Moist Garlic Chicken

I've had this recipe for quite awhile thinking I would make it "someday". I finally made it last year or the year before. The chicken is so moist and tender, you can cut it with a fork. A girl mentioned how moist it was last night, and I told her it must be the coating of butter surrounding it. I used so much butter in my "Idol" meal last night and I thought, "Everything's better with butter!".

Moist Garlic Chicken

1 stick butter or margarine, melted

2 garlic cloves, minced (or equivalent of fresh minced garlic in the jar)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt, optional

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Dash pepper

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 pounds)

In a shallow bowl, combine butter, minced garlic, garlic powder, and salt if desired. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheeses and pepper. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then coat with crumb mixture. Place in a 9x13 baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 min to 1 hour or until chicken juices run clear.

Recipe from: an old magazine

Notes: I usually cut my chicken breasts in half when I bake this. It just seems to help get the chicken cooked through.

Carrots Au Gratin

When I was younger (under 25), I was a very picky eater. Didn't like many vegetables, just peas, green beans, and corn. I liked carrots but only raw - couldn't stand cooked carrots. Some friends invited our family over for dinner one Sunday afternoon, and among the sides was this version of cooked carrots. I knew I had to try just a little bit. To my surprise, it was very good. This recipe is different, but I love it. Haven't made it too much but always enjoy it when I do. I'm craving them now, so I'll have them Thursday night when we have our "girls" over for American Idol night. Hope you enjoy them.

Carrots Au Gratin

5 Tb. margarine or butter

1/2 cup corn flakes

1/3 cup chopped onion

3 Tb. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 cups sliced cooked carrots (about 3 cans)

1 Tb. dry parsley flakes (optional)

Melt 2 Tb. margarine or butter in saucepan. Remove from heat, add corn flakes. Mix well, set aside.

Melt remaining margarine over low heat. Add onion, cook until tender. Stir in flour and spices. Add milk gradually stirring 'til thick. Add cheese, cook 'til melted. Add carrots and parsley. Pour into 6x7 greased pan (or 2 qt casserole). Spread corn flake mixture on top. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or microwave on medium or medium high for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe from: Patrice Cook

Notes: I also didn't like real onion (even cooked) until a few years ago. You can substitute maybe 1/2 Tablespoon of minced onions or even 1/2 tsp onion powder.

Cashew Chicken Casserole

Doesn't everybody love Cashew Chicken? No, not the kind you get everywhere else, but SPRINGFIELD-STYLE Cashew Chicken. I've seen posts on Facebook from people who used to go to college here in Springfield, Missouri, that have cravings for it. Friends that come into town make it a point to eat Cashew Chicken at some point during their visit. My husband has even been asked to pick up some for an instructor 3 hours away.

Cashew Chicken (to me) is a hassle to make, so here's a recipe from a cookbook I received about 20 years ago. This casserole has the flavor without the hassle. Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken Casserole

2 Tb butter
1 cup chopped celery (opt.)
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 - 10 3/4 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
2/3 cup chicken broth
4 cups diced cooked chicken
4 Tb soy sauce (I like LaChoy Soy Sauce the best for this recipe)
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup chow mein noodles
1 cup cashew nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large saucepan, saute' celery and onion in butter until tender. Stir in soup and chicken broth. Simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken and soy sauce. Cook over low heat 5 minutes. Stir in rice. Spoon into a 9x13-inch baking dish and bake until liquid bubbles to the surface, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle noodles and nuts on top and brown in oven (about 5 minutes). Serves 6-8.

Recipe from: Sassafras! cookbook put out by the Junior League of Springfield, Missouri, Inc.

Notes:

1) The LaChoy Soy Sauce gives the truest Cashew Chicken flavor. We currently have an Asian Dark Mushroom Soy Sauce that I've used in it, but the flavor isn't right.

2) For the 2 cups cooked rice, I use 1 1/4 cups water and uncooked (minute) rice.

3) The chow mein noodles and cashews get soggy when leftover. We always serve new noodles and nuts on the leftovers.

4) Again, you can cook and cut up your chicken beforehand. You can make this casserole up ahead of time, you just need to remember to set it out about 30 minutes before you bake it. When you make casseroles up ahead of time, they don't seem to get "bubbly" like the recipe says. Just make sure it's hot.

PIZZA BAKED SPAGHETTI

This dish has ended up being more or less my signature dish for company. Most people like spaghetti and pizza, so the combination should be a hit. My daughter came home from a restaurant and talked about the Pizza Baked Spaghetti she had. Looked in my cookbooks and found a recipe. Of course, I've made some revisions to suite our tastes.

PIZZA BAKED SPAGHETTI

Prep time: 30-40 minutes

1 (28 oz) jar Ragu spaghetti sauce

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (1 lb) pkg very thin spaghetti noodles

4-5 oz pepperoni slices

1 (8oz) pkg Mozzarella cheese slices (I usually use shredded)

1 cup shredded Mozzarella

1 stick margarine or butter

1-1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

Optional ingredients: any toppings you like on your pizza - Italian sausage, mushrooms, etc.

