9 Chicken Casseroles

Many of these recipes are chicken-a-la-kingish and since that is one of my favorite meals, I can't wait to try some of these recipes.

If you like these recipes, consider subscribing to Jennifer's You Tube Channel, Cook Clean Repeat . . . you will love it.  It is one of my favorites and I highly recommend it!

Homemade Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings

 

The perfect comfort food that comes from Cracker Barrel Restaurant, one of my favorites.  I've had this dish many times at the restaurant.  It will be awesome to make it myself.

Click here for the source recipe page with more photos and complete description from the website All Free Copycat Recipes.

Ingredients

• For the Chicken Stock:
• 1 chicken, whole or cut up
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
• 4 stalks of celery, cut in half
• 1 onion, peeled and cut in half
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• Salt and pepper to taste
•  
• For the Dumplings:
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons crisco
• 3/4 cup milk
•  
• 2 carrots, chopped (optional)
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped (optional)
• 1 small onion
• 2 teaspoon dried sage

       Salt and pepper to taste

To Make the Chicken Stock:

Place all ingredients for the chicken stock in a large stock pot. Fill with water until all the ingredients are covered.

Bring the ingredients to a light simmer and let simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Then remove the pieces of chicken and set aside. 

Strain the rest of the stock, discarding all the vegetables.

After the chicken cools, cut it into pieces or shred it, depending on how you like your chicken and dumplings.

To Make the Dumplings:

Mix together all of the dumpling ingredients in a mixing bowl until they come together and form a ball. 

Add more flour if dough is too sticky and more milk if dough is too dry.

Place the ball of dough on a floured surface. 

Knead a few times until smooth. 

Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/8 inch thick.

Cut the rolled out dough into slices, then smaller bite-sized pieces. These will be your dumplings.

To Assemble:

Heat the remaining ingredients in a large pot with 6 cups of the strained stock. 

Add the reserved chicken. 

Add more water if the ingredients are not covered. Bring to a boil.Put the heat on low and add the cut-up dumplings.

Simmer on low for 30 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through and the broth has thickened.

If the broth is not thick enough, create a slurry by mixing together 1 teaspoon of flour and a 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Then whisk into the broth and let simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Southern Potato Bake

 

Delicious, fast and easy!

A potato casserole is comfort food at its best.  

Check this one out . . .

Click here for the source recipe page from Mr. Food's website, one of my favorites.

What You'll Need

• 1 (10-1/2-ounce) can cream of broccoli soup
• 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
• 8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 stick butter, melted, divided
• 1 (32-ounce) package frozen southern-style hash browns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup corn flakes, coarsely crushed
• 
  

What to Do

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine soup, sour cream, cheese, onion, and 1/2 stick butter; mix well. Stir in hash browns, salt, and pepper; pour into baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, combine corn flakes and remaining butter; mix well. Sprinkle over potatoes.
4. Bake 55 to 60 minutes, or until heated through and golden brown.

Chicken Fried Steak from The Pioneer Woman

Comfort food at it's best!

Chicken Fried Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy is one of my favorite meals.  This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman!

One of my rules in making this meal . . . don't forget the biscuits!

Ingredients

Chicken Fried Steak:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 pounds cube steak (tenderized round steak that's been extra tenderized)
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Gravy:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 to 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Mashed potatoes, for serving

Directions:

For the steak: 

Set up an assembly line of dishes. Mix the milk with the eggs in one; the flour mixed with the seasoned salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, paprika and cayenne in another; and the meat in a third. Then have one clean plate at the end for the breaded meat.

Work with one piece of meat at a time. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and black pepper, then place it in the flour mixture. Turn to coat. Place the meat into the milk/egg mixture, coat both sides. 

Place it back in the flour and coat both sides (dry mixture/wet mixture/dry mixture). 

Place the breaded meat on the clean plate, then repeat with the remaining meat.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. Drop in a few sprinkles of flour to make sure it's sufficiently hot. When the butter sizzles immediately, you know it's ready. (It should not brown right away, if it does, the fire is too hot.) 

