Chicken & Broccoli Braid

I like to think that I'm fairly smart. I graduated college with honors, have held down good jobs, and can hold a reasonably intelligent conversation when need be. However, this little recipe had me completely and utterly baffled.

I had several Pampered Chef shows scheduled for this past week, and the host of the show I was doing Friday requested that I make this Chicken and Broccoli Braid at her show. Being that I've never made it before, I figured that it would be a good idea to make it at home first so that I could put it together easily at the show. Boy, am I glad I did! I got started with the recipe. Mix up the feeling - easy! Roll out the crescent roll dough - easy! Braid the dough - um....what? I must have read the instructions 10 times and STILL couldn't figure out how to make the braid. I finally did what any truly "smart" person would do - I went to You Tube and watched this demo. *cue light bulb over head* Aaahhh! Once I saw the braid done, I realized how incredibly easy it really was. I braided my dough, stuck it in the oven, and was rewarded with cheesy, doughy goodness afterwards. Joe said that, if eaten fresh out of the oven, this may be his new favorite meal. And all the guests at my show on Friday went nuts for it! So don't be intimidated by the braiding - if I can do it, YOU can do it!

(The braid in the picture is a little different than the one in the recipe. Since I made this one at home for Joe, I used Chipotle mayo instead of regular and subbed chopped bacon for the broccoli. So feel free to be creative with your fillings as well!)


Chicken & Broccoli Braid

1 cup (250 mL) chopped broccoli florets
2 cups (500 mL) chopped cooked chicken breasts
1/2 cup (125 mL) diced red bell pepper
1 cup (250 mL) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (125 mL) mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 tsp (10 mL) dill
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
2 pkg (8 oz or 235 g) refrigerated crescent dough (the new Recipe Creations seamless dough would be even better!)
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tbsp (30 mL) slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Combine broccoli, chicken, bell pepper, cheese, mayonnaise, dill mix, pressed garlic and salt in Classic Batter Bowl; mix well.

Unroll one package of the crescent dough; do not separate. Arrange longest sides of dough across width of Rectangle Stone. Repeat with remaining package of dough. Using Baker's Roller®, roll dough to seal perforations. On longest sides of baking stone, cut dough into strips 1 1/2 in. (4 cm) apart, 3 in. (7.5 cm) deep. (There will be 6 in./15 cm in the center for the filling.)

Spread filling evenly over center of dough. To braid, lift dough strips across filling to meet in center, twisting each strip one turn. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends up to seal at end of braid. Brush egg white over dough. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake 25-28 minutes or until deep golden brown

Crockpot Roasted Chicken

It's no secret that I adore my crockpot, so I was incredibly excited when I found this recipe for roasted chicken in the crockpot on my brilliant friend Lauren's blog. We love roast chicken, but I've never actually made one myself. For some reason cooking a whole bird in the oven for hours is intimidating to me, but this recipe sounded so easy there was no way I could resist. This is just a fantastic idea! It takes all of two minutes to prepare, and it smells amazing as it cooks. The result is a juicy, tender chicken with meat that just falls off the bone. We ate some of the chicken with mashed potatoes, veggies and rolls, then I used the leftovers in a pasta dish later in the week. You will definitely get more than one meal out of this! Feel free to get creative with the seasonings - I used a lemon pepper seasoning that was great, but I'd also like to try a more garlicky seasoning, or maybe a barbecue rub.

Crockpot Roasted Chicken

Whole chicken (4-5 pounds)
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Olive oil
Seasonings of choice

Prep the chicken- remove the bag from the inside, thoroughly washing out the cavity and outside of the chicken. Pat dry.

Roll 3 pieces of tin foil into balls, about 2 inches in diameter. Place them in a triangle shape on the bottom of the crockpot.

Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the crockpot. Toss the garlic cloves, whole, into the broth.

Place the chicken on top of the tin foil. Rub a small amount of olive oil over the skin (about 1-2 teaspoons).

Season heavily with the seasonings of your choice, gently rubbing them into the skin.

Cook on low 8 hours.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

I'm a huge fan of any meal that I can make using a single dish, pot, etc. so this one caught my eye immediately. I also loved that it used corn bread mix, because who doesn't love cornbread? I snagged this recipe off of Deborah's blog, and I was even more sold on it when I realized it was a Cooking Light recipe! It was incredibly easy to put together. The only change I made was to use pre-cooked Perdue chicken slices and dice them up instead of cooking and shredding chicken. Joe and I both enjoyed this recipe, although we agreed that it could use a little crunch as the entire thing is very soft. Some crumbled tortilla chips on top next time, perhaps?

Chicken Tamale Casserole

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream style corn
1 (8.5 ounce) box corn muffin mix
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
cooking spray
1 (10 ounce) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Feta

It's been awhile since I've cooked anything new. Since time is so limited these days I've been turning to quick and easy old favorites. But recently several new recipes have caught my eye and I'm determined to try them out. This delicious orzo dish is the first. I found this on Confections of a Foodie Bride's blog and bookmarked it immediately. It had a bunch of my favorite things - orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, cheese - and required very little prep work. Sold! The only change I made was to use feta in place of goat cheese. Joe does the shopping and I was afraid that if I asked him to buy goat cheese he'd balk and refuse to eat this dish, so I went with the more familiar feta. This meal was delicious! I loved the creamy orzo combined with the tangy tomatoes and cheese. This will definitely be added to the "quick and easy old favorites" list!

Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Feta

1 lb orzo
1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6 oz feta or goat cheese, crumbled
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of half a lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3/4 cup Parmesan, grated
3/4 cup Panko

Preheat oven to 400. Add orzo, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, thyme, lemon juice and feta to a 2.5 - 3 quart baking dish. Bring chicken broth, water, 1 tbsp butter, salt and pepper to a boil on the stove. Pour into baking dish, stirring slightly to mix. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mix Parmesan and Panko. Melt remaining 1 tbsp butter and mix into Parmesan and Panko mixture. Sprinkle mixture on top of orzo dish and and bake for 7-10 minutes more until bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Famous "Ben-chiladas"

I've heard a lot about these enchiladas on the What's Cooking board - a creation of the awesome Annie. I was inspired to make it though when I saw it on Lauren's blog and she posted that her husband Pat liked them. I had been unsure but Joe and Pat often have similar tastes so hearing that Pat enjoyed it was a good sign. And it was - Joe LOVED this! He raved about it the entire time he was eating it. Plus it was super quick and simple to put together. I made it even simpler by using Perdue pre-cooked Southwestern chicken strips - all I had to do was take the chicken from the package and put it right into the tortillas. I will definitely make this again!

Annie's Ben-chiladas

1 package Perdue Southwestern pre-cooked chicken strips
8 oz. reduced fat sour cream
8 oz. Ranch salad dressing
flour tortillas
jar of salsa
shredded Mexican cheese

In a large mixing bowl, combine half of the sour cream and half of the Ranch dressing. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the sour cream and Ranch dressing. Stir both until well combined. Add the chicken to the large mixing bowl. Mix well with sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9 x 13″ pan (and possibly another, smaller pan if needed). Take one tortilla and top with a little less than 1 tbsp. of the sauce from the small bowl. Spread over the tortilla in an even layer. Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla. Top with salsa to taste. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, to taste. Roll up tortilla and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients (I only made 4 large enchiladas but you can make as many as you need by increasing the amount of ingredients.)

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (30 for a crispier tortilla). Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Pinch Hitting: Buffalo Chicken Dip

When Joe first met our friend Doug, it was love at first sight. Aside from their mutual enjoyment of baseball, comic books and Wii, Joe was smitten with the Buffalo Chicken Dip that Doug made for our first get together with he and his wife Christina. Joe loved it so much, in fact, that poor Doug now has to make the dip every time he knows he's going to see Joe. We were supposed to get together with Doug and Christina for dinner and Wii on Saturday night, but poor Christina got sick and had to cancel. Upon hearing that our plans were cancelled, Joe (after inquiring about Christina's health, of course...) promptly cried, "No dip?!?!" Followed by "Well, Doug's not sick. He could come over here!" In order to ease the pain of Joe's Doug-less night, I offered to make buffalo chicken dip for him myself. I hit Google and searched for a recipe that sounded about right, and settled on this one from Frank's RedHot. This dip is super easy to put together and is spicy and creamy - pure heaven, in Joe's opinion. He assured me that it was just as good as Doug's dip, but he may have been just sparing my feelings. Feel better Christina - Joe misses your husband! :)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese or ranch salad dressing
1/2 cup any flavor hot sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (9.75 oz. each) Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained

Heat oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish. Stir until smooth. Mix in salad dressing, hot sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken. Bake 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

Microwave Directions: Prepare as above. Place in microwave-safe dish. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 5 min. until hot, stirring halfway through cooking.

