Left Over Ham? - Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

2 pounds chicken, cut into chunks
8 ounces cubed ham
8 ounces Swiss cheese (grated or cubed)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
½ cup milk ( I would add more - - - double?)
1 cup Italian bread crumbs (a little less wouldn’t hurt)

Preheat oven to 350’. Layer in a 9x13 baking dish: cubed uncooked chicken, ham, and Swiss cheese. Mix the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and milk in a separate bowl. Pour on top of the chicken/ha m layer. Sprinkle the Italian bread crumbs on top. Bake for about 45-60 minutes until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted. Cover with foil if it starts to brown too much. I added some chicken bullion to the sauce for more flavor. Serve with pasta or rice or rolls.

Ways to Use Hard Boiled Eggs

I have been trying to find a way to use all the millions of hard boiled eggs i have from easter and i found this super tasty recipe. thought id share if anyone else was in my same predicament!

3 eggs
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS
Place eggs in a saucepan and cover completely with cold water. Bring water to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, eggs, green onions, dill relish, curry and mayonnaise. Stir together until mixed well. Refrigerate until chilled.Really good just as a sandwich, on crackers or with pita bread

P.S. This was emailed to me by Kacey Nielsen, she gets all of the credit!

Spinach Parmesan Linguine

My sis use to make this all of the time during our college days, it was one of my all times favorite. I made it for David once, then I found out he HATES spinach...that was a sad day!!!

1 pkg. linguine
1 c. chicken broth
1 onion
pinch of garlic salt
1 pkg. frozen spinach - thawed and drained
1/3 c. milk
2 Tbl. cream cheese
1 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 c. mozzerella cheese grated

cook linguine first. while it is cooking broil broth, onion, and garlic, cook 5 min. stir in spinach, cook 2 more min. add milk, cream cheese, and salt, stir until melted and smooth. toss with linguine, add parmesan and mozzarella toss together until nicely melted and blended.

P.s. if you use wheat pasta and low fat cream cheese and milk this would be a pretty healthy recipe!!!

Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice

Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice - You probably all have this recipe, because it is so easy, but if not try it out, it is yummy!!! This is probably my all time favorite leftovers too!!!

chicken cooked and cubed
1 ½ uncooked rice
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Mayonnaise or sour cream
cheese

Cook rice. Add chicken, rice, broccoli, soup, and mayonnaise, or sour cream to 9 x 13 pan and mix well. Top with cheese and bake for 20 min. at 350°

Just FYI

So last night I made the philly cheesesteak pizza and the Wendy's "mock" frosties. Both were very yummy!!!!! the frosties really do taste pretty close to the real deal!!! and if you don't like onions you probably won't like the pizza!!! but since David and I both love onions, it was a winner!!! Oh and I didn't just put provolone cheese on. I actually got the Italian blend cheese that already comes shredded for like $1.94 and that is what I used, so so good!!! David was pretty impressed!!!

Wendy's "Mock" Frosty

Wendy's "Mock" Frosty - I saw this on another lady's blog, and I thought it looked really really yummy!!!

1 - serving (2 weight watchers points)
Ingredients:
1 cup skim or 1% milk
2-3 Tbsp sugar free / fat free instant chocolate dry pudding mix (I of course use 3)
2 Heaping Tbsp fat free cool whip
8 (or so) ice cubes
Place all in blender and BLEND AWAY!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken - this probably one of David's favorite dinners!!! we serve it over rice! And our favorite these days is Brown rice!!!

chicken cooked and cubed
onion
green pepper (optional, I usually don’t use them)
1 ½ c. hot water
¾ c. vinegar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. corn starch
1 TBL. Soy sauce
1 can pineapple chunksCook chicken to taste in frying pan. Add onion and green pepper. Add water, vinegar, and pineapple juice. Combine brown sugar and corn starch. Add to other ingredients. Add soy sauce and pineapple chunks. Let simmer 20 minutes to thicken

Lemon Squares

Lemon Squares - these are our favorites!!!

Crust:
1 c. soft butter
½ c. powder sugar
2 c. flout
Dash of salt

Combine and mix well. Press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350° for 15 min. or until light brown.

Filling:
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. sugar
¼ c. flour
6-8 TBL. Lemon juice

Combine flour and sugar, mix in beaten eggs and lemon juice. Pour onto slightly cooled crust. Bake 25 min at 350°.

Chicken Cord on Blue

Chicken Cord on Blue (not sure on the spelling!)

Milk
Chicken
Sandwich style ham
Mozzarella cheese
Bread crumbs/ or crackers ( I like Italian style bread crumbs from wal mart, they are super cheap)!
Butter

Defrost chicken, and pound flat. Put ham and cheese on chicken and roll up. Use toothpicks to keep in place. Dip chicken roll in milk and then roll in the bread crumbs until good and covered. Place in pan and cook for 25 min on 325°. After 15 min drizzle melted butter over chicken. Enjoy!!!!

