Thursday, November 6, 2008

A kitty and casserole

Look what showed up last night on our deck! She is so sweet and after a bowl of milk, she decided to spend the night in our garage with the dogs where it was warm. When we woke up this morning, she was still here and as we speak, she is hanging out in our backyard. Looks like we have another pet! Honestly, we've been wanting an outside cat to keep the mice and other critters away here in the country. Mike had a cat before we got married, it's name was "The Kittidiot." If she decides to stick around, I'll be naming her.


I fixed this for dinner the other night...

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

8 oz. dried bow tie pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tb. butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 tsp.l crushed red pepper (optional)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I baked a whole chicken with seasonings for the added flavor)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack (8 oz.)
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tb. butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to directions, drain. In medium skillet cook onion (I added some garlic too) in 1 Tb. butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In bowl whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half of the Parmesan cheese, pasta and onion. Transfer to a 3-quart baking dish.
3. Bake covered, 20 minutes. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over pasta. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden. Makes 6-8 servings.
Christy and Jessica will be here this afternoon! We'll take some pictures and share them!

9 comments:

Joy Junktion said...

Enjoy you newly found kitty! And yes, I think you better name it.

In fact, besides congratulations on your little girl, I think you better name her too!! Can't take any chances on hubby naming her.

Bless you,
Cindy

Kristen said...

That casserole looks yummy!

Your kitty looks so sweet - yes, I think it's a good idea that you name the cat!

Enjoy your weekend w/ your sis and niece! Looking forward to your posts and Christy's after the visit!

CMB said...

dinner looks delicious! Good luck naming the kitten.

Christy said...

Just came down to do a little blogging before we left. How fun to have a little kitty! We (the girls) can cam up with a cute name for it.

That casserole looks delish!

Love your new layout, very pretty!

See you soon:)

Katie said...

Oh, that dish looks incredibly good! I cannot wait to try this! WOW!

We have a couple cats outside that just showed up, too. I have named them Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash, and Mrs. Sprinkles.

Scrapper Mom said...

Can't wait to see pics of you and Christy. Congrats on the new found kitty.

Carolina Mama said...

What a sweet little kitty cat! Can't wait to hear the name. You are really getting to work with names. :) Baby GIrl is next! :)

The casserole looks really good and a new one!

Y'all have a fun weekend!

Shannon said...

I sure hope you name that kitty. :) That is hilarious.

Your casserole looked delicious!!

Kim said...

Your new kitty is adorable! Thanks for the great looking recipe ~ can't wait to try it. Have fun with your sister!!!