Chicken Divan casserole

Ladies, this one could land you a husband!mine went back for seconds and talked about it all week. I made one casserole with rice on the bottom and one without. If you use rice, I would add more sauce to be safe. This is a staple for your freezer cooking. We like leftovers and freezer meals so this was about the perfect size recipe for our family of four. I made one to eat and 1 or 2 to freeze depending on size of tray. I also used fresh broccoli I had blanched in lieu of frozen (our preference and it was on sale). Definitely use seasoned traditional bread crumbs on top and be generous! Enjoy :) Chicken Divan Ingredients 6 C uncooked rice 6-8 chicken breasts, shredded( generally, I use bone in breasts and usually only need 4-5) 1jar of mayonnaise 1can of cream of mushroom soup 2-3T Dijon mustard 2 C sour cream 8 C chopped broccoli 3 C cheddar cheese 2 cup Parmesan cheese to mix with bread crumbs Large can of seasoned breadcrumbs 2 T garlic powder 2 T onion powder salt & pepper Cook rice to according to the directions. While rice is cooking, prepare chicken. You chose cooking method. Chop the broccoli, then steam it. Set aside. Mix wet ingredients in one bowl with spices and chicken and broccoli in another bowl. Spread rice in casserole dishes. Combine chicken and broccoli with the wet mix. Add mixture to casserole dishes and top with cheese and breadcrumb mixture. – Preheat oven to 350 degrees – Bake for 25-35 minutes or until middle is hot to touch.

Easy Breezy bean casserole

1 bag frozen corn 1 large can of black beans 1 can of enchilada sauce 4 cups brown rice 1 large onion diced and sautéed 2 large zucchini sliced into strips 1 bag of Mexican cheese shredded 1/2 bag of tostitos 2 large chicken breasts cut in bit sized prices and sautéed until brown. Mix everything except half the cheese and all the chips in a casserole dish. Top with chips and remaining cheese. Add salt an pepper to taste. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Yum.

Mango Black Bean Quinoa

Mango Black Bean Quinoa 1 cup quinoa 2 cups water 1 chicken flavored bullion cube 2 tablespoons butter or evoo 1 onion diced 1 cup cilantro chopped fine 1 mango diced 1 can of washed black beans 1 cup frozen corn Salt, pepper, paprika, and chipotle chili powder to taste. Sauté onions in oil until transleucent. Add quinoa until lightly toasted. Stir in boullion cube and water, bringing to a boil. Once at a boil lower to a simmer until water is mostly absorbed. Add remaining ingredients until all water is absorbed. Enjoy!

Smashed Stew

Smashed Slow Cooker Stew aka Guiness Beef Stew You will need: * 1/3 cup all-purpose flour * 1 teaspoon smoked paprika * 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt * 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper * 2-3 pounds beef chuck,or pot roast cut into 1-inch cubes * 1 tablespoon olive oil * 1 onion, chopped large * 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, chopped * 3-4 large potatoes, diced * 5 large carrots, sliced * 4 stalks celery, chopped * 3 cloves garlic, minced * 2 Cans Guiness Beer (You will taste it, if you prefer a more subtle flavor use 1 can and 1 cup of water) * 2cups of water * 5 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce * 6 beef boullion cubes * 1 can crushed tomatoes * 2 tablespoon smoked paprika * salt and ground black pepper to taste * 1 tsp onion powder *Cornstarch as needed Directions 1. Combine the flour, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, seasoned salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper in a gallon ziplock bag. Add the beef, and seal the bag. Shake the bag thoroughly to coat the beef with seasoned flour. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Shake the excess seasoning off the beef, stir the beef into the hot skillet adding the onions and mushrooms after a minute or two. Cook and stir until the beef is evenly browned. 3. Place the beef mixture into the slow cooker with garlic, 1 beer, water and Worcestershire sauce. Add the boullion cubes and tomatoes into the cooker. Top with the veggies. You can add the potatoes, or keep them to the side and cook as mashed instead. Cook on High for 4 to 6 hours, or on Low for 10 to 12 hours. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. In the last 30 minutes add 1/2 of the second can of beer. Because I am never exact with the veggies, you may need to add more guiness or beef broth to reach the desired thickness. You can also add cornstarch to thicken at the end. I use about 2 teaspoons to achieve a stew thickness. I also prefer to add my potatoes after 2 hours so they are more on the firm side. Another favorite variation is to omit the potatoes from the stew and serve mashed potatoes as a side to the stew.