Enchiladas

Enchiladas

chicken cut, cooked, and seasoned (garlic salt and lemon pepper)
cream of mushroom soup
sour cream
salsa
olives
onions
cheese
tortillas

I like to cut up my chicken and cook on medium heat in frying pan. I add garlic salt and lemon pepper. Mix cream of mushroom soup, sour cream and salsa. I never measure, I just add to taste. Put a little sauce aside to put on bottom of pan and on top of enchiladas. Then add onion, olives, chicken, a little cheese. Spread some sauce on bottom of pan, then fill tortillas and place in pan. Put the rest of saved sauce on top of enchiladas. Spread cheese, and I like to save some olives for the top also. Bake on 350° for 20 min. do first 10 min covered with foil.

Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

This is a sort of put in what you want recipe. I like these potatoes because they can stand on their own, meaning they don't need gravy. The cream cheese gives it it's own rich flavor.

you need :
potatoes
cream cheese
salt and pepper
maybe a little milk

For a dinner for 2-3, peel, cut, and boil 3 med. potatoes.
When potatoes are soft and cooked through, drain and mash. Once the potatoes are mashed to the consistency that you like, add 3-4 0z. cream cheese. The heat from the potatoes will soften the cream cheese. Mash the cream cheese into the potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste (I usually add quite a bit). If the potatoes seem a little too thick, add a TINY bit of milk. Stir in milk. If still too thick, add a TINY more. Adding too much milk means it'll be runny and hence ruined (at least to me). I usually don't need to add any milk.
ENJOY!

Yummy Garlic Chicken Pasta

I got this recipe from a friend (Thanks Lindsay!) and loved it sooo much. I've made it for several friends and all have asked for the recipe. Here it is:

16 oz. farfalle pasta (bowtie)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
4-6 chicken breasts
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed (or garlic salt)
1 Tb. pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb bacon - crumbled (sometimes I just use 1/2 lb. or what I have on hand)
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry's mesquite marinade with Lime juice (in liquid form/bottle)

Put chicken in crockpot with the bottle of marinade on Low for 6 hours (I just go until chick. is cooked).

Melt butter in saucepan, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parm. cheese and bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 min.

Boil pasta when chicken is almost done and you're mixing together the sauce.

When Chicken is cooked, shred it. In large bowl, put pasta and chicken and sauce together and stir. SOOO GOOD!

Help

Anyone have a good recipe for Minestrone Soup? For some reason this sounds really good and I can't find one. Thanks! Capri

Rolo Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter soften to room temp

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup dark or regular cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 large package Rolo candy

Combine sugars and butter, mix well. Add vanilla and eggs, mix well. In seperate bowl combine cocoa, flour, and soda, then add to cream mixture. Mix all ingredients well. Batter will be stiff. Take 1 Tbsp of dough and wrap around Rolo and roll into a ball. Bake at 350 for 7-10 min.

Labels

It has been suggested, and I think it was a very good suggestion, that we put a label on our recipes. for example, dinner, breakfast, dessert, snacks, lunch...etc. So that if you want to search for a certain topic then it would take you there!!! Maybe we could even do chicken, or beef...you get the point. You can put more than one label on each post!!!! Thanks guys!!!

Peanut Butter Rice Krispies

This is something my mom always makes and it's my favorite!

1 cup white sugar
1 cup white Karo syrup

Mix and cook on stove top. Boil for one minute. Remove and add:

1 cup peanut butter-then stir

Add enough rice krispies until desired texture. Put into greased pan.

Melt: 1 pkg milk chocolate chips
1 pkg butterscotch chips
(in microwave with power level 7 for 3 minutes)

Then frost rice krispies with chocolate and enjoy!

Microwave Carmel Popcorn (similar to Cracker Jacks)

4 quarts popped corn in large paper bag
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white Karo syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Pop your popcorn in the paper bag in the microwave or with an air popper. Then put margarine, brown sugar, Karo syrup, and salt (leave out soda) into a bowl and microwave on high until boiling. Cook for 2 minutes. Take out and stir in 1/2 tsp. of soda. Pour mixture over popcorn in bag. Shake vigorously. Microwave (in bag) for 45 seconds and repeat once more. Then spread it out on a pan and let is cool. Enjoy!

Southwest Tacos

Since my mouth is all watered up for scones and hungry for dinner...now is a good time to post this recipe:

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-1 jar salsa (as hot as you like it)

opt:
refried beans
shredded cheddar cheese
guacamole
lettuce
onion
tomato
salsa
*or whatever else you like on tacos*

8(ish) scones
-Cassidy's recipe sounds awesome but if you're short on time buy a package of Pillsbury biscuits in the refrigerator section and use them instead of the frozen rolls. I'm not sure they're as good but they'll work if you're in a hurry. Remember to roll out on a floured surface because they're very sticky.-

Directions:
Cook and drain beef in skillet, add cumin, garlic salt and salsa.
Heat to a boil and cook for 10 min.
Top scones with beef and desired toppings.


Yummy. Ends up like an "Indian Taco".

