Monday, August 31, 2009

Creamy Chicken Casserole

This is an old standby, I used to have this all the time growing up and now I make it for my Husband and Son. It can be modified to make it more healthy, or you can add veggies, it’s a pretty versatile recipe. I am not sure where it originated, but I know the recipe by memory now. I usually serve this with either a salad or green beans.

Ingredients (feeds 4-5 people):

1½ hours | 1 hour prep

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•4 skinless chicken breasts
•1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
•1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
•4 cups herb stuffing mix
•4 tablespoons melted butter
•Salt and pepper to taste

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.Boil chicken breasts in water for 25 minutes.

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3.Let chicken sit until cool and then shred chicken.

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4.Combine shredded chicken, salt and pepper, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup and spread evenly into a casserole dish.

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5.Combine melted butter and stuffing mix in a bowl to soften the stuffing. Sometimes I will soften it even more using some broth from the boiled chicken.

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6.Pour stuffing mix over chicken mixture and spread evenly.

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7.Cover casserole dish with aluminum foil and cook for 20 minutes.

8.Remove Aluminum foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes to make the topping crispy.

9. Let sit for 5-10 minutes and enjoy!

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Zesty Tomato Bruschetta

I love a nice crispy piece of french bread covered in a tangy tomato bruschetta. I learned to make this years ago from my Mother but I have changed the recipe recently because of some great bruschetta I got at BJ’s Restaurant.

For the tomatoes, I use whatever looks the best at the grocery store that week. It’s usually a roma or vine tomato, I find the beefsteak tomatoes to be a big bland for this recipe. I don’t use canned because it can make the bruschetta soggy.

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I start out with cutting two tomatoes into quarters and squeezing out the seeds into the kitchen sink. I will then chop them into small pieces and set them aside in a bowl

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I will then finely chop three garlic cloves and add them to the bowl with the chopped tomatoes

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Then, chop about 2 tbsp fresh basil and add it to the bowl

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Add 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the good stuff) then add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

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Gently stir the mixture until all ingredients are combined

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Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve