Kate's Deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu

Kate's blog, Cooking During Stolen Moments has become one of my favorite blogs for finding new recipes for my family of picky eaters to try. The majority of her recipes are family friendly and I find that I keep most of the ingredients on hand in my pantry and freezer.

One of her more recent recipes, Deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu(this link will take you to the original recipe), I decided to try with my family instead of buying a package of ready made cordon bleu at the store. However, after reading the recipe I didn't want to go to the store to buy some of the ingredients that I didn't have on hand just special for making the recipe, so I decided to modify the recipe and use what I had in my pantry that was a workable substitute that shouldn't change the taste too much.

Here is my version of Kate's Deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu...

Start with getting your chicken and ham into a baking dish...

2-3 lbs boneless/skinless fresh chicken tenders
4-6 slices of ham (I use some of the thin sliced ham that I had put in the freezer around Christmas)
black pepper

Put the chicken in a skillet and brown/cook it for about 3 minutes(about 90 seconds on each side), basically long enough so that you are not using "raw" chicken.  Pepper the chicken on each side before placing the chicken in a 9x13 baking dish.  Top the chicken with pieces of ham.  I cut each of my pieces into 4 or 5 strips and used 1 or 2 strips on each piece of chicken.

Now for the cheese sauce portion of the dish...

4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2-3/4 tsp. onion powder
2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided

In a small sauce pan, melt 4 T. butter or margarine over medium heat. While the butter or margarine is melting, mix together the flour and seasonings. Once the butter or margarine is melted, stir in the seasoned flour and make sure that flour is totally moisten by the melted margarine or butter(it should be a thick paste). Slowly whisk or stir in milk. Bring to a slow boil and let slowly boil until thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese until melted.

Pour cheese sauce over the chicken and ham in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top of the cheese sauce.

Top with 3/4 cup to 1 cup crushed croutons. I used garlic & cheese flavored croutons. Kate's recipe calls for topping it with bread crumbs that are mixed with 1 tbsp. melted butter or margarine. So using croutons there is no need to worry about mixing them with melted butter or margarine.

I served the dish alongside mashed potatoes, green peas and biscuits.

Review: 4 out of 7 family members gave it a thumbs up! It tasted great!  This recipe was definitely easier to prepare than when I made chicken cordon bleu before. Hubby with his distinct tastes wants me to try it again but use swiss cheese because he really didn't like how the cheese sauce tasted with the mozzerella cheese. My most picky eater inhaled it and was interested in more but decided to have a biscuit instead. :) This is the picky eater who doesn't like to try new things and when he does after one bite decides he is going to sit at the table for over an hour "chewing" his food for the longest time and hopes that mom & dad will just give up and let him be done. As for the 3 that didn't like it, they did eat it and said that they would eat it again but told me not to fix it every month.

Also with the recipe calling for ham and cheese, I did not add any additional salt to the chicken or to the cheese sauce.

This post is linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff!
• $5 Dinner Challenge at $5 Dinners!

Grilled Spicy Chicken

Here in the Midwest the summer months are basically over! It has been more like fall lately, but that doesn't keep me from grilling!! I love fixing grilled chicken and as long as the weather stays nice I will use my grill!

When I make chicken on the grill, I love to spice it up rather than just having plain ol' chicken. I mix up some kind of spice with some olive oil and then brush it on both sides of the chicken as it is on the grill. My kids call the results "grilled spicy chicken".

The other day I made some grilled chicken and brushed it with two different spices and left a few plain for those that don't like the spicy chicken. I made up one bowl of lemon pepper seasoning and olive oil and another bowl with Pampered Chef southwestern seasoning and olive oil. The results were scrumptious. I forgot to actually measure how much spice to olive oil I use to make the brush on mixture. If you are one that likes exact measurements I would say to use a ratio of 1/4 cup olive oil to about 3-4 TBSP. spice. The mixture should be a little runny but thick enough that when you go to put on the chicken that is on the grill it doesn't run all off the chicken.

Other spices that I have done mixed with olive oil are:

• Cajun seasoning
• Garlic Powder or Minced Garlic and Parmesan
• Italian seasoning

These are the ones that I have done because these are the spices that I have on hand consistently. I am sure that there is other spices that would make a yummy combination on the chicken.

The sides are endless that you could serve with this chicken. My favorite sides are rice with a dollop of butter and a nice green leafy salad!

This chicken works great for a leftover as well. I love to thinly slice it and put it on top of a green leafy salad for lunch the next day.

This post is linked at:

• Food On Fridays at Ann Kroeker’s!
• Family Recipe Fridays at Vanderbilt Wife!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
• Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum!

Chicken Pot Pie

One of my newly found favorite meals is chicken pot pie and homemade bread! Aside from chocolate, I classify it as a comfort food! I love taking the bits and pieces of leftover veggies and chicken and using them to make something so comforting.

There has been times though where I just make up chicken pot pie from scratch because there is no leftovers to be found to make up the pot pie.

I know how to make pie crust from scratch but sometimes it is just nice to be able to take a box of ready made out of the freezer to put this dish together. It just can make life so much easier especially when you find them on discount for $1 per box and you have a coupon making them 50¢ a box!

It is quicker to use a bag of frozen mixed veggies when making this dish, however, I usually do not have any on hand so I use fresh carrots and potatoes that I dice up and cook together in a pot until tender. I drain them but reserved the water just in case I need more liquid for the pot pie.

Chicken Pot Pie

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed and cooked

5 potatoes, diced and cooked

4 carrots, diced and cooked

2 cups frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1 cups frozen green beans

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste

2 tsp. garlic powder

3 TBSP minced onion

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 box of Pillsbury pie crust

Mix altogether. Put in a 9x13 pan. Unroll pie crust and cover mixture with pie crust. Cook at 400° about 30 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown.

Notes: You will need to use both rolled pie crusts. I use one whole one and 1/2 of the other to cover my 9x13 pan. The other 1/2 I use to make hubby an individual size one in my Pampered Chef small oval baker so that he can take it as a leftover for work lunch. You can also substitute a couple bags of frozen mixed veggies for all the veggies. You can also make your own pie crusts I would make enough for a "double" crust.

This post is linked at:

• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
  
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace!
• $5 Dinner Challenge at $5 Dinners!

Chicken Taco Salad

We are not much of a salad family. I don't make many pasta salads or green leafy type salads. Usually our "salad" consists of a plate filled with raw carrots and a bowl of ranch dressing!

However, my favorite salad is my homemade chicken taco salad! When I make my Taco Bar night I always try to make more chicken taco meat than what we will need so that I can use it for a leftover lunch or two during the following days. I love the fact that making this salad I am using leftovers and it doesn't require much in the way of heating up! This salad tastes great cold or warm.

Chicken Taco Salad

3 boneless/skinless chicken breast, cooked & cubed

2 TBSP taco seasoning

1/4-1/3 cup mild taco sauce

Combine altogether. The taco sauce I use instead of water so that the chicken doesn't taste dried out.

To make the salad:

Layer the following on a plate:

• tortilla chips or crushed taco shells
• chicken meat
• shredded cheddar cheese
• shredded lettuce
• diced tomatoes
• Sour Cream or Ranch dressing(for the adventureous type)

Enjoy!

My kids love it when I stick each of the toppings into a bowl or plate for them to make my own salad bar on the counter for them to make their own salad. It gives them a bit more control of their plates when they fix them and not me. They seem to eat more and are less picky when they can make their own plates.

This post is linked at:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
  
• Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker!
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!
• Family Recipe Fridays at Vanderbilt Wife!

The Many Dishes of Chicken

I have been known to purchase a whole roaster chicken and cook it up for my family, even though my family is not big "dark meat" chicken fans. However, I have found that one whole roaster chicken is just enough for one meal and there is not enough meat for a lunch leftover for hubby. So I watch sales for the bone in chicken breasts and get family pack packages more often than getting a whole roaster chicken because I can get more meals out of the same amount of chicken breasts than I can the whole roaster chicken.


I love getting these and putting them in the crockpot with some seasonings and letting them simmer for the day and adding a couple of sides for a simple meal that doesn't take much thought or standing in the kitchen for hours preparing a meal.

Aside from roasting chicken breasts in the crockpot all day, I use chicken for a lot of my meals! Ever get in rut with fixing chicken and are looking for something different to do, here is eight different ways that I fix chicken for my family:

1. Creamy Chicken
Dice up cooked chicken and use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, add about 1 tsp. of each— poultry seasoning, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Serve over rice or egg noodles. I love doing this meal with leftover chicken because it makes for a quick fix on a busy day!

2. BQ Shredded Chicken
Place boneless chicken in the crockpot with some bq sauce let simmer all day and about lunch time take a couple of forks and pull the chicken apart to shred it. Let simmer til dinner time serve on hamburg buns.

3. Lemon Pepper Chicken
Got a grill?? Grill Lemon Pepper Chicken moisten the lemon pepper in some olive oil and brush it on the chicken while grilling. I use other seasonings too (like cajun, minced garlic or onion) along with the olive oil. This is something to do other than just brushing on plain ol’ BQ sauce. Also you can do this in the oven as well, place chicken in a shallow baking dish(I use my jelly roll pan) and brush on the seasoning in olive oil, cover with foil and bake @ 375° for 30-45 minutes or til chicken is done. Usually the last 5-10 minutes I take the foil off the chicken so that the chicken can brown some (but it is not necessary to do so)

4. Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Get a box of Shake N Bake or Baking Miracle from the store and follow the directions on the box to make chicken nuggets. I use the Baking Miracle. Serve with fries and a veggie for a quick dinner!

5. Oven Fried Chicken
I got this idea from my friend, Lisa and this is really good!!! I have changed it up a bit and instead of using the poultry seasoning and paprika all the time. I have used cajun seasoning or lemon pepper seasoning and it turns out awesome!

3 lbs chicken (I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but bone-in will work too!)
1/2c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
margarine slices

Combine together. Dip chicken pieces in this. Place pads of margarine on top of each piece of chicken. (This is the secret to it tasting so delicious.) Place in sprayed pan. Bake 400 for 1 hour.

6. Chicken Club Sandwiches
Cook some boneless chicken and bacon and serve on a hamburg bun. My boys (13,10,8) all have a whole sandwich. Sometimes the chicken breasts are thick so I slice them the long ways to make thin slices and then one breast makes two sandwiches! Makes the chicken go further too!




7. Saucy Pork Chops or Chicken

The original recipe calls for pork chops but I use the same sauce for pork chops or chicken!

6 pork chops or chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 Tbsp. ketchup
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. onion, minced
1/2 cup of milk

Brown pork chops or chicken; remove any fat. Salt and pepper to taste; place in a 2 qt. casserole dish. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over pork chops or chicken. Cover and cook at 350 degrees 1 hour.

Sonshine's notes: Sauce is really good over baked or mashed potatoes or rice. I use boneless/skinless chicken breasts and slice the chicken into 4-5 pieces after browning. This helps to "stretch" the servings out of the main course. Also I double the sauce recipe and put it into a 9x13 or bigger casserole dish when I do chicken. **This recipe is crockpot friendly too!! I put it together at lunch time and place it in the crockpot on high for 2 hours and then on low til dinner time. OR you can start it in the morning after breakfast on low for 5-6 hours.

8. Chicken Veggie Stew/Casserole
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
1 can of chicken broth
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2-3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
2 cups sliced or diced cooked potatoes
1 can green peas

In a large bowl, combine soup, milk, broth, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken, corn, peas, beans and potatoes. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 15 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings

Sonshine's notes: This recipe can be doubled and even tripled! This recipe works well in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours! When I put it in the crockpot I don't grease it. I even have decreased the liquid(didn't use the chicken broth) and used as the filling to potpie!

This post is linked at:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom!
  
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
  
• Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker!
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!

Simple, Filling, and Frugal Meal

One day last week I made my chicken rice casserole and then on another day I made some plain rice as a side. I did not use all the package of chicken when making the casserole so I cooked it to have as chicken sandwiches for lunch on another day. So Sunday night rolls around and I have just a small portion leftover of the casserole, some of the plain rice leftover and some of the cooked chicken breasts leftover! Despite the fact that it was 80° outside I decided to fix a light dinner of chicken rice soup using up those leftovers in the fridge. To make the meal a little more substantial, I fixed mini grilled cheese sandwiches using two of the mini loaves of bread that I had put in the freezer during my baking day last week.

Here is the recipe for the soup if I were going to make it from scratch! Using the leftovers that I had on hand, I just had to add 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 can of water, 1 can cream of chicken soup(because of using the plain rice), more cooked carrots, and spices to taste.

Chicken Rice Soup

6 cups chicken broth
4-5 carrots, cooked and diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1/2 can milk(I use the cream of chicken soup can for my measuring cup!)
3-4 cups of water
5-6 cups of cooked rice
2 tsp. pepper
3 tsp. garlic powder
3 Tbsp. minced onion
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Put all the ingredients together in a stockpot and simmer for an hour for the flavors to blend. OR you can put it altogether in the crockpot on low for 3-4 hours.



Taking the bread out of the freezer, I thawed in the microwave just enough to slice it into thin slices. I was able to get 7 sandwiches out of each loaf of bread. I used 1/2 of a slice of Kraft American cheese slices on each sandwich. I much prefer mild cheddar cheese slices for my grilled cheese sandwiches but I did not have any on hand!

I used this recipe and just used the dough cycle...

Honey Oatmeal Bread (breadmachine)

11 1/2 ounces(1 1/4 cup + 3tbsp.) water (80°F)
3 tablespoons honey
3 1/4 cups bread flour
1 cup oats, (quick or old fashioned)
2 tablespoons dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast(can be used in the breadmachine)
OR
2 teaspoons bread machine/fast rise yeast

Place in bread machine in order starting with water and ending with yeast.Basic Bread Setting, unless using fast rise yeast then you can do Basic Rapid Bread Setting. Makes 2lb loaf

***If you want rolls instead of a loaf of bread, place the bread machine on dough setting. After the cycle is done, take the dough out of the machine and make into 12-24 balls(depending on what size rolls you would like) place into a greased pan. Or for mini loaves divide evenly into 4 balls and roll out into a log and place in a greased loaf pan. Let rise til double in size(45 minutes-1 hour). Bake in oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes or til golden brown.

Using leftovers out of the fridge, what I had on hand in the pantry, and what I had stored away in the freezer, I was able to make a simple, filling, frugal dinner meal for us in about a half hour.