Slow Cooker Method: Combine ingredients as directed above. Place mixture into small slow cooker. Cover pot. Heat on HIGH setting for 1 1/2 hours until hot and bubbly or on LOW setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Stir.

"Freaking Good" Texas Chicken Quesadillas

A few weeks ago when my friends and I got together for Mexican themed lunch, Jenn made these awesome quesadillas. I'm not a big fan of traditional Mexican food, so in my book these were perfect. I ate way more than my fair share of them during lunch and immediately put them on my menu for dinner this week. Were they a good as I remember? Hell yes! These things are amazing. I think it's the caramelized onion/honey mixture that really makes them - so tangy and sweet. Joe and I were drooling over these while the chicken was still browning in the pan, and all that anticipation was well deserved. These rock - plain and simple. Between just about every bite Joe announced, "These are freaking good!" And they are. I followed the recipe exactly and baked them in the oven since I don't have a quesadilla maker. But these make me want to buy one. Seriously. But for now, I'll just settle for making them again very, very soon!

Texas Chicken Quesadillas

2 TBSP of oil
1-1/2 onions (vidalia is preferred) sliced into rings
1 TBSP honey
2 chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 Cup shredded Mexican cheese
8 ten inch flour tortillas

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to caramelize. Mix in the honey and stir until it is golden brown. Remove and set aside.Place the remaining oil in the pan and add the chicken. Cook through over a medium high heat. Stir in the BBQ sauce to evenly coat the chicken.Place the chicken, onions and cheese onto a tortilla, top with the other tortilla and cook in your quesadilla maker about 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can cook them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Seriously...LOOK at that filling!!! Mmmmm.....

Chicken Enchiliada Soup

I've really been enjoying making soup for dinner recently, so I was excited to find this recipe on Deborah's blog. And I was extra excited to see that it used the crock pot - I do love my crock pot! I lessened my work even more by buying a package of Perdue southwestern pre-cooked chicken strips, so all I had to do when I got home from work was toss the chicken into the soup to heat up - no stove top cooking at all! I left out the 2 cups of cheese that the original recipe called for because without it this is a pretty healthy soup! I sprinkled a little cheese on top and it was perfect. (And okay I MAY have served this with cheese quesadillas, but at least the soup is low fat...) I loved this soup! It is incredibly flavorful and hearty and just plain good. I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch today!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups milk (I used skim)
1 cup shredded Pepperjack cheese (4 ounces)
4 chicken breasts

In a 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, drained tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker.Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Cut chicken into bite sized cubes. Cook over medium heat until cooked all the way through. Add into soup. Can be topped with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Sprinkle a little cheese on top before serving.

Crispy Chicken Strips

This week John's coworker made him a humongous pan of her delicious macaroni and cheese and John was kind enough to share some of it with Joe and I. I wanted to use the mac and cheese as a side dish, so I needed a chicken recipe that would be a good accompaniment. Everyone knows that fried chicken goes well with mac and cheese, but I just do not like fried chicken, plus I have never fried anything in my life - all that oil? No way! So I searched some of my favorite food blogs and found this recipe of Stephanie's for crispy chicken strips. I made just a few changes - I used regular breadcrumbs in place of panko, egg beaters in place of eggs and Dijon mustard in place of honey, as Joe does not like his dinner foods sweet.

These chicken strips were great! Nice and juicy with a delicious crispy crust. I dipped mine in ketchup ;) They were a great match for the gooey mac and cheese and will definitely be making an appearance in my kitchen again! Now I just need more of that mac and cheese! John........?

