Chicken Alfredo Casserole

So normally the word casserole brings to mind a bland rice, chicken, cream of something combo topped with crunched up potato chips. No thank you!

The only problem…the rest of my family loves a good casserole! So I sometimes need to find a compromise.  Tonight I came up with a pretty good one! 

Chicken Alfredo Casserole 

1/2 box bow tie pasta cooked

2 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

10 cherry tomatoes halved*

2 cups broccoli*

1 jar Alfredo sauce

2 tbsp prepared pesto

1 teas. Fresh ground pepper

1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella 

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

2 slices white bread cubed and crumbled

1/4 cup butter melted

2 teas. Italian seasoning

1 teas. Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first seven ingredients in a bowl.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Top with cheeses.  In a bowl combine last four ingredients until bread is covered with butter and spices are well integrated.  Spread over top of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned. 

*use any vegetables you want!

Caramel Apple Trifle

Caramel Apple Triffle*

2 sm. packages vanilla pudding

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cup cold milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 c. Sugar

1 teas. Vanilla

Salted Caramel Sauce (home made or from the store...Trader Joes has the best)

Toffee Chips

2 Sara Lee pound cakes, cut in 1" cubes

6 to 8 apples cored and diced**

1/2 cup sugar

2 teas. cinnamon

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Toss apples with cinnamon, sugar and lemon juice and set aside.

Beat heavy cream until whipped.  Add sugar and vanilla.  Beat in milk, yogurt, and pudding mixes.

Heat caramel to easily spreadable consistency.

In a trifle dish layer pound cake, pudding mixture, apples, caramel and toffee.  The caramel layer can be thin. Continue with another round of layers.  Finish off by mounding pound cake in the center of the trifle and piping remaining pudding on  top. Decorate with apples, caramel, and toffee.

*i have a really bad cold while writing this recipe up so please excuse vagueness for now.  I will come back when I am feeling better and add more detail!!

**If you are feeling lazy you could by a couple cans of good quality apple pie filling to substitute for the fresh apple layer.