This post is linked at:

• $5 Dinner Challenge at $5 Dinners!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
  
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace
• Fearless Fridays at Home Ec 101!
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom!

Romantic Meal & Recipes

Looking for an elegant meal for 2!?!  I have just the menu for a low cost meal dining in rather than out. 

Here is what was on the menu:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

or

Homemade Breaded Chicken Tenders(if you want to go simple)

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Corn

Iceburg Lettuce Salad

Hot Biscuits

No Bake Cheesecake

Now to explain how I managed it!

For the Chicken Cordon Bleu, I used this recipe as my guide. I use 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast that I got for $1.89/lb ($3.74). I got a 1.87lb mini half portion boneless ham for $7.46($3.99/lb--cheaper than ham from the deli counter) and thinly sliced it with my electric slicer. I used only 3 thin slices so I figured just 75¢ for the ham. I used 3 slices of swiss cheese out of a 24ct. pkg. that I got for $1.88 so that figures to 24¢ for the 3 slices. 

Then for the 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 1/2 stick margarine and spices, I figured about another 75 cents. That brings my total just for the meat portion of my meal to $4.73. I used the 1/2 stick of margarine as my "oil" for the pan. However, instead of melting it in the pan before adding the chicken to the pan, I used little pats of it on top of the chicken and it melted in the oven as the chicken cooked. Doing it this way makes it where you don't have to worry about flipping the chicken at the halfway point of cooking. 

I used 2 lbs of white pototoes which costed me 65 cents. I got a 5lb bag of white potatoes from Save A Lot for $1.29! You can figure in 1/4 cup milk, 3 heaping tbsps. sour cream and the other 1/2 stick of margarine for another 25 cents brings the total for the potatoes to 90 cents.

I used 1 can of sweet corn that I got on sale for 67 cents/can and simply heated the corn up(steamed it in the microwave).

For my salad, I used a head of iceburg lettuce that I got at Save A Lot for 50 cents and 1 large carrot. I also sprinkled shredded cheese, real bacon bits, and croutons on it so I figured that the salad costs me $1.00. It is hard to know exactly how much the cheese, bacon and croutons costs as these are a few things that I get in a monthly Sam's run.

The biscuits was a tube of Pillsbury biscuits that I got for 66 cents with a sale and coupon!

To whip up one of my no bake cheesecake recipe, I usually buy my supplies for that at Aldi's, I get a graham cracker crust for 99¢(its less hassle than making my own!), 8oz bar of cream cheese for 99¢, a can of sweetened condensed milk for $1.39, and then for lemon juice and vanilla, these are staples in my pantry so I am going to figure in another 20¢ for them. So for $3.57 I have a whole cheesecake!  Now if I divide the cheesecake into 8 pieces each piece is only going to cost me roughly 45¢!

So the grand total for this restauraut style meal  for two with dessert was $8.20!!! If  hubby and I were to go out to eat at a  nice "sit-down" restauraut we would have spent at least $20 or more if you include the tip! 

I can make this entire meal with the dessert for my family of seven for a little over $5 more!!  

Here is the recipe for the Chicken Cordon Bleu:

3 boneless/skinless chicken breast
3 thin slices of ham
3 slices of swiss cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup flour
1 tsp. onion powder*
1 tsp. garlic powder*
a few dashes of black pepper and paprika*
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning*
1 egg
1 tsp. water
1/2 stick margarine

Combine flour and spices together in one bowl. Combine the egg and water in another bowl. Butterfly cut the chicken breasts just about all the way thru to where if you were to cut them totally apart you would have two pieces that look the same. Put one piece of cheese folded in two and one slice of ham in between the two pieces of chicken. Dip chicken pieces in the egg wash first and then in the spiced flour mixture. Place in a jelly roll pan or 9x13 pan. Place pads of margarine on top of each piece of chicken. (This is the secret to it tasting so delicious.) Bake 400 for 1 hour. I don't worry about spraying or oiling the pan as the pads of margarine work in keeping the chicken from sticking to the pan.

*spice amounts are approximate

This post is linked at:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!
• Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker!

Oven Fried Chicken Tenders

In my efforts to get rid of boxed/convenience mixes in my house along with reducing some of the fat in our diet, I decided to take a recipe that my friend, Lisa, had given me a while ago and give it a try with using fresh chicken tenders and making some homemade breaded chicken tenders.

Ingredients are: "spiced flour", egg wash, and fresh chicken tenders. Basically items that you would have in the pantry.

In the flour, I put in some onion powder, garlic powder, a few dashes of black pepper and paprika, and a tad of poultry seasoning. Now how is that for measuring?!?! You can put together any spices that you would prefer for flavoring and what you have in your pantry. I put approximate measurements with the full instructions down below.

Once I dipped all the chicken tenders into the egg wash and the spiced flour, I put a couple of pads of margarine(you can use butter too) on all the tenders.

Then I put them in the oven at 400° for an hour and then came out golden brown and a little bit crispy.