Crispy Chicken Strips

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 cup Egg Beaters
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 ounces Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a baking pan with aluminum foil to make clean-up quick and easy.Combine flour, onion powder and paprika in a shallow dish. In a second shallow dish, beat 2 eggs, then add honey and stir to combine. In a third shallow dish, add the panko bread crumbs and Italian seasoning, if using it). Dip the chicken strips first, in the flour mixture, then the eggs and finally in the panko bread crumbs. Make sure to press the crumbs into the chicken in order to ensure they adhere to the chicken.Please all chicken strips on prepared baking pan, then spray each strip with cooking spray. Bake for about 20 minutes or until done.

Must Make Chicken

You need to make this chicken. Now. Right now. What are you waiting for? Seriously - go make this chicken! I loooooved this dish (in case you couldn't tell)! I've had this recipe in my files for a long time and for some reason I had never made it. In fact, I don't even know where I got it, but I did track it down on Recipezaar. I selected it sort of spur of the moment last night and am so glad I did! The flavor of this is wonderful and the melty cheese and crunchy stuffing topping are a great contrast. I added about a cup of sliced mushrooms and and 2 cups of spinach to the sauce before pouring it over the chicken and I really liked this edition, plus it added some nutrients. I will most definitely be making this again - I was practically licking my plate!

Swiss Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup herb seasoned stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter, melted (I used cooking spray)

Arrange chicken in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish. Top chicken with Swiss cheese. Combine soup and wine and stir until well mixed and spoon soup mixture evenly over chicken. Sprinkle with crumbled stuffing mix and drizzle melted butter over crumbs. Bake at 325° for one hour.

Cheesy Tomato Chicken Skillet

Joe and I are typically fans of chicken pasta dishes, so this Kraft recipe from Julie's blog caught my eye immediately. It looked delicious and seemed quick and easy. I whipped this up for dinner Friday night and we weren't disappointed with it all! I made a few modifications (reflected below) to the original recipe. I added sliced baby portabella mushrooms for reason other than I like mushrooms and liked the idea of adding another veggie to the dish, and, like Julie, I used a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh. To lighten it up a bit I used skim milk, Healthy Request soup and just a small handful of mozzarella as opposed to a full cup, and I added a variety of seasonings to liven it up. I cooked this in a deep pasta pot rather than a skillet to avoid splatter so mine was a little saucier than I think was intended, but we like a lot of sauce so it was good - all the better to dip breadsticks in ;) Joe and I both really liked this - it's a great hearty and comforting meal in a snap.

Cheesy Tomato Chicken Skillet

2 cups of pasta
3/4 lbs chicken, cut into pieces
1 can Healthy Request cream of chicken soup
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Cook the pasta as directed. Heat 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken & cook thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium; stir in soup, tomatoes, milk and seasonings. Stir in cooked pasta. Cook about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until bubbly & heated through. Sprinkle with cheese. Reduce heat, cover & let stand about 5 minutes.

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

Everything's better with bacon, right? I found this recipe on my friend's Sarah's blog, A Taste of Home Cooking, and knew right away that I had to try it. Like Sarah's husband, Joe isn't a fan of blue cheese so I took Sarah's substitution of cream cheese, and I used turkey bacon since that's what Joe bought at the store. I also left out the arugula because I'm not a fan, and used two slices of bacon per chicken breast. This chicken is soooo good! Juicy and gooey and creamy, and the bacon adds a great flavor. We liked this a LOT!

Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
A handful baby arugula, chopped (I omitted)
A handful baby spinach leaves, chopped
8 slices bacon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a small sharp knife cut into the thick end of the chicken and make an incision reaching 2/3 the way down the breast. Loosen up the incision with your fingers to make a hole. Combine the cream cheese with arugula and baby spinach, season with salt and pepper and stuff into the breasts. Wrap the breasts with the bacon tightly to cover the meat evenly. Place chicken on a nonstick baking sheet and roast 20 to 25 minutes until bacon is crispy and chicken is firm.

Chicken Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

Hey look - a post that's about something besides dessert! I DID make one or two meals this month - and this is one of them. I came across this recipe on Maryanna's blog and thought it looked like the perfect winter meal. It was very easy to make and turned out to be hearty and comforting. We really liked the "stew" part of this meal but thought the dumplings left something to be desired. It may have been the cornmeal element, they seemed a little gritty. I think next time I make this I will do it with regular dumplings instead of the the cornmeal ones. But it was a good meal for a cold winter evening and a nice change from all the cookies, candies and other sweets of the month.

Chicken Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup frozen small whole onions (I omitted)
1/2 cup water
2 tsp snipped fresh basil, oregano, or dill, or 1/2 tsp dried basil, oregano, or dill, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1 recipe Cornmeal Dumplings (below)

In a large saucepan combine broth, frozen vegetables, onions, water, dried herb (if using), salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to boiling.Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine milk and flour; stir into vegetable mixture. Stir in chicken. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in fresh herb, if using.Drop dumpling dough from a tablespoon into 4 to 8 mounds on top of the bubbling stew. Simmer, covered (do not lift cover), over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in a dumpling comes out clean.

Cornmeal Dumplings:In a medium bowl stir together 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 tsp baking powder, and a dash black pepper. In a small bowl combine 1 beaten egg, 2 TBSP milk, and 2 TBSP cooking oil; add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork just until combined.

Basil Chicken Pasta

Last week my brother-in-law John came home with a pack of frozen basil that he was pretty pumped about. Just a few days later I came across this recipe on Jaime's blog, Good Eats n' Sweet Treats, and I forwarded it right to John. He cooked this up for our dinner on Monday night. This was a very simple and quick recipe, however ours could have used more flavor. John omitted the hot sauce because he didn't realize we had any, but the dish could have benefited from a little kick. It also didn't have too much basil flavor, as John wasn't sure of just how strong his frozen basil was and didn't want to overwhelm the dish. He did follow Jaime's suggestion though to make the sauce creamy by adding 1/4 cup fat free half and half. Over all, this was a good dinner but I recommend that you don't skimp on the basil and do add a little hot sauce or red pepper flake for some punch!

Basil Chicken Pasta

1 (8 ounce) package angel hair pasta
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with garlic and basil
2 cups boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook angel hair pasta until it is al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken, basil, salt and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium, and cover skillet. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is hot and tomatoes are soft.Toss sauce with hot cooked angel hair pasta to coat. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Tucker, for one, was quite impressed with this dinner. He wanted some in the worst way. Sorry, Tuck, there were actually no leftovers ;)

Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Joe is a big fan of chicken cordon bleu, so when I spotted this casserole on Picky Palate I immediately put it on the menu. Ham, chicken, cheese...yum! My brother-in-law and I sort of made this together. I got home first so I did the prep work - cutting the chicken, shredding the cheese, chopping the ham, etc. Then John came home and put it all together. We didn't have any pre-cooked chicken, so John just browned up some before moving on to cooking the onions. We also omitted the red pepper and used cooking spray in place of olive oil to save a few calories. We also used slightly less cheese than as called for, but still a good amount.

Our only issue was with the rice measurements. Can anyone tell me the ratio of uncooked brown rice to cooked brown rice? The recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked rice. The little measurement cheat sheet I have on my fridge told me that 1 cup of uncooked rice equals 3 1/2 cups cooked. That seemed crazy, and my box of brown rice said 1/2 cup uncooked equaled 2/3 cups cooked. So John went with that but still ended up with too little rice and had to make another batch. Regardless, it all came together in the end. Joe and John loved this, and I enjoyed it, but not quite as much as they did. They were both just happy with the large quantities of cheese on their plates ;) I know Joe will be requesting this again!

Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Rice Casserole

Cooking spray
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
½ lb diced ham
2 Cups cooked shredded chicken breast
4 Tablespoons butter
¼ Cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
14 oz can chicken broth
3 Cups cooked rice of choice (I used brown rice)
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Cup shredded mozzarella or swiss cheese (I used 4 cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat cooking spray in a large 5 qt rimmed skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ham and chicken. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Melt butter then stir in flour, salt and pepper until combined. Slowly stir in chicken broth until well combined. Stir in cooked rice then transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cover the dish with foil the last 10 minutes for oozing cheese.

Oven-Fried Honey Chicken

I've had this recipe forever. I believe it is originally from the National Honey board. I have been making a lot of pasta and casserole dishes recently and I was in the mood for something light and simple for a change so I pulled this chicken out of retirement. It is very easy to make and bakes up to a nice, lightly sweet juicy chicken with just a little crunch on the crust. Joe thought it was a tad too sweet, but my bother-in-law and I loved it. I served it with some roasted potatoes, peas and biscuits and it was a nice, simple dinner.

