Chicken, Stuffing and Broccoli Casserole

Wanted to whip up a quick, easy dinner for my family last friday night because I was going to get my hair done. I wanted something I could throw together, then my husband could bake for him and the kids while I was gone. Luckily I found my answer- on the back of the stove top stuffing box. The original recipe is for using cooked turkey, and turkey stuffing. I used chicken- you can use whatever you have on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1⅔ cups hot water
• 1 box Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken (or turkey)
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken (or turkey)
• 2 cups broccoli ( I used fresh and lightly steamed it for a few minutes)
• 1 can (10¾ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the stuffing mix and water in a large bowl, stir until moistened and set aside.

In another bowl combine the soup, milk and 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.

In a 9x13 baking dish combine the cooked chicken and broccoli.

 Pour the milk mixture over the chicken and broccoli. 

Then spoon the moistened stuffing over the whole dish. Top with the 1/4 cup remainder of the cheese. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

We served this with some cranberry sauce on the side. The combination of the sweetness from the cranberries and the savory casserole was so reminiscent of the holidays. This would be perfect with leftovers from Thanksgiving. The kids loved it! Husband loved it! I loved it! What more could we ask for? Cheers!

Adapted from: Turkey and Broccoli Casserole

Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

                                    

Made this super easy dinner tonight in 25 minutes! The chicken was a piece of cake to toss together. The rice is what took the longest to cook. The cauliflower was also an awesome cheat using the steam fresh brand, it took 7 minutes.

25 minute rice we had on the side

7 minute cauliflower we had on the side

                                                  

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (on the thinner side)
• 1/4
cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 teaspoons dill weed
• 1/2
teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4
teaspoon salt
• 1/8
teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup chopped, seeded cucumber
• 1/8
teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 oz plain greek yogurt
• fresh cilantro for garnish

In a bowl combine onion, dill, cumin, salt, pepper and yogurt. Set aside half of this mixture. Add the cucumbers to the other half of the yogurt mixture and store in fridge until it's time to use.

Sprinkle the remaining pepper onto the chicken breasts (both sides). Place chicken on a hot grill and cook 5-10 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken). Flip and grill the other side for about the same amount of time. Brush the set aside yogurt mixture on the tops of the chicken for the last half of grilling. Serve with the cucumber yogurt sauce you placed in the fridge earlier, and some fresh cilantro.

This was a really fast, fresh dinner. The combination of the cumin, cucumber and cilantro with that cold creamy greek yogurt was fabulous on top of the warm grilled chicken. The fact that we used some really quick side dishes too made this perfect for a fast week night dinner. The picture really didn't do the dish justice, you'll have to trust me it was delicious! Cheers!

Adapted From: Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Eggplant Parmesan

I've been dying for some eggplant, and I found a really nice looking one at the store yesterday- So I knew I wanted to use it up quickly! Just did a really standard breading on them, and fried them up.

INGREDIENTS:

• eggplant cut into medium thickness slices
• flour
• salt and pepper
• eggs
• milk
• bread crumbs
• italian seasoning 
• oil for frying (I used veggie oil)

Set up a breading station in 3 shallow dishes. First some flour with salt and pepper. Then a few eggs beaten with a little milk. Lastly, some bread crumbs seasoned with italian seasoning. Like I said in my last post (Fried Green Tomatoes), I usually just eye ball the measurements when I bread things. Heat some veggie oil in a large skillet. Bread the eggplant with the flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. Once the oil starts to sizzle- add the eggplant and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Set aside on a plate with paper towels to get extra oil off the eggplant. 

Fried eggplant is just delicious, end of story. Such a treat to have this tonight. Served this lovely eggplant with a really simple red sauce, and wheat angel hair pasta. Perfecto! Cheers!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Last night we got a bunch of goodies from our neighbors garden. Including a whole bunch of green tomatoes. We figured we'd just let them ripen on the window sill gradually. Since we had these green beauties right now, I wanted to utilize them asap. So I figured I'd try a batch of fried green tomatoes. They were awesome! My only regret was not making some sort of dipping sauce to go with it. We used the marinara sauce I had made already for dinner- and they were amazing just the same. I'm just happy I got to try this out with tomatoes right from the garden.

INGREDIENTS:

• green tomatoes, sliced a little on the thick side
• flour
• eggs
• milk 
• breadcrumbs
• paprika
• cayenne pepper
• salt
• pepper
• oil for frying (I used veggie oil)

Set up a breading station with 3 shallow dished. The first with some flour, salt and pepper. The next with a few eggs and a dash of milk, beat the eggs and milk together. Finally some breadcrumbs with the cayenne and paprika to taste. I know the measurements sound pretty vague, but I usually just eyeball it when it comes to breading things.

Heat enough oil in skillet to cover the bottom, over medium high heat. Dip each tomato slice in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Once the oil is hot enough (it will sizzle when you place the tomato in), fry the tomatoes for about 3 minutes on each side. Cook until golden brown, and do not over crowd the pan. Place the fried tomatoes on a plate lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil. 

I'm so happy I had the opportunity to try this out. Although, if I ever get the chance again I will probably try to made some sort of sauce for them. Like I said above though, they were delicious just by themselves. Cheers!

Pulled Pork Pizza with Red Onion and Cilantro

                               

So last night I made my super easy BBQ pulled pork. Tonight I used the leftover pork to make this really simple delicious pizza. Even simpler that I used a pre-made "personal" sized crust.

INGREDIENTS:

• BBQ pulled pork
• Thin sliced red onion
• Baby portabello mushrooms
• Shredded Cheddar cheese 
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Your choice of pizza crust (I used pre-made thin crust personal sized)

Assemble pizza with pulled pork on the bottom, then onion, mushrooms and cheese. The crust I used only needed to be baked at 425 for about 8 minutes. Time will vary depending on the crust you use. 

I love using leftovers to make pizzas. It makes for great combinations you wouldn't normally think of... And an easy dinner night on top of it! Cheers!

2 Ingredient Pulled Pork

Hey foodie friends! I'm back from vacation and ready to cook up some yummy summer meals this week! First up is this super easy pulled pork recipe, exactly how my mom taught me. 2 ingredients in the slow cooker for 8 hours and you're done!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 small boneless pork loins
• 1 small bottle of sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce

Place 1/4 of the bottle of sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker, then place the pork in. Pour the rest of the BBQ sauce over the pork. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

When the pork is cooked, shred apart with two forks and allow the shredded meat to soak in the sauce. 

We served our pulled pork tonight over rice with broccoli, cole slaw and potato salad on the side. A nice BBQ themed dinner for a hot summer night. When the last thing I want to do is turn in the stove, anything made in the slow cooker is perfect! Cheers!