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Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3.5 (ZReboot 3.5) recipe.

This dish is a combination of my recipe for Chicken Mamou and a casserole. Chicken Mamou is a traditional Cajun dish. “Mamou” is their word for Grandma, so this is true comfort food.

There is a pasta addition to this casserole that can be used when you’ve stabilized your weight and are in Z3.5. I never recommend eating pasta on a regular basis. Every few weeks is fine if you keep the amount of pasta low. All of my recipes will be small amounts of pasta if it’s included. Look for other options to vary the dish below.

Ingredients:

• olive oil spray
• 1 package of chicken tenders
• 2 cups of cooked pasta. Traditionally the pasta in chicken Mamou would be angel hair. I like angel hair because you can break the pasta in half to make it easier to eat. It also feels like you are eating more pasta when in fact you’re not. The number of noodles makes it feel like more. You don’t need much pasta; just enough to cover the bottom of the oven-proof pan.
• 1 Tbl of olive oil
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 tsp of minced garlic (jar garlic will do)
• ½ tsp of Italian seasoning
• ¼ tsp of red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• ½ tsp of ground black pepper
• 15 oz. of diced tomatoes (can) or tomato sauce (can) will work too. Just decide your favorite
• 1 Tbl of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbl of Cajun seasoning (or to taste)
• ½ cup of whipped cream cheese
• ½ cup of sour cream
• 1 cup of Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

In your 9 ” X 9 ” ovenproof pan, spray in the olive oil. Put in the chicken tenders and bake at 375 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes or until done. When they are no longer pink, you can take them out and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Don’t wash the pan. You can use it when you assemble the casserole.

Get your water boiling and make your pasta.

While that’s happening, you can get the rest of the casserole ready to rock. Take out a medium saute pan. Add the oil and then add the onion. Saute the onion until it’s done and then add it to a bowl. Add the seasonings up through the Cajun seasoning and add the tomatoes to the bowl. Stir it all up.

In another bowl add your pasta and mix it with the cream cheese and the sour cream. Stir to mix it all up into a wonderful coated goodness.

Assembly. Put the pasta in the bottom of the 9 ” X 9 ” oven-proof pan. Layer on the chicken. Now cover that with the red sauce mixture.

Top it all with the Monterrey jack cheese. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes to heat it through and melt the cheese.

Other options:

You can make this dish totally pasta-free. Add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach to the bottom of the casserole instead of the pasta. You can even add in some other veggies; like bell peppers or zucchini chunks. They would taste great mixed in the white sauce or just plain.

You could alternatively make zucchini noodles and use those instead of pasta. Use your imagination and make this YOUR comfort food.

Email me or add your own ideas to the ratings section on the recipe page.

Enjoy!

Cheers,