Recipes by Zola - Asian Chicken Casserole

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Asian Chicken Casserole

Zola Gorgon

All Systems "Go"...

I'm cleared for take-off! The surgeon says I can travel now. Woo-hoo!

First stop will be Madison, Wisconsin. I haven't seen my house there since early May.

I had already canceled four or five other trips, but other than the one to Madison I don't have any big plans. Just knowing I can travel makes me emotionally realize I really am getting better.

For those of you interested in the more clinical elements of what's happening, here's a short summary.

I can not only fly now, I can travel in a car. I have to keep a bag of ice behind my back when I fly, but supposedly the flight attendants are accustomed to filling your bag if you bring one. The drive to Madison is only two hours. I'll only have to stop once.

My challenge lately has been my back seizing up in the middle and upper sections. This seems very weird since the surgery was on the lower part of my back but the upper part seems to try to over-compensate at times. The answer for this is muscle relaxers. I have a tendency to get loopy on them so I have been avoiding them. I try to just lay down and get it to relax.

The physical therapy is something I have been loyal to. I spent too much time in the hospital and with post-surgery laying around, I became very weak. So, if you are in PT too, keep up those core exercises. I'm religious about doing them every day. That way when I'm with the PT person, she can concentrate on getting the knots out of my back, work on the flexibility in my hips and she can work with me on lifting weights. The sad thing is that even though they give you exercises you can do at home, they don't depend on anyone to do them. Most people don't exercise unless they are at the clinic so the clinicians have to build in time; even for easiest of exercises so they can get people to do them. I promised I'd be better than that; and I will.

I did my first dinner party this past weekend. That was even a workout for me -- three appetizers, dinner and dessert. By the time I got to the end I was exhausted and in no mood to do dishes. My hubby stepped in. I think he could tell. Considering dinner for 20 was no big deal before, this dinner for four was another wake-up call not to stretch myself too much too fast. I do love to entertain though. It was nice to have friends around. Good conversation and good laughs. More ways to speed up healing.

Last night I made up my first comfort food meal of the season. It was spitty-rainy last night, turning cold, and it was getting dark faster. All those things inspired me to kick into casserole mode. You are the beneficiaries of the result. My husband cooed as he ate this casserole with a simple arugula salad. I hope you enjoy it too.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Asian Chicken Casserole

This is my take on an interesting combination of Asian and Italian. I don't often think to use pasta as part of an Asian dish but this combination came together quite well. I wanted homey comfort food, and to satisfy my husband's craving for Asian. We both got what we were wishing for.

1 lb. Sliced button mushrooms
1 Tbl of olive oil
1.5 pounds of cooked chicken, cubed. (This would be a perfect way to use up a Holiday Turkey too)
2 cups of chopped celery
half cup of soy sauce
one half of a green pepper, chopped
one half of a white onion, diced
1 10 oz can of cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (I'm still looking for a good, healthy version of this stuff)
1 8 oz. can of sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
one quarter tsp of grated sea salt
one half tsp of black pepper
6 oz of pasta. I used low-carb penne but you can use any pasta; even spaghetti
8 oz. of sour cream (I use reduced-fat sour cream)

In a sauté pan cook the mushrooms in olive oil until the edges begin to brown.

Stir periodically.

While the mushrooms are cooking put on your pot of water to boil the pasta. Then work on prepping your veggies and your meat. As you get each item chopped put them in a large bowl. Add the soup, the water chestnuts, the salt, and the pepper. Mix well.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Add the pasta, the cooked mushrooms and the sour cream to the same large bowl. Stir again to make sure all is incorporated.

Then pour into a 9 X 13 casserole. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Take out when the pasta just starts to get a brown edge on the noodles sticking out the top. Let rest on the counter for 5 – 10 minutes and then serve. A simple salad will round out the meal and give more color on the plate.

Bonus: Very few dishes!

Send email to Zola at dinnerwithzola@hotmail.com.

This news arrived on: 10/24/2007

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