Oven-Fried Honey Chicken

1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (I used cooking spray)
6 (4 to 6-ounce) fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halves

Preheat oven to 375°F.In shallow bowl, whisk together honey and vinegar. Pour bread crumbs into separated bowl. Set bowls aside. Spread oil over foil-lined baking pan large enough to hold all chicken pieces in one layer. Roll chicken pieces in honey mixture, then in bread crumbs; place in pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly.

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine

I recently signed up to receive "Dinner Tonight" emails from My Recipes, and I'm already glad I did. One of the first dinners to appear in my inbox was this Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine and I immediately put it on my menu. It sounded delicious, and seriously, with three cheeses, how could it not be? I did make a few modifications to the recipe (below). As much as I like cottage cheese for breakfast, I truly believe that it does not have a place in pasta (plus I didn't want to have to pull out my food processor to smooth it out) so I used fat-free ricotta in its place. I used cream of mushroom soup since I had some in the pantry and roasted red peppers in place of red bell pepper because I adore roasted red peppers. I also subbed in 1/4 cup skim milk and 1/4 cup fat free half and half for the 2% milk.

Wow was this good! So rich and creamy and loaded with delicious vegetables. Served with some asiago cheese bread and roasted green beans and carrots, this was an awesome meal. The recipe makes a TON of food - luckily my brother-in-law and his girlfriend were around to help us eat it - but you may want to cut it in half if you're only feeding two. Or make the entire thing - you won't be sorry to have leftovers!

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine

Cooking spray
3 cups thinly sliced mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped roasted red peppers
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) carton skim ricotta
4 cups hot cooked penne (about 8 ounces uncooked tube-shaped pasta)
2 cups shredded roasted skinless, boneless chicken breast
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup skim milk
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat, reduced-sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Preheat oven to 425°.
In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat, add mushrooms, onion, and pepper; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach, oregano, and black pepper; sauté 3 minutes or just until spinach wilts.
Combine spinach mixture, ricotta cheese, pasta, chicken, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, milk, and soup in a large bowl. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

Chicken Cobbler Casserole

What's better than bread on the side of a meal? Bread IN the meal! This recipe for chicken cobbler casserole jumped right at me off Colleen's blog and I knew I had to make it. I'm glad I did! This dinner was delicious! First off the sauce is fantastic - I'd like to make the filling of this casserole and try it over pasta. Plus the buttery and crunchy bread on top is the perfect accompaniment. I used more bread than called for and baked the meal in a larger dish than recommended. Next time I'll use a smaller baking dish and a little less bread - there was an uneven bread to filling ratio. Not that anyone complained. Three of us polished off the entire casserole in one sitting. It's a winner!

Chicken Cobbler Casserole

4 tablespoons melted butter, divided
4 slices cubed sourdough bread, about 4 cups
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size sweet onion, sliced
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup white wine
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 (about 4 ounces) cup drained and chopped jarred roasted red bell peppers
2 1/2 cups (about 1 1/2 pounds) shredded cooked chicken (I diced up three chicken breasts and cooked them up on the stove)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss 4 tablespoons melted butter with next 3 ingredients; set aside. Sauté onions in one tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until golden brown. Add mushrooms, and sauté 3-5 minutes. Stir in wine and next 3 ingredients; cook, stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until bubbly. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 9-inch square baking dish; top evenly with bread mixture. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

John's Chicken Parm

My brother-in-law John loves to cook (And yes, he's single. Just saying). Which works out well for me, because I like to eat whatever he cooks. A few weeks ago John and Joe put themselves in charge of dinner and made an awesome Italian feast. While Joe declined to share his secret recipe for meatballs (well, beyond "Cheese. Lots of cheese.") John was more than happy to provide his chicken parm and tomato sauce recipes. And they are good. Really, really good . Awesome food is one of the benefits of marrying into an Italian family!

