Curried Egg Salad, Pasta Casserole and a Disaster

Welcome Recipe Box Swap readers!

While this is an old post, it's one of our top 3 favorite meals and one I'd like to share with you. After making it a couple times, it's super easy to whip up. It's also great to double (or triple!) and to freeze (up to 2 months). Did I mention, it's delicious?!

I hope you enjoy. Thanks for visiting my food blog.

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A number of days ago, I promised more egg salad recipes- curried, to be exact. Well, sit back and enjoy the internet aromas of delicious curried egg salad recipes...

Mmmm, do you smell that? No? Sniff harder. Maybe it would help if you put your nose right up next to the screen... now?

Well, maybe you don't smell anything because there has been no curried egg salad cooking at my house this past week. Sorry- April Fools? No, no. I suppose that doesn't work for promises made days earlier, does it?

Well, I will give you a consolation prize AND curried egg salad (But later this week. Please, as if you don't STILL have colored eggs in your fridge to use, I've got time).

As a consolation prize, I'm giving you our make-it-three-times-a-month, can't-get-enough, gift-to-all-our-food-loving-friends, pasta casserole. I first made this 2 years ago, and since then, I kid you not, I triple any batch I make and we have this once a week. I also gift this casserole to all friends I feel are worthy.

It is de-licious, and I feel it's time to share the pasta casserole love with you. Enjoy!

Pasta Casserole
AKA Chipotle Macaroni & Cheese, from Cooking Light

1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
4 cups hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; set aside. Remove 2 chipotle chiles from can; finely chop to measure 1 tablespoon. (Use half the chilis/sauce requested if you are not a spicy fan!)

Reserve remaining chiles and adobo sauce for another use. (I separate the remaining chilis and sauce into recipe portions, then put into ziplock sacks to freeze for the next time I make the casserole)

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped chiles, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to medium; add tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes or until thickened. Add reserved 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, pasta, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, milk, Parmesan, and egg; stir to combine.

Spoon pasta mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. (We like a crispy top, so it usually takes up to an hour for our casserole to cook as we like it)

Last, but most importantly, remove CAREFULLY from the oven. Otherwise, you risk this:


Yep, that's fresh, yummy, delicious pasta casserole on our kitchen floor. The pan slipped right out of my mitted hands and onto the floor as I was removing it from the oven. Drats, drats, drats.

Guess it was about time for one of my usual kitchen disasters. Karma was coming back to haunt me today for all the jokes I played. The final April Fools was on me!

Hope you enjoy your casserole more than we did, this time around.

Guten appetit!