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Friday, August 31, 2012

Biscuit pot pie

Biscuit-topped Chicken Pot Pie
Made: August 31, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 package (16oz) frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix
- 1/2 cup milk

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Combine chicken and broth in large saucepan, bring to boil over high heat
- Reduce heat to low, simmer 8 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink; stirring occasionally
- Stir in vegetables, soup, 2 tablespoons cheese, thyme and pepper, cook until heated through
- Transfer mixture to 8-inch square baking dish
- Combine baking mix and milk in medium bowl, mix just until combined
- Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls over chicken mixture
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese
- Bake 14-16 minutes or until bubbly and biscuits are golden brown

I didn't have biscuit mix, so I used dinner rolls in a tube to top my dinner with. It sounded better as a recipe really, this one will take a lot of tweaking. Like less thyme as that's all I really tasted throughout. It also didn't seem much like a pot-pie, like it needed more creaminess to the mix or even more chicken flavor. So to the drawing board it is! Although, this didn't take long to cook or prepare, so it's a quick and easy for dinner!

(Recipe used: America's Favorite Brand Name Recipes; 2012)

Friday, August 24, 2012

Corny meat

Meaty Corn Bread Casserole
Made: August 24, 2012

Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
- 1 3/4 cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1 cup water
- 1 envelope brown gravy mix
- 1 package corn bread/muffin mix (and ingredients to make mixture)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
- In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain
- Stir in the corn, water and brown gravy mix
- Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened
- Spoon into an 8in square baking dish
- Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions
- Stir in pepper and garlic powder
- Spread over meat mixture
- Bake, uncovered at 400 F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the corn bread layer comes out clean

Got a new cookbook in the mail today and opened up to this page; decided this would be for dinner! Came out nice and juicy. I used celery sausage instead of the pork sausage and seasoned my meat with seasonal and pepper while cooking to get it an extra punch of flavor.

(Recipe used: Taste of Home Almost Homemade)

Monday, August 20, 2012

Mac & chicken

Chicken, Macaroni, and Cheese
Made: August 20, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 12 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast; cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 6.5oz light semi-soft cheese with garlic and herb
- 1 2/3 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

Directions
- In a medium saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions; do no add salt & drain
- Coat an unheated large nonstick skillet with cooking spray
- Preheat skillet over medium-high heat
- Add chicken and onion to skillet
- Cook for 4-6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender, stirring frequently
- Remove skillet from heat
- Stir in semi-soft cheese until melted
- In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and flour until smooth
- Add all of the flour mixture to the chicken
- Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly
- Reduce heat to low
- Stir in cheddar cheese until melted
- Add cooked macaroni; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until heated through
- Stir in cherry tomatoes and serve

I omitted the onion, and instead of shredded cheddar cheese, I used some of the Velveeta block I had left over from a precious recipe. Overall, it was quite cheesy and good :)

(Recipe used: Better Homes and Gardens Homestyle Favorites)

Friday, August 17, 2012

Asparagus and Chicken

Bowties with Chicken and Asparagus
Made: August 17, 2012

Ingredients
- 4 cups uncooked bow-tie (farfalle) pasta (8oz)
- 1 pound asparagus
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
- Cook and drain pasta as directed on package, omitting salt
- Break off tough ends of asparagus, wash & cut into 1 inch pieces
- In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat
- Add chicken, cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Stir in asparagus and garlic, cook 6-8 minutes until asparagus is tender & chicken is no longer pink
- In a small bowl, gradually stir broth into the cornstarch
- Stir into chicken mixture
- Cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly
- Season with salt
- Toss with pasta
- Sprinkle with cheese

I omitted the garlic and used garlic salt and powder instead to please my pallette as well as Mom's & Granny's. I had to reheat this for when Mom got home, so it tastes better served asap after it's cooked as the batch I tasted for Granny came out really good. :x

(Recipe used: Pillsbury)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Lemon Cookies

Zesty Lemon Cookies
Made: August 14, 2011

Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
- In the bowl of a standing mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar together until well blended
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl
- With the mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, until blended
- Add lemon juice and zest, mixing until blended
- Add salt, baking powder and flour and mix until blended
- Drop by rounded scoopfuls onto prepared baking sheets
- Bake until edges are firm with no color, 12 to 15 minutes
- Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks and let cool completely
- Dust with powdered sugar

For me, these came out a little too thick battered, so I might reduce the flour next time. Trial and error! But they taste very lemony and overall are quite delish :)

(Recipe used: realmomkitchen.com)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Amish Chicken

Chicken Casserole
Made: August 12, 2012

Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 can of cream of chicken soup
- 1 can of cream of celery soup
- 8 oz Velvetta cheese; cut in pieces
- 1-12 oz package of noodles, cooked
- 4 cups diced cooked chicken
- Dry stuffing mix

Directions
- In a saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat
- Stir flour in slowly, using a wire whisk, until the butter and flour mixture begins to bubble
- Continue cooking and stirring for about 2 minutes, remove from heat
- In a separate pan, heat chicken broth, stir in salt and celery salt
- Once broth is fully heated, add it to the butter and flour mixture, stirring quickly
- Return the saucepan to heat, stir over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken (do not let boil)
- Add soups and cheese, cook until creamy and smooth
- Mix sauces, noddles and chicken together
- Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole pan and cover with stuffing mix
- Bake at 300 F for 1 hour

I followed this recipe closely to a tee this time. I used reduced sodium chicken broth and egg noodles for this recipe. Hoping to reduce the number of pans I had to use over all, I used the same pot for my noodles and heating of the chicken broth. I only had to wash one saucepan as I had cooked the chicken in, but then used it for the main cooking of the dish. Overall, I'm very pleased with the turn out!

(Recipe used: Beverly Lewis Amish Heritage cookbook)

Friday, August 3, 2012

Burgers & Veggies

Broccoli Hamburger Casserole
Made August 3, 2012

Ingredients
- 2 - 16oz packages of frozen broccoli
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 - 10.75oz cans condensed cream of celery soup
- 1 - 16oz container of sour cream
- 1 - 16oz package of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 F
- Prepare the broccoli according to the package directions
- In a skill over medium heat, mix the ground beef and onion
- Cook until beef is evenly brown; drain grease
- Season with salt & pepper, mix in cream of celery soup and sour cream
- Continue cooking until heated through
- Transfer to medium baking dish, evenly layer with broccoli and top with cheese
- Bake 1 hour, until bubbly and lightly brown

As a family of 3 (or 4, depending if it's Granny approved) we never use 2 pounds of ground beef at a time for a casserole dish. So I cut this recipe in half and didn't use the onion. I also only baked it in the oven for 25 minutes. It didn't seem like it needed 30 and 25 bubbled the cheese enough to make it ooey good! I also used a blend of Monterey Jack & Mozzarella cheeses :)

(Recipe used: Pinterest)