Chicken Continental

Another recipe without a picture, but it's still a keeper! Tonight I was feeling way too tired to cook and I needed something fast. Some people have elaborate Sunday meals, but Sunday's tend to wipe me out and since I do a lot of intense cooking during the week, Sunday tends to be a "lazier" day. Well, tonight I was looking for something quick to cook based on the ingredients I had on hand in my bare cupboards and found this. Jeff pointed out that it tastes A LOT like rice-a-roni and I'd have to agree with him, BUT it's made from scratch so it's a lot healthier. (Really, I don't cook from a box...ever, unless you count brownies). Plus, it's easy and my boys LOVED it, which is a big plus! I modified the recipe slightly based on other reviews, but it was great! I just served it with some cooked carrots and fruit (I use fruit to bribe my 3 year old to eat, though he didn't need it for this meal!).

Original recipe, here.

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I cubed them first)
• 2 Tb butter
• 1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 pinch ground break pepper
• 1 1/2 cups rice

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, brown the chicken in the butter. Stir in the soup, 1 1/2 cups of water, parsley, garlic, celery, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
2. Add remaining 1 cup of water and stir in uncooked rice.  Simmer (covered) for an additional 10 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed.

Mmmm...I love quick, easy meals that my boys will eat! I make really involved meals way TOO often. Like the lasagna the other day that took THREE intensive hours to make and then my toddler refused to eat!

Butternut Squash Soup

It looks like I'm in the middle of a squash obsession! I promise that all of these recipes are really good! I love making soups, so here is another one. Butternut squash is one of my favorite varieties of squash. I feel like it has such a creamy and cheesy flavor! Yum!

Original recipe, here.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes (depends on how you cook the squash)
Ready In: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, cubed
• 1 medium butternut squash
  
• 3 cups chicken stock (I can't remember exactly how much I used - enough to get the texture I wanted)
  
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• sour cream
  

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place butternut squash on cookie sheet and bake for approximately 1 hour. Once cooked, the skin peels right off and it is much easier to seed and cube. Alternatively, you can use the microwave method (see post for Acorn Squash Soup) which is much quicker and works well when making soup.
   
2. After the squash is cooked and cubed, melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
3. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Serves: 4

Acorn Squash Soup

I think one of my newest favorite vegetables (well, fruit really) is squash. It's hearty, tasty, and healthy. I don't really remember eating it growing up so I wasn't sure what it would be like. I must say that I haven't really been disappointed in any of the recipes I have tried. Squash seems to have a naturally rich flavor - it's GOOD!!! This soup is made from acorn squash and is quite delicious. I used Carnival Squash, which is a variety of acorn squash and it turned out really well! Enjoy!

Original Recipe, here.

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 30 Min

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder (I didn't have curry powder, so I used a dash of cumin and a piece of corriander)
  
• dash cayenne pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
  
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 3 cups mashed cooked acorn squash (You can bake it in the oven, but I was in a hurry so I put it in the microwave for 8 minutes, then cut it in half and put each half in again for 4 minutes each)
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and celery in butter. Stir in flour, bouillon, dill, curry and cayenne until blended. Gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the squash, salt and pepper; heat through.
2. In a blender, process the soup in batches until smooth (I skipped this step and instead left it kind of chunky). Pour into bowls; garnish with bacon (I don't like bacon, so I just ate it plain - still yummy!).

Serves: 6

Home Made Chicken Salad

I made this chicken salad for a baby shower I hosted a few weeks ago. By the end of the shower, all of the food was gone and so I made it again tonight so that my husband could finally try it! He liked it a lot (although before trying it he was a little worried about the ingredients) and so do I!

Original recipe, here.

Ingredients: (I just use how ever much I have on hand, not necessarily these amounts exactly.)

• 4 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
• 1 cup mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip - if I use Miracle Whip, I leave out the paprika)
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup minced bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise with paprika and seasoned salt. Blend in dried cranberries, celery, bell pepper, onion, and nuts. Add chopped chicken, and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour. Serve on a croissant or with crackers.

Serves: 12