Spray 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cook spaghetti as package directs (do not break noodles). While spaghetti is cooking, boil the pepperoni in small amount of water. After 10 minutes, drain pepperoni. If desired, heat Ragu and tomato sauce.

Drain spaghetti and place in large bowl with stick of margarine. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over spaghetti. Mix quickly and thoroughly. Pour spaghetti into prepared 9x13 pan and pat down (I use waxed paper). Pour Ragu sauce over spaghetti. Top with cheese slices. Place pepperoni slices as next layer. (Add any additional cooked toppings at this point.) Sprinkle shredded Mozzarella over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve. Serves 8-12.

If making 1/2 recipe for 8x8 pan, use a small jar of Ragu and omit the tomato sauce.

Recipe adapted from cookbook.

Notes: I usually cut the margarine or butter in slices. It melts easier this way.

You can make this dish a day ahead, but it just doesn't get bubbly like the fresh and warmer ingredients. Make sure and cook until the edges start to get brown.

Chicken w/Soy Sauce & Seasoned Salt

Some friends made some pork chops fixed this way probably 20 years ago. A few years ago, we thought it should be good on chicken too. Then we took it a step further and made hearty sandwiches! Here goes:

Chicken w/Soy Sauce & Seasoned Salt

chicken breasts - however many you need to cook

soy sauce

seasoned salt

optional: shredded cheese (we prefer colby/jack)

Brush the soy sauce on the chicken breasts and sprinkle with seasoned (or seasoning) salt. Either grill or broil on both sides until cooked through (clear juices running).

Optional part: Add shredded cheese on top and stick back in oven just long enough for the cheese to melt. Serve on a hearty bun. These are really good with mayonnaise (miracle whip here), lettuce and tomato.

Notes: I still like to kind of stab my chicken in several places to help the flavor get down in the chicken and to help it cook through quicker.

Easy Parmesan Garlic Chicken

I don't think you can get much easier than this recipe. It's found on the box of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix. Three ingredients plus your chicken. Very simple. It has really good flavor and is a breeze as far as preparation time. This picture of the chicken was taken on a night we had children and knew they wouldn't eat a whole chicken breast, therefore, they were cut into smaller pieces.

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix
1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix cheese, salad dressing mix and garlic powder.
Moisten chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture.
Place in shallow baking dish.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Notes: After chicken is cooked through, you can set the oven to broil. Place 6 inches from the heat source, and broil 2-4 minutes or until golden brown.

I usually makes slits in my chicken on both sides to help it cook through faster.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again that the fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts have much better flavor than packages of the frozen ones. It's also cheaper to buy a large package of them, use what you need, and freeze the rest in groups of however much you usually use. (Does that make sense?)

Egg Rolls (hamburger)

As a person who was a very picky eater growing up and until I was in my 30s, I didn't like traditional egg rolls. I didn't like cooked cabbage in any way, shape or form.

When our kids were younger, my husband's side of the family would all take a vacation and stay at the lake together for about a week. My sister-in-law, Kim (a very good cook), made her egg rolls one night for dinner. As you could imagine, I wasn't thrilled about it. Figured it would be a meal I wouldn't be eating.

I must tell you that they were delicious! The key is the hamburger as the main ingredient, and the other ingredients are shredded or grated. They are so small that you wouldn't know cabbage was in it if you didn't ask.


Egg Rolls

2 lbs hamburger

1/2 head cabbage - shredded

3-4 carrots - shredded/grated

garlic salt - be generous

soy sauce - dump it in

5 green onion - shredded

2-3 pkg egg roll wraps

Cook hamburger until mostly brown, drain. Add next 5 ingredients to hamburger and cook until done. You may need to do a taste test to see if you need more garlic salt or soy sauce.

Fill egg roll wrappers as directed on package, and fry in oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with LaChoy Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Makes around 40-50.

Recipe from Kim Whitfield

Notes: If you have a food processor or blender attachment, it's fairly easy to grate your vegetables. Also, with the shredded carrots and shredded cabbage for cole slaw that's readily available now, it's a lot easier than before.

When filling your egg roll wraps (follow directions on package), I usually use a medium Pampered Chef scoop. I believe it measures out to about 2 Tablespoons. Make sure there isn't anything on the outside of your wrap or you will get big splatters while frying. Be careful not to fill too full. This will cause them to break which is bad news during frying.

I try to have at least an inch of oil in the electric skillet or skillet so it will go at least halfway up the egg roll. I usually drain them on 2 paper-towel thickness and then transfer again to a clean paper towel.

Since both segments of making this meal are time-consuming, you can make the filling ahead of time. Reheat the filling before stuffing the egg roll wraps, or the center will be cold.

The leftover egg rolls heat up well in the oven.

Creamed Tacos

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger, browned and drained (you may also rinse to reduce the fat)

1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can rotel
2 cans chili beans
8 oz. sour cream

Stir together in a dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Serve over tortilla chips and top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream and anything else you like on your tacos.

Recipe from Kristin Donovan