Chicken and Rice Casserole

Chicken and Rice Casserole

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
2/3 c brown rice
1 c chicken broth
1 squash, sliced thin
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, sliced thin
1 4oz can green chiles, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
Cook rice according to package directions in chicken broth.  Mix all ingredients and 1 c cheddar in a large bowl and spread in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove cover and continue baking for 10 minutes.

Mediterranean Chicken with Parmesan Couscous

I found this recipe online and it exceeded my expectations after a few changes by me of course!  It is a great, quick, and easy chicken dish.  It has a little kick to it, so beware if you aren't a fan of spicy.  It is also my first time having couscous and it went very well with this dish.

Mediterranean Chicken with Parmesan Couscous

1/3 c grated romano cheese
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 chicken breasts
1/4 c Greek nonfat yogurt
1 pkg parmesan couscous
Mix first 6 ingredients in medium sized bowl.  Place yogurt in another medium sized bowl.  Dip chicken in yogurt, turning to coat.  Then dip chicken in bread crumb mixture, turning to coat.  Place a small amount of olive oil in a skillet (enough to cover the bottom) and turn heat to medium.  Cook chicken in skillet until no longer pink inside, about 7-10 minutes on each side.  Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package instructions.  Serve over couscous with a vegetable of your choice.  Serves 4.

Crock Pot Swiss Steak

This is a great slow cooker recipe that you can make the night before and cook all day.  It's wonderful for a busy night of running around.  Serve with rice or pasta and broccoli.

Slow Cooker Swiss Steak

2 lb eye round chuck roast
1/4 cup A1 steak sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained (I used basil, oregano, & garlic flavored)
1 small onion, chopped
Cut roast into 1 inch cubes.  Place in slow cooker, toss with A1 steak sauce.  Top with tomatoes and onion.  Cook on low 9 hours or on high 4-5 hours.  Serve over rice or pasta.  (You can put this together the night before and refrigerate.)

Pan-Seared Red Snapper

In Brent's travels to Alabama for work, he is able to bring home a lot of fresh seafood!  This time he brought home a huge filet of red snapper.  We tag-teamed this recipe and came up with a delicious fish!  Hope you enjoy!

Pan-Seared Red Snapper

1 tbsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 6-oz snapper filets
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 small lemon
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Mix first five ingredients in medium bowl.  Pat snapper with mixture until covered.  Heat oil and 2 tbsp butter in large skillet until melted, but not smoking.  Add snapper, cook about 4 minutes on first side.  Add 1 tbsp butter to skillet, flip snapper and cook an additional 4 minutes or until fish is flaky.  Serve with rice and top with parsley and juice from lemon.



Shrimp & Chicken in Sour Cream Sherry Sauce

This is another great recipe from my mother-in-law.  You definitely must try this one!  As I've said before, I'm not really a fan of shrimp, but Brent is, so the combination of chicken and shrimp in this dish makes everyone happy.  

Shrimp & Chicken in Sour Cream Sherry Sauce

3 tbsp margarine
3-4 tbsp flour (start with 3 tbsp, add more if you desire thicker sauce) 
1 c chicken broth
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 c sour cream
1/4-1/3 c dry cooking sherry (this varies depending on how you like the taste, start with 1/4 c and add more if you like)
1 1/2 c diced chicken
1 1/2 c chopped shrimp
1 tbsp olive oil

Cook chicken in small skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil until no longer pink, usually 5-7 minutes (I season the chicken with Montreal chicken seasoning).  Boil water for shrimp.  When water is boiling, add chopped shrimp and cook about 30 seconds.  Do not overcook the shrimp!  Drain shrimp into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.  After shrimp has cooled, drain and set shrimp and chicken aside. 

Melt butter in large skillet.  Blend in flour slowly; add broth and heat.  Stir constantly until thick and smooth.  Mix in seasonings, sour cream, and sherry; heat for about two minutes, stirring constantly.  Add chicken and shrimp, heat and stir another 2-3 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Foil-Pack Artichoke Chicken

This is a great recipe that I found online and adapted to make my own!  It is a great, easy main dish!

Foil-Pack Artichoke Chicken

1 1/2 c rice
1 1/2 c water
2 chicken breasts, trimmed
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 can diced Italian tomatoes, drained
1/4 c Italian dressing (I used Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian...delicious!)
1/8 c pesto
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix rice and water in bowl, spoon into center of foil rectangle.  Place 1 chicken breast on top of rice, top with half of the artichokes and tomatoes.  Mix dressing and pesto in small bowl, drizzle half over chicken.  Bring up the sides of the foil.  Double fold the top and sides to seal in moisture.  Be sure to leave enough room for air to circulate.  Repeat with second chicken breast.  Bake 35 minutes in baking dish, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  Serve with salad.

Savory Garlic Chicken

Have you tried the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme?  I had read a lot about it, so when I was in the store this week I picked up the Savory Garlic flavor.  Tonight, I kind of created my own dish using it and it turned out really good!

Savory Garlic Chicken

3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
Montreal chicken seasoning
Northwoods seasoning
broccoli florets
sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1 container Savory Garlic Philadelphia Cooking Creme
2 cups rice
Heat oil in skillet.  Cook chicken with seasonings until no longer pink.  Remove from heat and add broccoli, cover to steam.  After 3-4 minutes, add sun dried tomatoes, milk, pepper.  Return to medium heat.  Add cooking creme, stir and heat thoroughly (about 4-5 minutes).  Serve over rice.

Apricot Chicken

I do not have a good relationship with soy sauce.  I've tried to eat Asian food, and I just can't do it.  Brent really likes it though, so this recipe is kind of a compromise.  It has a little bit of an Asian flavor to it, but without the soy sauce.  I have to credit this recipe to my former roommate, Meredith!

Apricot Chicken

6 chicken drumsticks, skinless
8 oz Catalina dressing
8 oz apricot preserves
1 pkg Lipton onion soup
Mix together and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour uncovered.  Serve over rice.

One Skillet Chicken and Rice

Another simple recipe for a night of soccer!  This recipe is credited to my mom, who would make this for me after coming home from cheerleading practice in high school.

One Skillet Chicken and Rice

3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups Minute rice
1 tbsp oil
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can water
pepper
Cook chicken in oil for about 10 minutes.  Add soup, water, 2 cups uncooked rice, and pepper, stir.  Bring to boil.  Cover and cook on low about 10 minutes.  Serve with peas.