My family loved them!! The leftovers were easy to reheat in the oven at 400° for about 10 minutes.

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

24 chicken tenders (I usually use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but bone-in will work too!)
2 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. pepper*
1/2 tsp. paprika*
1 tsp. poultry seasoning*

2 tsp. garlic powder*

3 tsp. onion powder*

margarine slices

Egg Wash

3 eggs

2 tsp. water

Combine flour and spices together in one bowl. Combine the egg and water in another bowl. Dip chicken pieces in the egg wash first and then in the spiced flour mixture. Place pads of margarine on top of each piece of chicken. (This is the secret to it tasting so delicious.) Bake 400 for 1 hour. I don't worry about spraying or oiling the pan as the pads of margarine work in keeping the chicken from sticking to the pan.

*the spice amounts are approximate!

This post is linked at:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace!
  
• Kitchen tip Tuesday, over at Tammy's Recipes!
• Tasty Tuesday at Forever, Wherever
  
• I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic!

Salsa Chicken

Last week, I made a new dish for a dinner called "Salsa Chicken".  I have heard and read about it before but hadn't really found a recipe for it. 

I did some research and found that there are several different ways to make Salsa Chicken.   You can do it in the crockpot or on the oven or on the stovetop!  You can use tomatoes with chilies or you can use a jar of salsa.  You can add extra spices or you can let the spices or the tomatoes be enough. You can make it creamy or you can just leave it uncreamy.

With all the different variations it is easy to make the dish to suit your palette.  The majority of my family does not like chunks of veggies, especially tomato, in their saucy food.  So I decided to follow a friend's advice when putting this dish together.  I also decided that I was going to do a crockpot version of the recipe.

First, I cleaned my chicken pieces(I used a combination of boneless/skinless chicken tenders and breasts) and put them in my crockpot. (Sorry I remembered to start taking pics about the time I was ready to pour in the sauce!)
Then I combined one jar of Chi-Chi's Mild Salsa, one can of cream of chicken soup, and two tbsps. of taco seasoning into my blender!  Then I pureed all of it! (This was my friend's advice!--I can still have the spices and flavors of the salsa without the chunks!) OH! If you and your family like the chunks then you can skip the pureeing process. Just combine all salsa, soup, and seasoning in a bowl and dump over the chicken!
Then I poured the sauce over the chicken and cooked in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. (The picture above was taken about midway through the cooking process.)
I served the chicken on to plates and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. For my sides, I served rice and corn.   

With pureeing the sauce, it was thin and actually made a great gravy!  My plate I actually put the chicken in a bed of rice and then topped it with cheese.  It tasted very similar to having a chicken burrito without the tortilla shell!

The leftovers of the chicken were saved for a lunch and I made it into a leftover makover, I cut up the chicken into bite size pieces and heated through and made chicken tacos/burritos for the family! 

Now for the exact recipe: 

Salsa Chicken

4 fresh chicken breasts

10 fresh chicken tenders

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 jar salsa

2 tbsp. taco seasoning

Clean chicken. Blend soup, salsa, and taco seasoning well. Pour over chicken. Cook in crockpot on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. 

This post is linked at: 

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace!
  
• Kitchen tip Tuesday, over at Tammy's Recipes! 
• Tasty Tuesday at Forever, Wherever
  
• I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic!

Smothered Chicken

After my friend, Sherry posted this really yummy looking chicken recipe and looking through one of my Taste of Home cookbooks to find a very similar chicken recipe, I decided that I would take a stab at creating a chicken dish that was very similar to them on my own. 


I had six chicken breasts to use and instead of pounding/flattening the chicken out, I cut it in half longwise.  I put the chicken in my skillet with about 1 tbsp. olive oil and cooked the chicken on medium high heat.

Once the juices started running clear, I sprinkled cooked real bacon bits over the pieces of chicken. I didn't measure the bacon bits but I would say that I put about 1/2 cup on 10 pieces of chicken(I kept a couple pieces of chicken plain for leftover chicken sandwiches for hubby's lunch).  I put the lid of my skillet on for about 5 minutes--just enough time for the bacon bits to heat through. 

Once the bacon heated through on the chicken, I sprinkled about 8oz of shredded cheddar cheese over the chicken. I turned the heat down to low and I put the lid back on the skillet long enough to melt the cheddar cheese.  Once the cheese was melted, the chicken was ready to serve! 

This was something really quick to put together!! I served it with french fries and corn.  A leafy green salad would have been nice too, however that got forgotten in the preparation of things! 

My family gobbled it!  I had a couple of pieces for a leftover! 

Smothered Chicken

6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut long wise

1 TBSP. olive oil

1/2 cup real bacon bits

8oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Cook chicken in olive oil on medium high heat til juices run clear. Top with bacon bits and melted cheddar cheese. 

For more delicious recipes, head over to Happy To be At Home or to Blessed with Grace!

Scrumptious Sunday-Chicken Parmesan

Easy Chicken Parmesan

5 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

2 TBSP. italian seasoning

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 TBSP. onion powder

4 TBSP. margarine or butter

4 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

8 oz. mozzerella cheese, shredded

1 jar Ragu pasta sauce (I used traditional style)

Combine flour, italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and parmesan cheese in a bowl or bag.  Dip the chicken in the flour mixture.  Place in a 9x13 pan. Put little pads of margarine or butter on the chicken. Place in the oven at 400° for 50 minutes.  Take out of the oven pour the jar of pasta sauce over and around the chicken. Place back in the oven until the sauce is bubbly(about 10 minutes). Take the chicken back out of oven and sprinkle with mozzerella cheese. It should be hot enough for the cheese to melt without placing back in the oven. However, it might need to go back in for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese. 

Serve with spaghetti noodles and a green salad! 

For more scrumptious recipes; head over to Happy To be at Home!

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday--Chicken Veggie Stew

This is my second week participating in this meme over at Blessed with Grace and I must say there is some great looking recipes over there!! This week, Lisa shares her "quick meal" so I thought I would share one of mine! This meal is really quick when you have leftovers in the fridge that need to be used up but you don't want to eat them all separate! I love making this "leftover makeover"!


Chicken Veggie Soup/Stew

1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup milk
1 can of chicken broth
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2-3 cups diced cooked chicken
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed
2 cups sliced or diced cooked potatoes
1 can green peas
1-2 cups carrots, diced and cooked

In a large bowl, combine soup, milk, broth, thyme, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken, corn, peas, beans and potatoes. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 15 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings

Sonshine's notes: This recipe can be doubled and even tripled! This recipe works well in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours! When I put it in the crockpot I don't grease it. I even have decreased the liquid(didn't use the chicken broth) and used as the filling to potpie!

For other tempting tummy recipes and more; head over to Blessed with Grace!

Frugal Friday--Restaurant Style Meal

This past week, I was able to make a restauraut style meal for all 7 of us for under $10.00 plus I ended up with 2 single serve lunches and extra meat to serve for a lunch!

Here is what was on the menu:

Chicken Cordon Bleu

or

Homemade Breaded Chicken Tenders

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Corn

Iceburg Lettuce Salad

Hot Biscuits

Now to explain how I managed it!

For the Chicken Cordon Bleu, I used this recipe as my guide. I use 2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast that I got for $1.87/lb ($3.74). I got a 1.87lb mini half portion boneless ham for $7.46($3.99/lb--cheaper than ham from the deli counter) and thinly sliced it with my electric slicer. I used only 6 thin slices so I figured just $1.00 for the ham. I used 4 slices of swiss cheese out of a 24ct. pkg. that I got for $1.88 so that figures to 32 cents for the 4 slices. Then for the 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 1/2 stick margarine and spices, I figured about another 75 cents. That brings my total just for the meat portion of my meal to $5.81. I used the 1/2 stick of margarine as my "oil" for the pan. However, instead of melting it in the pan before adding the chicken to the pan, I used little pats of it on top of the chicken and it melted in the oven as the chicken cooked. Doing it this way makes it where you don't have to worry about flipping the chicken at the halfway point of cooking. Also, if you are wondering, I only made 6 of the 13 pieces of chicken that I had in the 2lbs of chicken into the Cordon Bleu. The rest of the chicken I used just the bread crumb and parmesan cheese mixture to coat it.

I used 2 1/2 lbs of white pototoes which costed me 65 cents. I got a 5lb bag of white potatoes from Save A Lot for $1.29! You can figure in 1/4 cup milk, 3 heaping tbsps. sour cream and the other 1/2 stick of margarine for another 25 cents brings the total for the potatoes to 90 cents.

I used two cans of sweet corn that I got on sale for 67 cents/can. So the "steamed corn" was $1.34.

For my salad, I used a head of iceburg lettuce that I got at Save A Lot for 50 cents and 1 large carrot. I also sprinkled shredded cheese, real bacon bits, and croutons on it so I figured that the salad costs me $1.00. It is hard to know exactly how much the cheese, bacon and croutons costs as these are a few things that I get in a monthly Sam's run.

The biscuits was a tube of Pillsbury biscuits that I got for 66 cents with a sale and coupon!

So the grand total for this restauraut style meal for a family of 7 was $9.70!!! If I were to take my family out to eat at a "sit-down" restauraut we would have spent at least $30 or more if you include the tip! That is why I like to take the time every once in a while to fix a more elaborate meal rather than heading out to a restauraut and spending 3 times as much.

For other frugal tips, recipes, or resources; head over to Biblical Womanhood!

Sloppy Chicken Joe Sandwiches

Turkey or Chicken Sandwiches

I took the leftover turkey breast from last week(it was about ½ of the total breast) and my leftover gravy and mixed it up together. There wasn’t enough of the gravy to moisten all the turkey so I added about ¼ cup of water along with some cornstarch and milk to thicken up the turkey mixture. The turkey shredded as I stirred it and it heated through. Once it was done, I serve on hamburger buns.

