Chicken Divan

This is one of our "tried and true" recipes...  It was one my mother-in-law included in the cookbook she made me when my husband and I got married.  It's very yummy.  My toddler loves it.  But if you don't like curry, you may not like it :). 

This is the recipe as we make it every time now.  It's slightly different than the original recipe, but we've found we end up with way too much "sauce" if we don't half the recipe (and use only one can of either cream of mushroom or cream of chicken).

2 cups cooked rice
2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen broccoli (2 cups fresh), slightly undercooked
2 cups cooked chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 to 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a prepared 9x13 dish, place the cooked rice.  Top the rice with the broccoli.  Then sprinkle chicken pieces on top of broccoli. 

Mix cream of mushroom soup, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, and curry powder in a small bowl until well blended.  Spread over the other ingredients in the pan.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese. 

Bake 25 minutes, or until it starts bubbling.

There's a reason this is frequently on our menu :)...  Especially when it's not summer! 

Linda's Pasta Salad

So, if there is an official name for this pasta salad, I don't know what it is.  Thus, when I got the recipe years ago, I named it after the awesome lady who shared it with me.  And now I just call it Linda's Pasta Salad.

And it's way yummy.  You could probably add chicken to it, if you want to make it a main dish.  I pretty much always make it as a side dish, though.

3 cups cooked and cooled pasta (colorful rotini is especially eye-pleasing, but I always just have plain elbow)
1/2 of a large red onion, diced small
1 cucumber, cut into small pieces
1 to 2 tomatoes (depending on size), diced
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Seasoning salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and marinate 2 hours overnight.  Serve cold.  Serves 6 to 8.

Added bonus is that I get to use a cucumber from my garden!