Chicken and Rice

This recipe is super easy, and contains ingredients I usually have on hand, so it's good for those "Wait, I was supposed to make dinner?" nights. And yes, you heard me right, I am posting a recipe with RICE in it, and I love it. My mom reminded me of this one, that I loved growing up, when she came to help out after my second was born.

I've included proportions that feed Curtis and myself, for a bigger family simply double the recipe and prepare in a 9x13 pan.

1 Large chicken breast, defrosted and cut in half
1 cup of rice
2 cups of warm water
1 can of cream of chicken soup
approx 2 teaspoons (or half of a season packet) Italian dressing mix

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix everything except the chicken in a 7x11 casserole pan.
3. Place chicken on top and cover with tinfoil.
4. Bake for 30-45 min, remove tinfoil and bake for an additional 15 min.
5. Let cool, and enjoy!

Pictures to follow

Chicken Coquettes

1 small onion
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
salt and pepper
2/3 cup canned or fresh mushrooms, diced
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2/3 cup herb stuffing mix, dry (something like Pepperidge Farms)
2 cans crescent rolls
1/2 cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup chicken broth, leftover
1/8 cup milk

Dice onion. Put in pot. Add raw chicken and water enough to cook it. Add salt and pepper. Boil until cooked. Remove chicken, reserve broth and onion.

Chop mushrooms, then saute.

Cut chicken into cubes. Mix chicken, salt and pepper, mushrooms, cream cheese and onion.

Shape into balls, ten maximum.

Cover each chicken ball with a crescent roll. Dip in melted butter and roll in dry stuffing mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Gravy

Mix together soup, chicken broth and milk.

Warm until well mixed. Serve over chicken puffs.

Yield: 10

Tips: You can make the chicken mixture ahead of time and keep it in the refridgerator. And don't forget to keep the water that you boiled the chicken in for later use in the recipe!

Paula Dean's Squash Casserole

Looking for something to do with all that extra squash? Looking to eat more vegetables or there's a great sale going on? This recipe is so delish! You can find the original recipe here, I didn't change much, but if you are curious go check it out.

6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
Vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. (I just put all the squash in my biggest pan and cover it so that the squash steams.) Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:
1/4 cup salt
1T black pepper
1T garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Peanut Brittle

I also grabbed this one from all recipes, but Curtis and his amazing food science knowledge made this even better. The biggest trick is to handle the brittle as little as possible after adding the baking soda and to chill it fast. I end up with deliciously crisp peanut brittle!

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup peanuts
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter or margarine until melted and then add baking soda stirring as little as possible or just until brittle foams.
4. Pour at once onto cookie sheet. Spread peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches by tilting pan.
5. Place in fridge or freezer to cool. Snap hard candy into pieces and enjoy!

Layered Peppermint Bark

Curtis got some crushed peppermint from work and we knew exactly what we had to do with it! I got this recipe from all recipes and followed the original recipe, using milk chocolate. (Except there was no peppermint extract at Walmart so I used mint instead, but I would just stick with peppermint.)

2 12oz bags of white chocolate chips
30 peppermint candies, crushed, divided (or about 1 cup)
1 12oz bag chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet or milk)
6 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

1. Line a 9x12 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. Melt half of the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. Spread the white chocolate into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the crushed peppermints evenly over white chocolate. Chill until firm, about 15 minutes. (or pop in the freezer if you are impatient like me :)
3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and peppermint extract together in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Quickly pour the chocolate layer over the chilled white chocolate layer; spread evenly. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the remaining white chocolate in the top of a double boiler over just barely simmering water, stirring frequently, until just melted. Spread quickly over the chilled bark. Sprinkle with the remaining peppermint pieces; chill until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut or break into small pieces to serve.