You can use chicken as well for this recipe.

My MIL makes this fresh rather than using leftovers. Her recipe is something like this….

1 whole chicken cooked and deboned
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth(or broth from the chicken cooking)

Mix altogether. Season with pepper or as desired. Serve on hamburger buns.


Join Jen over at Frugal Upstate for Frugal Food Series--Chicken.

Works For Me Wednesday--Simple Meals

Yesterday, I was talking about not having that all day in the kitchen feeling. Two of the things that I mentioned to not having that all day in the kitchen feeling is keeping meals simple and using "modern day servants". How do I keep meals simple? By using basic items that I keep on hand in my pantry and freezer. Nothing exotic here!

Most of meals consist of a meat, two starches(potatoes, rice, or noodles and some kind of bread) and then veggies and/or fruit.


Like this meal from last week...BBQ boneless pork ribs,cheesy potatoes (no meat), and green beans. Simple but yet filling!

For today's meal, I am using a couple of my favorite "modern day servants" along with keeping the meal simple.....Crockpot roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and bread.


I season my chicken breasts with poultry seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and seasoned salt. I would use minced onion or fresh onion BUT my picky eaters do not like the "chunks" of veggies. I didn't put any water or canned broth in the crockpot because the chicken will do quite well making its own!

As you can see from the picture, I seasoned the chicken quite liberally! It will make some flavorful chicken and broth! I cook this in the crockpot for 8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. I didn't get it started right after breakfast like I had planned so I have the crockpot on high for now.
These are just two examples of simple meals that work for me! I am always looking for new simple meals to try with my family! What are some simple meals that you do for your family?

Want to read what works for others, check out WFMW over at Rocks in My Dryer.

Under $1/plate Meal

This week for Frugal Friday, Crystal is talking about keeping it simple to save time, energy, and money. One of the things she does is do simple meals! I can relate to this!!! I do simple meals alot for my family. I think doing simple meals not only saves time in the kitchen but makes it easier to take leftovers to make into new meals.

This past week for dinner, I ended up having 3 extra kids at my house for dinner! On my weekly menu plan, I saw that I was going to be doing one of my eight ways to fix chicken--Creamy Chicken! I was hesitant to fix the meal thinking it would not be something that was very frugal or ending up not allowing me any extras/leftovers for another meal. I went ahead and fixed it because nothing else that I had was going to work very well either.

While I was fixing it, I began to wonder if I was really fixing something frugal or if I was making an extravagant meal that in the end would be a budget buster for me. To my amazement, it was a very frugal meat & starch meal!!

Here is the recipe/meal that I made....

Creamy Chicken
4lbs boneless/skinless chicken, diced and cooked ($8)
3 cans cream of chicken soup($1.47)
poultry seasoning
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
Mix altogether, season to taste.
(I get my spices in bulk so just for cost value for this recipe, I am going to say that ALL the spices costs me just 10 cents and that is probably a little generous!)

Served over cooked wide egg noodles--used a pound (99 cents)

Served with 2 cans of green peas($1.30)

I had 10 people eating, 2 of which had a second small serving, plus I got 2 single servings for hubby's lunch. Grand total of servings was 13(because the two small servings would have been equivalent to one regular serving). Grand total price for the whole meal...$11.86!!!! Which means each plate cost me 91 cents!

So there you have a simple, filling, and frugal meal!!!

For other frugal tips and ideas, head over to Crystal's blog--Biblical Womanhood

Turkey Tetrazzini

On Monday's menu plan, I said that I would post the Turkey Tetrazzini recipe that I did if it was a good one. I got this recipe from my friend, Leni.

Turkey Tetrazzini

1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. flour
2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Melt butter, combine into a paste in pan with flour, salt and pepper.

2 C broth

Wisk in broth, bring to a boil.

2 C. milk
2-6 C cubed or ground meat, cooked (Cubed chicken, turkey or ground beef.)
16 oz noodles, cooked and drained
8 oz. cooked, sliced mushrooms (omitted at Sonshine's house!)

Add in milk and meat, noodles and mushrooms, put in 13x9 pan.

1/2 c. parmesan cheese
Sprinkle with cheese, bake at 350° til golden.

Freezes well...freeze just before final step.

Sonshine's Notes: As with any recipe, I didn't follow it exactly!! I did up the sauce and added about 3-4tsp. garlic powder, 1-2 tsp. italian seasoning, 4-5 tbsp. minced onion, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. I added leftover turkey to the sauce and stirred the sauce into some cooked spaghetti noodles that I put into my 13x9 pan. I topped the mixture with 8oz. of shredded mozzerella cheese. I baked it for 30 minutes in a 350° oven.

