Casserole - Empty The Fridge Variety

Illustration by Jessica Lanan

This week I'm working on "Emptying the Fridge" .... eat what I have in th fridge, freezer or pantry instead of buying more groceries to add to the already-too-full-supply of food I have on hand. So this is what I made last night:

Empty the Fridge Casserole

(Note: the whole point of this casserole is to use up what you already have on hand, so if yours is different, that's a good thing. Just throw it all together and see how it comes out.)

1 leftover rotiserrie chicken (about 15oz worth of meat)
10 baby carrots - sliced
1 onion - diced
1 stalk celery - diced
1 c. zucchini chunks (from freezer)
1 c. mushrooms - sliced and diced
1 c. white beans (you know I have a ton of these!)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon canola oil (for sauteeing)
1 8oz package frozen spinach/artichoke dip - thawed
1 8oz package shredded cheese (I used 3/4 cheddar and 1/4 italian blend)
Mrs. Dash (or whatever herbs/spices you want)
salt & pepper

In a large skillet, sautee all veggies until tender. Meanwhile... pull all the white and dark meat off the chicken (this was a store bought rotiserrie chicken, but you can use whatever you have on hand). Add chicken, spices and thawed spinach dip to skillet and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add half of the cheese and mix slightly. Pour mixture into 9x13 baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

If I had thought about it, I probably would have added a handful of frozen edamame beans to the mix. But I forgot. This makes about 6 to 8 servings depending on the amount of your leftovers and your serving sizes. When I calculated the calories for my batch, it came out to around 300 calories per serving and 30g protein.

~Pam