Smothered Chicken Casserole

Since we buy lots of chicken, I'm always looking for good chicken recipes.  This recipe looks delicious, quick and easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand.

The photo and recipe comes from Amy at Mom Spark . . . you will find the link to her blog after the recipe.

ingredients:

1/2 C. prepared caesar salad dressing (I used an Asiago dressing)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 slices bacon
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 C. onion, diced
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 C. chicken broth
1 1/2 C. heavy cream
1 C. Gruyere cheese, grated (I used a mix of Mozzarella and Smoked Cheddar)
2 C. fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 C. fresh parsley, minced
1 lb angel hair pasta

directions:

1. Marinate the chicken breasts in Caesar dressing for at least 3 hours, up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350-f. Cook bacon until crisp, remove from pan and drain off all but about 2 tbsp of the fat. Heat pan to medium-high heat.

3. Remove chicken from marinade and cook in bacon fat until well browned. (You don't have to cook the chicken through, just get some color on it.) Remove chicken from pan and place in casserole dish.

4. Drain off all the bacon fat from the pan and add 3 tbsp of butter. Once melted stir in the onion and mushrooms. Cook until soft and starting to caramelize- 5-7 minutes.

5. Stir 3 tbsp of flour into the onions and mushrooms and cook for 1 minute.

6. Stir broth and cream into the flour mixture, bring to boil -constantly stirring- for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

7. Stir in salt, pepper, lemon juice, cheese, and parsley and pour over the chicken in the casserole dish. Top with fresh tomatoes and bake, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and chicken is cooked through.

8.While the chicken is baking, cook 1 lb angel hair pasta on the stove-top and drain. Remove chicken from the oven, stir pasta into the sauce and serve topped with crumbled bacon and more fresh parsley.

Recipe and Photo Source 

Green Bean Casserole from scratch

Call me silly, but I still love the classic Green Bean Casserole . . . it is one of my favorite comfort foods.   It is one of those dishes that is delicious and goes with so many meal combinations, but for me it also brings back memories of my childhood sitting around the table with family.  Funny how just the aroma and taste of the food can take you back to certain times in the past.

Although the classic semi-homemade version is awesome and easy, this recipe caught my attention since just about anything prepared from scratch is much better.  

I'm looking forward to making this version with fresh green beans . . . I have always used the version with canned green beans.  That one thing has to make a huge difference in taste.

Ingredients

For the topping:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

For beans and sauce:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half



Directions

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Source: The Food Network/Alton Brown

Photo source and another variation with photos

The Best Christmas Recipe Guide

"Christmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Christmas dinner around the world may differ and the traditions present below can reflect the culture of the respective country it is being celebrated in. Turkey is present in a fair number of these meals." Wikipedia

Click here for traditions around the world

The Best Christmas Recipes from The Food Network

Favorite Traditional Christmas Meals from MyRecipe.com

Christmas Recipes from All Recipes

Taste of Home Christmas Guide

Christmas Recipes from Better Homes and Gardens

Martha Stewart's Christmas Recipes

Christmas Recipes from Recipe.com

Santa's Christmas Recipes from Merry Christmas.com

Christmas on the Net Recipes

Emeril's Holiday Cookbook . . . free download

Holiday Cooking from Cooking.com

Betty Crocker Christmas

Christmas Meal Ideas from Spoonful.com by Disney

Kraft's Christmas Recipes

Christmas and Hanukkah Ideas from Good Housekeeping

Christmas Delights from The Pioneer Woman

Christmas Recipes from Simply Recipes

Christmas Goodies from Duncan Hines

Christmas Cooking from Fine Cooking

The Cooking Channel Holidays

Delish Christmas Ideas

Easy Homemade Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler is one of my husband's favorite desserts, so I went on a search to find the best cobbler recipe I could find.  This is it, from one of my favorite food blogs, Willow Bird Baking.

Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 6 servings

This is the easiest cobbler known to mankind and also happens to be my favorite. It’s cakey and spongey in texture (not biscuity), which is why my family called it a “peach cobbler cake” when I was growing up.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
Dash of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 large (or two regular) cans peaches in light syrup

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F and spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish (or 12-inch cast iron skillet) with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Melt the stick of butter and pour it unceremoniously into the prepared baking dish. Mix the milk into the dry ingredients, whisk until the lumps are gone (the batter will be very liquidy), and then pour this batter over top of the melted butter in the prepared dish.

Pour can(s) of peaches over top of the batter, syrup and all. Do NOT stir this — just let the peaches fall where they falls! Bake the cobbler for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and almost set. Serve hot with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

The post Easy Homemade Peach Cobbler (and Exercise Tips for the Exercise-Haters) appeared first on Willow Bird Baking.