Aunt Lizzy's Chicken Delight

My son's aunt Elizabeth gave me this recipe and it is DE-LICIOUS! This is a throw it together and forget about it recipe. Hope you enjoy it. This will feed about 2-3 people, so throw in more chicken breasts and another can of soup as you see fit if you need to feed more people...and don't forget to add more bacon! YUM!

Aunt Lizzy's Chicken Delight

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 8oz pkg of Cream Cheese
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts wrapped in 2-3 pieces of bacon each
1 cup (or so) of milk
1-2 spoonful's of flour if needed
Mashed Potatoes (your own recipe)

In a crock pot, place soup then cream cheese (no need to mix the two, just make sure the soup covers the bottom of your crock pot) and place wrapped chicken breasts on top. Cook on low with lid on for 8-10 hours. After cooking, cream cheese will melt and bacon will become nice and crispy, allowing the bacon grease to soak into the chicken (this is not a recipe for the dieters...). When ready to serve, stir up chicken, cream cheese and soup with a fork. This will shred the chicken. Do not be alarmed if the sauce burns to the sides of the crock pot a bit. Before serving, add a cup or so of milk to make more "gravy-like". If the mixture is too watery, just add a spoonful or two of flour to thicken it up. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Cooking Chicken Breasts

I love to cook with chicken, but until recently I had shied away from chicken breast, especially boneless, skinless breast, because it always seemed to come out dry. Turns out, I was way overcooking it when I boiled it. Here are three ways to cook chicken breast without drying it out.

If You Have Two to Three Hours:
Cook it in the slow cooker for 2 to 3 hours on low or about 1-1/2 hours on high. Make sure to cover the chicken completely with water or broth. Start checking it after an hour or so; it doesn't take all day like you might expect.

If You Have 45 Minutes or So:
Poach the chicken on the stove.

1. Put it on the bottom of a saucepan large enough that you can completely cover all the chicken with your choice of cool liquid (water, broth, cooking wine).
   
2. Cook it on medium heat, uncovered, for 10 minutes or so--just until it almost comes to a full boil. Watch it closely and do NOT let it come to a rolling boil. (Do make sure that it is bubbling slowly, though.) *
   
3. Turn the burner off and cover the pot tightly.
   
4. Leave it on the warm burner for about 30 minutes. Cut into the thickest part of a breast to check that there is no pink. If it isn't done, turn the burner back on for a few minutes, but again, don't let it boil.
   

*I sometimes set a timer so I don't walk off and forget the chicken and then come back to find it boiling furiously.

If You Have 30 Minutes:
Brush the breasts with beaten egg whites and bake uncovered at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes or until done.

Try Mixing in a Few Chicken Thighs
Unless you are adamant that all the chicken must be white meat, try mixing about half and half with chicken thighs. The extra fat will make the chicken breast much more moist and juicy, and you'll save money as well! This works especially well in the slow cooker. In fact, if you are making a recipe that cooks for 8 or 10 hours, consider using only chicken thighs; they stand up to the long cooking time much better than breasts.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

"Bran muffins" may not sound appealing, but just wait until you taste these! Our whole family loves them and there are endless variations and combinations of add-ins. Best of all, this batter keeps in the refrigerator up to two weeks, so you can always have freshly baked muffins in a flash. This recipe came from Relish magazine (a newspaper insert) and is just one of several excellent recipes I've found there.

Ingredients:

• 2 C All-Bran cereal
• 2/3 C wheat bran
• 1 1/3 C boiling water
• 2 2/3 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T baking soda
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t grated or ground nutmeg
• vegetable cooking spray
• 2 C lowfat buttermilk
• 1/2 C pasteurized egg substitute (I always substitute whole eggs here and lightly beat enough to make 1/2 cup)
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 C firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 C vegetable oil
• 1 t vanilla extract
• optional add-ins: shredded carrot, raisins, dried cranberries, pineapple, shredded zucchini, chopped dried apricots, blueberries, bananas, nuts...

1. Mix cereal and wheat bran in a large bowl (I use the large covered batter bowl from Pampered Chef so I can store batter in this container). Add boiling water; stir well and set aside for 1 hour.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 375F. Coat muffin cups with cooking spray.
4. Add 1 C buttermilk to bran mixture; stir well with a whisk. Add remaining buttermilk, egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla, stirring until smooth.
5. Add flour mixture; stir until a thick batter forms.
6. If baking just a portion of the batter, measure out what you're using and set aside. Cover remaining batter and refrigerate.
7. Stir in optional fruits, vegetables, or nuts (I use about 1-1.5 cups per dozen muffins) and scoop into prepared pan, filling each muffin about 2/3 full.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes, until puffed and lightly browned. Entire recipe makes 24-30 muffins depending on amount of add-ins.