Sonshine's Review: I should have added something more in spice or flavor to the mixture it was a little bland. I also thought it was going to have more sauce than it did. I think next time I will double the sauce mixture to see if that will help with making not taste so dry. Otherwise, it was very good. Most of my family ate it....4 out of 7 gave it a thumbs up. My hubby commented that it was good but to only fix for something different..."once in a blue moon". Although it was good it will not be going on my monthly meal rotation list.

Chicken Rice Casserole

Chicken Rice Casserole/Soup

Chicken (I usually use 6-8 boneless/skinless breasts)
Rice (about 4-6 cups dry or 6-8 cups cooked)
2 cans Chicken Broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cans of water (usually use the soup not broth cans)
1-2 cans cream of whatever soup (usually use cream of chicken)
Onions (about ½ fresh onion—I usually use dry minced or powder)
Carrots, chopped/diced
Celery, chopped/diced (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. Poultry seasoning
1-2 tsp. garlic powder

I usually do this on the stovetop. Cook chicken, carrots, celery along with the broth in a skillet. Cook rice separately in my rice cooker and then add it along with the spices to the chicken and veggies when the chicken is cooked completely. Let it simmer for a while for the rice to pick up the chicken flavoring also make sure that there is enough liquid in it. Sometimes I will add milk to it for the extra liquid.

If you want to do it in the oven put it all together without cooking the rice first in a covered casserole dish. Cook @ 350°, if in a glass dish cook @ 325° for about 1 ½ hours.

I usually make the casserole for one meal and then later in the week take the leftovers and make Chicken Rice Soup. You should not have to add any more spices to it. To make into soup add 2 more cans of chicken broth with 2 cans of water (use broth cans this time) and 2 more chicken bouillon cubes. If you are not going to do the casserole first and make soup from scratch, I would cook the chicken and veggies in water so that the chicken can make some of its own broth. Still would cook the rice separately from the chicken. Once chicken is cooked completely and veggies tender, add rice, spices, broth, cream whatever soup, milk (1/2 of a soup can),water, and 2-3 chicken bouillon cubes. I would add the water last as then you can be the judge as to how “soupy” you want the soup.

Looking for more chicken recipes, head over to Jen-Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food Series--Chicken.

Chicken Rice Soup

Chicken Rice Soup

6 cups chicken broth
4-5 carrots, cooked and diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1/2 can milk(I use the cream of chicken soup can for my measuring cup!)
3-4 cups of water
5-6 cups of cooked rice
2 tsp. pepper
3 tsp. garlic powder
3 Tbsp. minced onion
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Put all the ingredients together in a stockpot and simmer for an hour for the flavors to blend. OR you can put it altogether in the crockpot on low for 3-4 hours. Serve with fresh fruit, or a green salad and homemade french bread or honey oatmeal bread or biscuits.

***Notes: Sometimes I use the leftovers from Creamy Chicken or Chicken Rice Casserole to make up my pot of soup!

Looking for more chicken recipes, head over to Jen-Frugal Upstate's Frugal Food Series--Chicken.

Garlic Chicken Lasagna

4 tbsp. butter
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 can (29 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
9 lasagna noodles
4 cups (1 pound) Mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 cups (8 ounces) Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated


1. In large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute chicken, onion and garlic in butter until chicken is cooked through. Stir in next 8 ingredients. Bring to a low boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.

2. Boil lasagna noodles al dente according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water until cool enough to handle.

3. Spread about 1/2 cup sauce in a 9x13-inch pan. Top with three lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, 1/3 of the Mozzarella cheese, 1/3 of the Cheddar cheese and 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers two more times, ending with Parmesan cheese.

4. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes. Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Yield: 8 servings.


My Notes and Review: I got this recipe off of Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness. I changed it up a bit because of what ingredients I had on hand and time spent in the kitchen preparing it. Along with using things that I knew/thought my crew would eat.

Here is what I did...I cut up the chicken and saute it but didn't use any butter just the juices that come from cooking it. I added onion and garlic powder rather than minced. I also add the other spices to the chicken while it was cooking. Once the chicken was no longer pink, I added a jar of Ragu traditional spaghetti sauce to it rather than the 3 different cans of tomatoes.

I did up extra wide egg noodles rather than lasagna noodles. Once the noodles were tender, I added some of the cheese to the noodles.

I then layered the chicken and the noodles in a 9x13 pan and then topped it with the rest of the cheese.

If I do this again, I would not put the cheese in with noodles because it is harder to layer the noodles when they are all stuck together with cheese!

I served it with garlic toast and a tossed salad.

It tasted very good! I enjoyed it! It was nice to have a lasagna type dish! Despite there being nothing new as far as ingredients go, my picky eaters had a horrible time eating it. My dh ate it but the dish was "lasagna"...something that he can't stand to eat mostly because of the all the different cheeses! So this will go in the stack of recipes that need to be dumped because I will not make it again with only 3 out of 7 eating it without complaining! On the other hand, I might hang on to the recipe to use if I need to take a meal to someone because it would be an easy put together early in the day and stick in the oven later type meal.