Chicken Casserole #3 - REVISED

Ok. I think I have this right now. It was SOOOOO good last night!!! =D

1-2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up and sauteed in olive oil (then I broke it up further into little pieces)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel)

1 8oz can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg wide egg noodles, cooked

1 cup sour cream

4oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine chicken, salt, sugar, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, and pepper in pot or skillet. Cook on low 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine noodles and sour cream, softened cream cheese. Layer 1/2 the noodles, then 1/2 the chicken mixture, then a layer of cheese, and repeat the layers in greased 9”x13” pan or 3 qt casserole dish (I used my new Pampered Chef Stoneware Deep Covered Baker). Top with cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.

Chicken Casserole #3! MMMmmmMMM

Ok so this is sort-of a repost, but I went all mad scientist on this recipe... and its WAY better than it was! I had put up the recipe for Beef Casserole #2, but I think it was named that because it made you go #2. LOL Well, I had gotten all the ingredients for it, but we ended up eating the beef on another night, and all I had left was chicken. The green onions had gone bad too, so they didn't get included, but otherwise it was very similar... but far more delicious! I present Chicken Casserole #3! teehee!

Chicken Casserole #3

1-2 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up and sauteed in olive oil (then I broke it up further into little pieces)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 16oz can diced tomatoes

1 8oz can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg wide egg noodles, cooked

1 cup sour cream

6 green onions, chopped (optional)

1 3oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine chicken, salt, sugar, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, and pepper in pot or skillet. Cook on low 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine noodles and sour cream, softened cream cheese, and green onions. Layer 1/2 the noodles, then all the chicken mixture, then 1/2 the noodles in greased or 9”x13” pan. Top with cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.

Julie & Julia Love Chicken Pie

So I just got finished watching Julie & Julia, and I loved it! This sounds ridiculous, but I spent probably a quarter of the movie crying... it was so moving! I feel so inspired by it... funny how movies speak to you sometimes!

Anyway, tonight I will be cooking my Nana's Chicken Pie for dinner! This is a VERY simple recipe, but OH so delicious!!

Chicken Pie

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of Veg-all, drained
1 clove of garlic
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pkg of deep dish pie crusts (2 in the pkg)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Saute the garlic in olive oil over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, or until you can smell its deliciousness. Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until done. Remove from heat, let cool briefly, and transfer the warm chicken to a cutting board. Chop the chicken up, then combine in a large mixing bowl with the chicken soup and the drained Veg-all. Put the mixture into one of the pie crusts, and take the other out of the pie pan and flatten it on top of the filled crust. (This isn't a fashion show, it's a chicken pie. Make it as ugly or as pretty as you like!) Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5-10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Makes 3-4 servings.

BON APPETIT!

Bistro Chicken Twist

So, a few years ago I was a consultant for a certain kitchen tools company, and I fell in love with many of their recipes. I love how easy they are to make, and how amazingly good they are to eat... my friends ask for me to make those recipes the most, and mmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about this one!

When I'm making this, I have been known to skip the rolling pin part and just form the well with my fingers. When closing the loaves, its REALLY IMPORTANT to use DRY fingers to pinch the loaves shut, otherwise they wont stick. I try to have one wet finger (pushing the filling down) while bringing the sides of the loaf up with my dry fingers and pinching closed. Also, it is not necessary to use a baking stone, I have used a cookie sheet and it was just fine. I usually skip the egg white on top of the loaf, since the bread browns nicely anyway.

Bistro Chicken Twist

1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh
Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 (11 ounce) packages refrigerated French bread dough
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Chop chicken. Dice bell pepper. Snip basil with kitchen shears.

In a bowl combine the chicken, bell pepper, basil, Parmesan, mozzarella, mayonnaise and garlic.

Place bread dough, seam sides up, on cutting board. Using a serrated bread knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf; spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle flour evenly over dough. With rolling pin roll dough crosswise a four-inch width, creating a well down the center of each loaf.

Spoon half of the chicken mixture down center of each loaf. Gather up edges over filling, pinching firmly to seal. Place loaves, seam sides down, in an 'X' pattern on a baking stone. Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure 8, keeping ends of dough one inch from edge of stone and leaving two 1 1/2-inch openings in center of twist.

In a small bowl, combine egg white and seasoning mix; lightly brush over dough. Cut a three-inch slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese over loaf.

Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes.

Serves eight.

Nutrition values per serving: 130 calories, 10 g fat, 1 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein, 28 mg cholesterol, 189 mg sodium

Best. Brownies. EVER.

This recipe is a true gem... I just made it again last night, and the brownies were soooooo yummy!! I got it off the side of the Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa box many years ago, and they have since stopped printing it on the side! I don't know why they would use a different recipe, as this one would probably sell a gazillion boxes of unsweetened cocoa! Anyway, I usually leave the nuts out (as I am surrounded by a bunch of nuts that don't like nuts... what is WRONG with people?!) Last night 30 minutes in the oven was spot on for just cooked, chewy, melt in your mouth delicious, slap-ya-mama cause they're so good brownies!

Best. Brownies. Ever.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 13”x9”x2” pan. Microwave butter on HIGH 2 minutes or until melted. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with spoon after each addition. Add flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; beat until well blended. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan and bake 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely. About 36 brownies.

Beef Casserole #2.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, my ex-husband and I (when we were still married) were researching new recipes, and he came across this one. It's really delicious, but was kind of.... vague... about some of the directions.  For instance... sugar in a beef casserole?! Weird. But good! We had to figure out where to add it in (as it was included on the ingredients list but not in the directions themselves!) and I think it came out great. There's no need to go crazy on the "layers," as just one or two alternating layers of noodles and beef works fine.

Beef Casserole #2

1 ½ lbs ground beef, browned

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 16oz can diced tomatoes

1 8oz can tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic

1 pkg wide egg noodles, cooked

1 cup sour cream

6 green onions, chopped

1 3oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine beef, salt, sugar, tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, and pepper in skillet. Cook on low 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Combine noodles and sour cream, softened cream cheese, and green onions. Arrange beef and noodle mixtures in layers in greased 3 quart casserole or 9”x13” pan. Top with cheese. Bake for 35 minutes.