Creamy ranch chicken rigatoni casserole/Photo byGin Lee

Creamy ranch chicken rigatoni casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked chicken breast, cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 pound package of rigatoni, cooked and drained
• 4 quarts of water to cook the pasta in.
• 4 tablespoons of dry ranch dressing mix (My dry ranch dressing mix recipe is included below.)
• 2 cups of cheese sauce (My recipe for homemade cheese sauce is included below.)
• 1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

Creamy ranch chicken rigatoni casserole/Photo byGin Lee

Instructions:

In a large pasta pan, add four quarts of water and bring the water to a rapid boil over high heat. Add the rigatoni. Cook for twelve minutes, then drain the pasta. Set aside.

In a skillet, cook the chicken bites. You can get my recipe on Newsbreak to see how I cook low-fat chicken bites. That's the same recipe that I used for this casserole.

Next, I made the dry ranch seasoning mix and cheese sauce; both of my recipes are included below. After making everything, toss the cooked chicken and rigatoni together in the pasta pan. Then pour in the homemade cheese sauce and season the dish with the dry ranch seasoning mix. I used about four tablespoons of mine, but add as much or as little as you like.

Next, transfer the ingredients to a large casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. Add one cup of shredded Mexican cheese to the casserole during the last five minutes of baking. Serve and enjoy!

Preparing dry ranch dressing mix/Photo byGin Lee

Dry ranch dressing mix

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup of powdered milk
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons of onion powder
• 2 teaspoons of dried onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon of dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried pepper flakes (optional)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons of dried parsley flakes
• 1-1/2 teaspoons of dried dill
• 1 teaspoon of finely ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of seasoning salt

Instructions for the dry ranch dressing mix:

Place all the above ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until your dry ranch dressing mix is well combined and has a powdery consistency.

Preparing homemade cheese sauce/Photo byGin Lee

Cheese sauce ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon of flour
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 2 cups of shredded cheese (I used green onion American cheese).

To make the cheese sauce:

Add one tablespoon of butter to a saucepan and place the pan on medium-low heat. Then add half a teaspoon of flour and stir well. Next, pour a half cup of milk in and stir continuously.

Cook for five minutes until the mixture thickens. Add two cups of your favorite shredded cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Stir until the cheese is completely melted.