Tag: quick & easy

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

I love making casseroles, because it usually means I only have to dirty 1 or 2 dishes, which makes for an easy clean up.  One of our favorite restaurants here in Hendersonville is Cheddars, which serves American food.  It can be compared with Chili’s or something like that.  Anyway, the have the most amazing broccoli cheese casserole side dish!  It is like heaven in your mouth!  So I attempted to recreate it, and in the process added some chicken so that we could eat it as a main dish.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 bag (8 oz) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
  • 1 can of Campbell’s Condensed Broccoli Cheese Soup (I didn’t have any, so I used cream of chicken soup)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or more if you like)
  • 1 cup instant rice, uncooked (can also use 1 cup of regular cooked rice)
  • 1/3 cup crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 sleeve)
  • 2 tsp melted butter
  • salt & pepper

Start by dicing up some chicken and tossing it in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Season with salt and pepper. (You can also use shredded or rotisserie chicken)

Thaw your broccoli in the microwave (per package instructions) and place in a large bowl.

Add broccoli cheese soup, or in my case, cream of chicken.

Pour the milk into the bowl.

Next comes my favorite ingredient — freshly grated cheddar cheese.  Yum!  I can never grate this cheese without eating a handful.

Mix it all together, and then add the instant rice.  The rice shouldn’t be cooked at this point, because it will cook with everything else in the oven (unless you’re using regular rice, in which case it should be cooked first).

Stir until everything is thoroughly combined.

Next, add your cooked chicken and stir to combine.  It’s ok if the chicken isn’t completely cooked through since it will continue baking in the oven.

Place the mixture into a baking dish.  You can always double or triple the recipe depending on how many people you are feeding (wow, that is really stating the obvious, isn’t it?).

Next, take some Ritz crackers (I used whole wheat cuz I’m super healthy like that) and place them in a Ziploc bag.  You’ll want enough to cover the top of the casserole.

You can use a mallet to crush the crackers, but I found that using my fingers was just as easy.

Melt your butter and pour it into the bag with the crumbs.  Close the bag and mix the crumbs around with the butter so that all the crumbs are covered in butter.  This will help the top get nice and crispy and brown.

Scatter the crumbs on top of your casserole.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until the top is hot and bubbly.

Serve and enjoy!  Don’t those crunchy, crumbly bits look delish!?

Teriyaki Chicken & Pineapple Bowls

I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for more chicken recipes.  And when we don’t want to go out to a Japanese or Chinese Restaurant but still want some teriyaki chicken, I make this delicious teriyaki chicken & pineapple bowl.  But if you think I just throw some chicken and pineapple in a pan and pour on some teriyaki sauce, you’d be terribly mistaken.  I make this teriyaki sauce with chicken stock, honey, sesame oil, and finally, the ingredient that is this recipe’s namesake….teriyaki sauce!

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup white rice (or brown if it suits your fancy)

1 cup chicken stock (choose low sodium stock if you’d like a healthier option)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce

Can of pineapple chunks, drained


Start by pouring the chicken stock into a small sauce pan.

This is the stock I use.  It’s unsalted, cuz who needs more sodium?  Pretty sure Americans get way more sodium than is healthy, and plus, salt makes you retain water and feel bloated, and lets face it…..bloated is not a good look for me.  (Was that a run on sentence?)

Bring stock to a boil.

Then add the honey.  I’ve found that it pours alot easier if you take the cap off.  Thick honey and that tiny little pouring hole do not go well together.

Next you’re going to add the sesame oil.  You can find this on the international foods aisle at your local grocery store.  Don’t skip it, cuz it add a really nice flavor to the sauce.

I poured it in without measuring, but if you’re not a good eyeballer make sure you measure the sesame oil because a little goes a loooooooong way!  It’s a very strong flavor and if you add too much it could overpower the sauce.  Since you probably will only use sesame oil for a couple recipes you might want to keep it in the fridge.  It’ll keep longer that way.  But don’t worry, it lasts for a pretty long time.

Now add the teriyaki.  Normally I don’t use this particular teriyaki sauce.  I like to use a thicker sauce that has the consistency of ranch dressing or something like that.  Sorry, that was probably a bad comparison because teriyaki sauce and ranch dressing taste nothing alike, but just keep the thickness and consistency in mind when you are looking for a teriyaki sauce.