Cook the meat, 3 pieces at a time, until the edges start to look golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Remove the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and keep them warm by covering lightly with another plate or a sheet of foil. Repeat until all the meat is cooked.

After all the meat is fried, pour off the grease into a heatproof bowl. Without cleaning the skillet, return it to the stove over medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup of the grease back to the skillet and allow it to heat up.


For the gravy: 

When the grease is hot, sprinkle the flour evenly over the grease. Using a whisk, mix the flour with the grease, creating a golden-brown paste. Add more flour if it looks overly greasy; add a little more grease if it becomes too pasty/clumpy. 

Keep cooking until the roux reaches a deep golden brown color.

Pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Add the seasoned salt and black pepper to taste and cook, whisking, until the gravy is smooth and thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Be prepared to add more milk if it becomes overly thick. Be sure to taste to make sure gravy is sufficiently seasoned.

Serve the meat next to a big side of mashed potatoes. Pour gravy over the whole shebang!



2011 Ree Drummond, All Rights Reserved

Source:  The Pioneer Woman 

Tex Mex Mac and Cheese

Who doesn't love macaroni and cheese?

The Captain and I often make it as a snack.  He tends to love the spicy versions of everything, so I know this version of macaroni and cheese will be a regular part of our menu.

This recipe comes from Pillsbury . . . love their website!

Ingredients

1

box (16 oz) penne rigate pasta

1/2

cup butter or margarine

1/2

cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1

teaspoon salt

4 1/2

cups milk

3

cups shredded Monterey Jack or pepper Jack cheese (12 oz)

2

cans (4.5 oz each) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles

1

cup crushed Green Giant® zesty Cheddar roasted veggie tortilla chips (about 16 chips)

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. 

Spray 3-quart glass baking dish with cooking spray. 

Cook and drain pasta as directed on box.

• Meanwhile, in 5-quart Dutch oven or saucepan, melt butter over low heat. With whisk, stir in flour and salt until smooth. Increase heat to medium; cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. 
• Remove from heat; gradually stir in cheese and chiles until cheese is melted. 
• Stir in cooked pasta.
• Pour mixture into baking dish; sprinkle with crushed chips.
• Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

http://www.pillsbury.com/

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Comfort food would be my choice if I had to choose my favorite type of food. In my opinion, all chicken casseroles fall into that category. The Captain laughs at my use of many starches and carbs in one meal, but I LOVE this type of meal with some mashed potatoes, maybe a batch of biscuits . . . THAT is comfort!

This recipe courtesy of Trisha Yearwood and The Food Network show Trisha's Southern Kitchen.

I'm anxious to try out this recipe since I have never used the concept of a tortilla-topped casserole and the addition of the green chiles has peaked my curiousity.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Salt
• Chicken Gravy, recipe follows
• 1 cup canned green chiles, chopped and drained
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Cooking spray
• Twenty-four 6-inch corn tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar

Chicken Gravy:

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

Add the chicken to a large stockpot, cover with water and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and set aside. Reserve 3 1/3 cups of the broth (1 cup is for the chicken gravy, supplement with boxed stock if you don't have enough.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13- by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, combine 2 1/3 cups of the reserved broth, the Chicken Gravy, green chiles, onions, garlic, sour cream, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.

Spread 1 cup of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Arrange a layer of 6 tortillas over the mixture, and then top with 1 cup shredded chicken and 1/2 cup of the Cheddar. Repeat this layer three more times, ending with cheese. Spread any remaining mixture over the cheese. Make sure all of the tortillas are covered or they will get very hard during baking. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Chicken Gravy:

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour to make a roux. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and the flour turns light brown in color. Gradually whisk in the stock and milk and continue to stir while cooking over medium heat. When the mixture thickens, after about 5 minutes, whisk in some salt and pepper.

A note about making the gravy . . . the milk is optional, many people use only chicken stock, but I like to add some milk a couple of teaspoons at a time until the desired consistency is achieved to give the gravy more creaminess.

Click here for a link all about making chicken gravy.

Source