Favorite combinations for us include shredded carrots with some crushed pineapple (shred your own carrots for this combo--pre-shredded ones turn green for some reason and it's icky)...and shredded zucchini with golden raisins. Fun to play with!

Chicken Veggie Enchiladas

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 Tablespoon of canola oil or butter
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 fresh mushroom crates
1 pint sour cream*
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
16-ounce jar spaghetti sauce, such as Classico
1 garlic clove, minced
12-ounce jar chunky salsa
1 can sliced black olives (optional)
8 large tortillas**

*Can substitute half the sour cream with plain fat-free yogurt to reduce fat.
**Use whole wheat tortillas for a healthier meal.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet, saute mushrooms, garlic, diced onion, and bell pepper in oil/butter until slightly tender.
3. Mix the sour cream and 2 cups of cheese into the vegetables. Stir until melted.
4. Add spaghetti sauce and shredded chicken. Mix well.
5. Roll even amounts of the chicken mixture into tortillas and place in a greased baking pan. The tortillas should fit tightly.
6. Cover all with salsa and remaining 2 cups of cheese. Top with black olives if desired.
7. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.
   

Mom's Warm Potato Salad

I searched online for a warm potato salad recipe (no time to cool the potatoes) and found this one on SimplyRecipes.com. So it's not from my mom, although I'm pretty sure she would like it! The adults in our house loved it with the Weeknight Baby Back Ribs.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 C chopped celery
• 1/2 C chopped red onion
• 1/3 C chopped flavorful olives -- green or Kalamata
• 1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 C seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 C olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Put potatoes into a saucepan and cover with an inch of cold water. Add salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons to 2 quarts of water).
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover.
3. Simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain well.
4. Put warm potatoes in serving bowl with the celery, red onion, olives and parsley. Add the rice vinegar and olive oil while potatoes are still warm so that they absorb the dressing.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.

Note--I used 1 pound of red potatoes instead of the 2 pounds Yukon Gold. We liked the extra vegetables and flavor, but our version wasn't exactly like the recipe called for!

Weeknight Baby Back Ribs

We've always avoided cooking ribs unless we had a lot of time. Well, no more! This recipe--if you can actually call it a recipe!--came in a recent issue of Kraft's Food & Family magazine. They are so fast, easy and delicious that we make them frequently.

Ingredients:

• Pork baby back ribs (as many as you need to feed your group)
• Bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce

1. Cut the ribs into two-rib portions.
2. Place in a large pan or stock pot and add water to cover by 1 inch (the pot needs to be large enough to leave 2-3 inches of space at the top).
3. Bring the pot to a boil. Turn down heat slightly and boil for 20 minutes.
4. Place the ribs on a preheated grill and brush generously and frequently with the barbecue sauce, 10-15 minutes.
5. Cut the ribs apart and serve!

Sweet Potato Fries

This is a delicious alternative to actual french fries. And they are FANTASTIC! Give them a try and I'm sure you'll agree!

1 - 1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (preferably the easy release kind).

Peal the sweet potatoes. Cut into strips that are about 1/2 inch wide on each side.

Place the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag. Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned. Transfer immediately to a paper towel lined plate and serve warm.

Pesto Sausage Pizza

1/2 pound Italian sausage
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup prepared pesto*
1 cup roasted garlic Parmesan spaghetti sauce, such as Prego
2-1/4 ounce can sliced olives (optional)
1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 ounces)
prepared pizza crust

*Try this pesto recipe, or purchase the pesto if you prefer.

1. In a large skillet, crumble and cook sausage until no longer pink. Drain.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
   
3. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and pesto until blended.
   
4. Spread pesto mixture over prepared, unbaked crust.
   
5. Layer spaghetti sauce, sausage, olives, and Monterey Jack cheese over pizza.
   
6. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.
   

Blackened Chicken & Spinach Pizza (Paula Deen)

3 teaspoons blackening seasoning, such as Zatarans (in spice aisle)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness*
4 Tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced**
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
1/2 cup fresh spinach leaves
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
prepared pizza crust

*Can substitute about 1/2 pound boneless chicken tenders; no need to flatten.
**Can substitute about 3 chives for shallot

1. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons blackening seasoning evenly over chicken breast. Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until done.
2. Remove chicken from heat, cool, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
3. In a large skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot, and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in flour and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Gradually whisk in wine and milk. Continue to whisk constantly for 4 or 5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in basil and remaining 1 teaspoon blackening seasoning, and remove from heat.
6. Preheat oven to 450.
7. Spread cream mixture evenly over prepared, unbaked crust
   
8. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella.
9. Top evenly with spinach, chicken pieces, and bacon.
   
10. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese over the top.
11. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.