My Contribution To "A Man, A Can And A Plan!"

I made this delicious casserole dish up one day when I was feeling inspired and I think it turned out pretty well. I was inspired to experiment by a cook book I own called "A Man, A Can And A Plan."

I refined the recipe after my first attempt to make it and cooked it up again last night with even better results. It was great! And so easy, even a kitchen-phobic man can do it!

Men, if you want to impress your lady friend (or even your imaginary friend) with your mad skills in the kitchen, give this simple recipe a try!

Kenn Hoekstra's Zesty, Cheesy, Chicken Pasta Casserole Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 16 oz. Box of Rotini (or Penne or Macaroni) Pasta Noodles
1 26 oz. Can Cream of Mushroom Soup (The big boy!)
2 10 oz. Cans Rotel's Original Tomatoes & Green Chilis (Not Drained)
2 5 oz. Cans Premium Chicken in Water (Drained)
1 Small Can Mushrooms Pieces & Stems (Drained)
1 8 oz. Bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

SPICES (To Taste):

Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Kickin' Chicken Spice (Optional, but this stuff is RAD!)

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Boil a large pot of water and cook the pasta as directed.

In a separate medium sized pot, mix together Cream of Mushroom Soup, 2 cans Rotel's, 2 cans of chicken (drained), 1 small can of mushrooms (drained), 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and spices (to taste). Mix together and stir under medium heat until warmed through.

Drain cooked pasta noodles and return to large pot. Mix in contents of medium pot with the noodles in the large pot and stir until well mixed.

Pour combined mixture into large casserole dish and spread evenly. Top with shredded cheese until covered (I used about half of an 8 oz. bag) and cover the casserole dish with tin foil.

Place covered casserole dish in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes at 300 degrees to heat through and melt cheese.

Serve hot and enjoy! Feeds a small army!

OPTIONAL:

- If you don't like the spicy kick to your dish, you can substitute diced tomatoes for the Rotel's. If you're hardcore and you want it extra spicy, use Rotel's HOT tomatoes and chilis!

- Substitute drained chunk tuna for chicken if you prefer a tuna based casserole. Both are great!

- Use real chicken pulled off the bones instead of canned!

That's it! Easy peasy!

If you try this recipe and you like it, shoot me an e-mail or post a comment and let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

So, You Want To Make Video Games?

My old friend Pat Lipo from back in the Raven Software days posted this on his Facebook page today and I just had to snag it.

This video is one of the most hilariously depressing looks at video game development I've ever seen! Check out SO YOU WANT TO WORK IN THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY and embrace the horror!

Remember the old U.S. Army ads that claimed it was "The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love?" Honestly, that's video game development. Is it as bad as this video implies? Yes. It may actually be worse, in some cases. But if you care enough about it to work on games despite all of the terribleness, you'll probably still love your job.

I know I still do, even 15 years later...