat can not be refrozen once thawed.

Freezing Soup: Pour soup into gallon size Ziploc bag. Lay bag of soup flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, then remove cookie sheet. Doing this allows soup to freeze flat, so it can stack easily with other meals in your freezer.

Flash Marinade: Put raw chicken or beef in a ziploc baggie, pour in your marinade, then freeze. In the thawing process, your meat will be infused with the marinade and ready to cook!

Cooking Noodles: Cook noodles only 3 minutes, drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Noodles will freeze well and not turn to mush if done this way. Tip from freezerchicks blog site!

Slow-Cooking Chicken for the Freezer: You can fill crock pot with chicken breasts and pour a can of chicken broth over meat. Cook on high for 4 hours. Another method that gives the meat more flavor is to layer 1 sliced onion in the bottom of slow cooker. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook on low for 4 hours or until done. With either of these methods, you need to keep an eye on your meat to make sure you do not overcook. Shred or dice and freeze in 2 cup portions for use in casseroles, tacos, etc...

Freezing Cooked Ground Beef: You can boil ground beef, then freeze it - it will be easy to thaw and use for tacos or something similar! To do this, add raw ground beef to large pot. Add onion, salt & pepper. Fill pot with water until water is 1" above the top of the meat. Boil, stirring occasionally to break up chunks. Meat is finished when no longer pink. Drain off the water (which drains off the fat).

1lb. raw ground beef=12 oz. cooked ground beef=2 - 2.5

Freezing Sandwiches: You can make lunchmeat sandwiches ahead of time and freeze them. Just assemble the meat and cheese on bread and place in ziploc sandwich bags. Place all bagged sandwiches into a large ziploc freezer bag. I did this once with cheap sandwich bags and the sandwiches tasted like plastic; however, they taste fine if you use Ziploc bags. **PBJ works too, if bread is a higher quality wheat bread.

Freezer Efficiency: If your freezer isn't full, fill empty milk jugs 3/4 full with water and place in freezer. This helps your freezer not have to work so hard to stay cold, saving you money.

Substitutions: Here is a great source for figuring out substitions for your recipes when you start making something and realize you are missing an ingredient: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Common-Substitutions/Detail.aspx

Meet The Freezer Friendz!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Chickaroni (formerly called: Chicken Macaroni Bake) by Jackie

7 comments:

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