Ingredients
**3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 small onion diced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 one small box of frozen spinach, thawed (cut the box in half with a sharp knife while frozen)
1 tsp of each salt, pepper and garlic powder
1 c. crushed regular potato chips (you can use tortilla chips or whatever you have on hand)
1 bag frozen cauliflower- thawed
1/2 c. warm milk
Butter or margarine to taste
*** Usually chicken breasts come in a package of 3 or 4. For these recipes you will need either 3 large chicken breasts or 4 smaller ones.
Coat the bottom of skillet with oil. Cook onions over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 3-4 more minutes. Meanwhile, drain thawed spinach thoroughly and add to a small mixing bowl with cream cheese. Add onions and mushrooms to cream cheese with salt, pepper and garlic. Mix well. You will be stuffing two of the chicken breasts and reserving the other two for round two recipe. Make an incision on one side of chicken starting about 1/2 inch in. Make a large pocket without going all the way through the chicken. Stop 1/2 inch before the end of the chicken. Repeat for second breast. Place an even amount of stuffing in each breast. Drizzle all four breasts with a small amount of oil and lightly season on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Take the two stuffed chickens and coat on both sides with potato chip crumbs. Place all 4 breasts in skillet on medium high cooking 5-7 minutes on each side. Un-stuffed breasts will cook faster then stuffed. Cool un-stuffed and reserve for round two recipe.
Cauliflower Mash-
** This dish definitely has a different texture then regular mashed potatoes but you still get good flavor and less guilt!
Steam cauliflower in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Leave the lid on to steam over medium heat. When cauliflower is tender drain and return to saucepan. Heat up milk in a saucepan or microwave. Add a small amount of milk and begin to mash cauliflower like you would potatoes. Continue to add milk until mash is the consistency you like. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste
Round 2- Easy Chicken Potpie
Ingredients
Reserved chicken- diced
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can diced potatoes
1 serving pancake mix- prepared as package instructions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a small baking dish with non-stick spray. Mix all ingredients together in bowl minus the pancake mix. Prepare pancake mix and spoon over the top of the casserole. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown.
The only thing you have to be careful with in this recipe is the amount of salt you use. The beef bouillon is already loaded with sodium. French onion soup is traditionally made with Gruyere cheese but most of us don't have this lying around so you can use Parmesan or Mozzarella. If you use Parmesan, go extremely light with it since it is already so salty.
Ingredients
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 small onion sliced into thin strips
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
Gruyere Cheese
Toasted french bread ( You can also use left over buns that have been toasted)
Heat butter and oil in a medium pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until onions are starting to caramelize (turn brown). Remove from heat. Some an even amount of mixture into serving cups or bowls. In a medium saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Add bouillon cubes and stir until the are dissolved. Pour broth into serving dishes. Do not add bread until right before serving. It will start to break down. Place toasted bread or bun on the top of the bowl and cover with cheese. Heat from the soup will help melt the cheese.
Ingredients
2 large bell peppers
1 small squash- small dice
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1/2 small onion- diced
1/2 c. un-cooked minute rice
1/2 c. chicken stock ( veggie stock or beef stock ok)
12 c. parmesan cheese
1 Tbs paprika
Salt, Pepper and Garlic powder
*** I used my dutch oven but you can do this in a normal pan and transfer to a baking dish to put in the oven.
Pre-Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil. Heat over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes add mushrooms and squash. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook for another 5 minutes. Turn heat up to medium- high. Add uncooked rice and cook for 3-4 minutes until rice has become slightly golden. Add stock and cook rice until done. Remove mixture to a mixing bowl. Add paprika mix then add 1/4 c. of cheese and mix. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove seeds and ribs. stuff meat mixture into peppers and top with remaining cheese.
Place peppers in dutch oven or baking dish add 1/4 c. water or stock to bottom of dish. Cover and bake for 15- 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and peppers are tender.
At this time of year, zucchini and squash are widely available and CHEAP! Many people eat these vegetables a lot during the summer so eating them can become a little boring. This is a very easy dish and a great new way to enjoy these summer staples. Through out the year, you can take the same basic concept of this dish and apply it to all types of different vegetables.
Ingredients
1 small squash- sliced in rounds
1 small zucchini - sliced in rounds
1/2 small onion- chopped
2 TBS butter
1 TBS flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray small baking dish with non-stick spray. Arrange slices in baking dish alternating vegetables. Drizzle oil in a small sauce pan to coat bottom and heat over medium heat. Add onions, slightly salt and cook for 5 minutes. Add butter and allow to melt slightly then add flour. Mix flour and butter to cook. This should form a paste like substance. Let it cook for 1-2 minutes so that the flour taste cooks out. Slowly whisk in milk and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Bring sauce to a light simmer and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Go light on the salt; the cheese is already very salty its self. Congratulations!! You just made a bechumel (white sauce). Not that hard is it? Traditional bechumel has a little nutmeg in it. I know tons of people who don't like nutmeg but if you do, go ahead and add a very TINY TINY about. A little goes a very long way with nutmeg. Lightly season vegetables with pepper and garlic powder then pour sauce over them. Back un-covered for about 20 minutes until sauce is bubbly and starts to brown. Wait about 5-10 minutes before serving so sauce can set-up.