John’s Chicken Parm

Chicken breasts, cut into strips
Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Locatelli (Pecorino Romano) cheese
2 eggs
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Tomato sauce (recipe follows)
Mozzarella cheese – shredded
Basil (fresh or dried)

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and trim off any fat and that annoying hard white cartilage thing that’s in the breasts sometimes. On a big plate, break the 2 eggs and scramble them a little bit. On another big plate spread out a good amount (1 1/2 cups) of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. On the same plate, mix in half that amount (3/4 cup) of grated Locatelli. Mix the cheese and bread crumbs thoroughly.

Now dip the chicken strips one at a time in the breadcrumb mix, then in the egg, then another dip in the breadcrumbs. Make sure to get a good coating of the breadcrumbs the second time. When they are all coated, they’re ready for the oil. Now most of the time I bread the chicken the night before and keep them in the fridge, I also find that they fry more evenly when I keep them chilled at least for an hour or so. But you can fry them right away, just the same.

In a nice big frying pan, coat the bottom of the pan with about a quarter inch of extra virgin olive oil and get it hot. Now fry the strips for a few minutes on each side until they get a nice golden crust.

In a 13 x 9 pyrex, or similar size oven safe pan, spoon in enough tomato sauce to coat the bottom, and lay in the strips to form a nice layer. Sprinkle in however much cheese you like over the chicken, then another layer of tomato sauce, again, however much you like. Top off with more mozzarella and a little dusting of Locatelli.

Bake in the oven until the cheese melts throughout and just starts to brown. (350 for 30 minutes) Sometimes I cook on a lower temperature and finish browning the cheese under the broiler, but be careful not to burn the cheese!

When its still hot, sprinkle with basil (fresh if you have it) and serve.

John’s Tomato Sauce

2 28oz. cans DOP Certified San Marzano peeled tomatoes (I like Cento brand)
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Small onion
Fresh garlic
½ cup good red wine (optional)
Locatelli (Pecorino Romano) cheese
Fresh Basil

Note: The important thing about this sauce is the tomatoes. The DOP San Marzano’s are every bit worth the hefty price tag. I’ve tried a lot of different brands, and these are the hands down winner. Once you try them, you won’t use anything else.

Coat the bottom of your sauce pot with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil. Turn the flame to a medium simmer. Add in a half cup of finely chopped onions and cook until they are just translucent, then add in the garlic. (Now I have been known to cheat here when I don’t have fresh garlic or an onion on hand, I get nearly the same results with a tablespoon or so of garlic powder and just a little bit less of onion powder. After all, this sauce is all about these tomatoes). You only want to cook the garlic for a minute or two, do not burn it!

At this point you can add the wine if you want, cook it for a couple minutes, just to let a little of the alcohol cook away. Next add the two cans of tomatoes. Fill each can halfway with water and pour back into the sauce, making sure to get all the bits from the can into the sauce. Stir well and cover for 15 minutes or so to soften the tomatoes, then turn down the flame to a low simmer and uncover. Since the tomatoes are whole, you need to get a potato masher and start crushing the tomatoes. I usually do this for a couple minutes every so often as the sauce cooks.

Eventually you’ll have the sauce to whatever level of chunkiness you prefer. (This sauce can take anywhere from a half hour to 2 or more hours to cook, its really up to you. The longer you cook it, the thicker its going to get because all that water is evaporating.) When the sauce is how you like it, add in a half cup of grated Locatelli, add more or less, depending how cheesy you like it.

Stir it in well for a few minutes, then add in a tablespoon or 2 of fresh or dried basil and serve.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

I received the Fall issue of Kraft Food and Family magazine last week and saw several easy recipes I wanted to try. Shockingly, my first selection did NOT contain Kraft Zesty Italian dressing - I continue to be amazed at just how many recipes Kraft can create that call for salad dressing. But anyway, this recipe was easy and sounded yummy - so much so that I invited Joe's parents over to enjoy it with us. It was a hit! Since I was feeding 5 people I doubled the recipe and baked it in two 9 x 13" baking dishes. I seasoned my chicken with salt, pepper and some Italian seasoning but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. Everyone loved it and we finished 1 1/2 pans. A great quick and satisfying meal!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese

HEAT oven to 400°F. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.
LAYER chicken, basil, cheese and stuffing in 3-qt. or 13x9-inch baking dish.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.