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe makes two 9" pot pies -enjoy both or freeze one for later !

You'll Need:
2 boxes of the Pillsbury (or like) pie crusts from the dairy section-they each contain one top and bottom crust.
3-4 split whole chicken breasts, skin on
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher sea salt
fresh black peper
5 cups chicken stock (look for MSG free, and I usually do 4 cups regular and 1 cup bold stock)
12 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 bag frozen peas (about 3 cups)
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
1/2 cup minced fresh parsely leaves
3/4 cup all purpose white flour-don't use wheat
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg and 1 tablespoon water for egg wash
4 teaspoons minced garlic-optional

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic if you have some handy. Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked. Set aside to cool and once cool pull apart into bite size pieces.
2. In deep saute pan or dutch oven saute the onions in the butter until translucent (about 10 min on medium low heat)
3. Heat chicken stock and veggies except peas and parsely in a pot until at a simmer.
4. Add flour to onions and stir for 2 min over low heat
5. Add stock, veggies, peas, parsely, and heavy cream to the onion mixture and stir until thickened.
6. Arrange pie crusts in pie dishes, fill with the cooked filling, and top with the additional crusts making certain to use a fork to seal the edges. Poke a few holes in the top of crust to allow some air flow.
7. Apply egg wash to top of pie, sprinkle sea salt and cracked pepper on top, bake for 1 hour on a baking sheet.

Enjoy!

Shrimp-Spinach-Artichoke Bake

This is my "healthy" version of spinach artichoke dip. It is not as creamy and smooth as the dip version. This is more of a veggie casserole with shrimp. It will satisfy the craving without adding 10lbs-hopefully ;)

20 Frozen or Fresh Jumbo shrimp
1 bag frozen spinach
2 jars of marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 cup half&half
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 large cloves of garlic
2tablespoons EVOO, butter, or margarine
a pinch of flour

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees
-Heat spinach and drain all of the water from it.
-Remove hard tail from the shrimp
-Chop artichoke hearts into smaller bite size pieces
-Mince garlic and saute in sauce pan with butter until translucent. Whisk in the half&half and flour until slightly thickened.
If you prefer a creamier texture you would want to transfer the spinach and artichokes to a food processor. You could blend until you achieve the desired texture. Instead of the blended texture, I just toss everything into the sauce at low heat until the cheese has melted. Then I transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
You could serve as a side dish or as a dip with pita or tortilla chips.

Chedder Crackers

Yummm! These are far from low calorie but they are soooooo good. I like to put them in the baskets with cookies and fudge at the holidays because like fudge, they are to be enjoyed in moderation... or not ;)

Cheddar Crackers

-6 oz or 1.5 cups of EXTRA SHARP or HUNTERS CHOICE Cabot cheese (do not substitute for cheapo cheese like cracker barrel-they will not taste right)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
-1 teaspoon Frank's hot sauce (or more to taste)
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 cup all purpose flour (you could try using wheat but we don't)
-1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:
-Heat oven to 400 and spray a baking sheet
-Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with hands or use your food processor
- Divide the dough in half and roll into two logs that are aprox 1 1/4 inches in diameter
-Roll logs in sesame seeds and wrap in plastic wrap
- Refrigerate logs for at least 30 minutes, then slice into 1/4 in thick slices
-Optional: place fork marks on tops of each cracker
-Place slices on baking tray and bake 10-12 minutes keeping a close eye out so they don't burn.

They are great to use as serving crackers for an appetizer or all alone. Enjoy !