Let that simmer for a little bit while you prepare the chicken.

Cut chicken breasts into bite sized pieces.

Add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to a pan and heat to medium high.

Add your chicken and some salt and pepper.

Once your chicken is fully cooked, add drained pineapple and toss into pan with the chicken.  Pour enough of the teriyaki sauce mixture onto the chicken and pineapple to coat the bottom of the pan and surround the chicken.  Bring it to a bubble.

Cook for about 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.  You want the chicken and pineapple to fully absorb the flavor of the sauce.

Put some white (or brown) rice in a bowl and spoon the chicken and pineapple on top.  If you want ALOT of flavor, pour some of the left over sauce on top of the chicken and let it soak into the rice.  Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and you’ve got yourself a nice Asian dinner without the restaurant prices!  Now who doesn’t like that?

Sloppy Jo's (skip the "e")

illinois lottery

If there’s one go-to meal that I know is sure to please at our house it’s Sloppy Jo’s….skip the “e”….cuz I’m a girl, and girls’ names aren’t spelled J-O-E, their spelled J-O!  Good, now that that’s settled, let me give you 2 reasons Sloppy Jo’s are a main staple at our house.  #1:  Steve LOVES them, and #2: They’re SUPER easy to make.  Growing up, I had never been a big fan of Sloppy Joe’s, but now that I’m the ripe old age of 24….(25 in 21 days…yikes), they’ve kinda grown on me.  No need to make these Jo’s from scratch.  They’re just as good with the pre-packaged mix you can get for super cheap at any grocery store.  And if you’re on a low carb diet like me, just use high fiber sandwich bread instead of a normal bun.  I found this amazing bread with only 3 net carbs!  It’s Nature’s Own brand and it says Double Fiber with Omega 3s on the front with a blue stripey thing, in case you were gonna go out and buy some for yourself…..which I highly recommend if you’re doin’ the low carb thing.

Now back to the Sloppiness.  Start by adding a pound of ground beef (or however much you need to make for your family’s needs….in my case it’s less than a pound) to a hot skillet.

 

Now, if you have an adorable furbaby like me, (or in my case, 5 of them) give him a hoof or pig ear to chew on.  He will love you long time!

 

Cook the beef til it’s completely browned, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain the fat off.  Dump the meat back into the skillet.

 

Now just look at all that fat that is now on the plate instead of in your belly.  Your arteries will thank you.

 

Look at that big ball of love laying patiently at my feet while I cook.  Doesn’t even beg for food!  Such a good boy Camelot is!

 

Now, take your Sloppy Jo mix that you bought from the store….cuz we’re time savers like that, and sprinkle onto your meat.

 

 

Since I’m only using about a half a pound of ground beef I’m only going to use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.  If you were making a whole pound you would use a 16 oz can.  You can also use tomato paste and water.

 

Pour onto meat and stir until combined.

 

 

Let simmer for about 10 minutes on very low heat and stir occasionally.  In the mean time, heat your oven to 450° and put your favorite frozen fries on a baking sheet and bake for 15 min.  Or, if you’re on a low carb diet like yours truly, heat up some broccoli.

 

While everything cooks, you have time to look at your sweet baby boy who is being such a good helper by just laying there.  Don’t you just wanna snuggle with him?  After he stops barking of course, which he will do non stop for about 15 minutes when you arrive at HIS house.  Such a good guard dog I tell ya…but only to alert, not to inflict any harm. 🙂  And yes, I made this picture extra big so you could get a good look at him in all his glory.

 

Now that your food is almost done cooking, pop your buns and/or low carb bread into the oven to get a little toasty.  Cuz no one likes soft buns with their Jo’s.

 

Season your fries with — what else? — seasoned salt, and dish everything out!  This is Steve’s plate.  2 Sloppy Jo’s, tons of fries, and a minimal amount of broccoli.

 

My plate is the exact opposite.  Low carb bread (with the crust cut off) houses my Jo, and my plate is LOADED with broccoli, and has only 4 fries on it.  Sigh…the things I do to fit into a wedding dress!