We all have go-to recipes. Not only does it make dinner easier, but it also allows you to modify and make it your own over time. One of my favorite recipes evolved out of a (what else?) Pinterest recipe for a pasta bake. The original recipe is delicious, but leaned too heavily on pasta for my liking. First, I cut back on the pasta and upped the veggies. Then I finally perfected (in my humble opinion :)) when I eliminated the pasta all together for quinoa. Basically every ingredient can be used ‘to taste’ so this is a loose recipe. I wanted to share with you and highly encourage you to make it your own and report back. After all, there’s always room for improvement!
Ingredients:
- Cooked chicken (I prefer shredded)
- Cooked quinoa (or pasta), drained
- Chive cream cheese, one package (room temp)
- Canned tomatoes (I use one that includes chiles too since I love a kick!), one can
- Spinach
- Zucchini and/or summer squash, cut up
- Peppers (any color), cut up
- Minced garlic, red pepper flakes, whatever herbs and spices you desire!
- Shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 250. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except shredded cheese. Mix well. Ideally the quinoa/pasta is still warm enough to finish softening the cream cheese. Pour mixture into a pan, generously sprinkle with cheese and cover with tinfoil. Bake for a half hour. If needed, remove tinfoil and bake another 15 min to cook off some of the liquid and/or finish melting the cheese. Will depend on your oven and preference. I serve hot with ground pepper. Makes fabulous leftovers as well 🙂
Let me know if you try it out! I’m sparing you a picture on this post, as I’m not adept at food pics… yet.