Teriyaki Sauce

So I know I posted this on my blog already, but it was almost a year ago! This is one of my favorites! I am making it for dinner tonight with chicken and veggie stir fry over rice! Then just pour on a little sauce, oh soooo good!

1/4 c. soy sauce
1 c. water
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
5 Tbl. packed brown sugar
1-2 Tbl. honey
2 Tbl. cornstarch
1/4 c. cold water

Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c. water in sauce pan and begin heating. Mix cornstarch and cold water in a cup and dissolve, add to sauce in pan. Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness.


P.S. I am loving this blog right now, I am so glad you are all posting recipes, I have been having fun making new and different things for dinner!!! Also if you think you have friends that will or want to join I can either make it so you can add people to be authors, or you can just have them email me with their emails...let me know what you think will be easier!!!

Scones

So this is just a tip, not really a recipe. We love scones. For those of you who do too, but don't know how to go about making them, here's a super easy way:

Buy a package of Rhode's rolls. Thaw as many as you want. One roll equals one scone. Once they are soft and pliable (about an hour-ish to thaw), stretch them out to about fist size, you don't want to stretch them to the point of making holes.
Heat oil (med. heat) in a skillet, about as much oil to fill the entire bottom of skillet. Place stretched dough into hot oil carefully. Once dough is golden on bottom and fluffy/bubbly, flip gently over and do the other side. Tadaa!
So good and easy.

Potato Corn Chowder

This is one of my favorite recipes. We just had it for dinner and OH BABY! As Tiffany will vouch, I absolutely love chowders and soups, and this one is a winner.

2 T. butter or margarine
1/4 c. flour
1 C. water
1 tsp (cube) chicken bouillon
2 1/2 C. milk
2-3 med. potatoes, chopped
1/2 C. onion, chopped
1/2 c. cooked bacon, chopped
1 c. frozen corn

Melt butter over low heat in medium saucepan (we like a large one though); stir in flour. Stirring constantly on medium heat, add water, bouillon (we actually use 2 tsp. bouillon), and milk. *salt and pepper to taste!!!* Once all is stirred and mixed, add chopped potatoes and onion. Cook until potatoes are tender and soup is thick. Once potatoes are soft, add bacon and corn. Once corn is warm, serve and enjoy!!! This soup is so good. Make sure you sample frequently to see if you need to add more salt and/or pepper. We used to fry up the bacon, but now we use the pre-cooked stuff and it's great! Both work great though. We eat this with rolls usually, although tonight we had scones.

Oriental Chicken Salad

I have been obsessed with this salad lately!!

2 pkg. Ramen Noodles
1 head of Cabbage
3-4 chicken breasts boiled and torn (if you like lots of chicken add more)!
shredded carrots
green onions
sliced almonds
2 cans mandrin oranges
sesame seeds

Dressing:
Ramen flavor pack
3 Tbl. vinegar
2 Tbl. sugar
1/3 c. oil

If I get a large head of cabbage I usually only use half of it and boil two chicken breasts, and then I can make it again in a week! I told you I have been obsessed!!

Philly Cheesesteak Pizza

I haven't made this, I just saw it on Rachael Ray, but I want to make it so I thought I would put it on here so it is easier to find then searching through the Rachael Ray website!!! Plus you can all enjoy it too!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus additional for drizzling
3 to 4 large onions, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pizza dough, store-bought or from your favorite pizzeria
Cornmeal or flour, for sprinkling
2 cups (a few generous handfuls) shredded provolone cheese
1/2 pound deli-style roast beef, roughly chopped or torn

Yields: 4 servings

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. If you're using fresh dough from a pizzeria, take it out of the fridge and bring it up to room temperature before stretching it out.
Place a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add EVOO. Add the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until caramelized, about 15-20 minutes, stirring every now and then so the onions don't burn. When caramelized, remove from heat and reserve.

Sprinkle some cornmeal or flour on the baking sheet so it doesn't stick on the bottom then roll out the dough and stretch it to make it fit the pan. Brush it with EVOO and bake for 10-15 minutes, until almost cooked through.

Spread the caramelized onions out over the dough to cover. Add the torn pieces of roast beef and cover with cheese.
Bake for about 5 minutes, until the cheese bubbles and brown up.

Chicken Pillows

Pillows:
1-8oz pkg cream cheese
3 cups cooked chicken-diced
1 onion chopped fine
celery diced
small bag slivered almonds
2 cans crescent rolls

Gravy:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth (or water)
1 beef bouillon cube

1. Combine ingredients for pillows in bowl and put aside. Open up rolls and stretch a little. Put a spoon full of chicken mixture into each roll. Dip in melted butter and then roll in crushed Ritz crackers. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve with Gravy.
2. To make Gravy: Combine all ingredients (for the gravy) into a saucepan. Cook until cube is melted. Serve over pillows.

**This is kinda time consuming, so I sometimes double the recipe and bake what we will eat that day and freeze the rest. It later makes for a quick meal if you are in a hurry.

Sausage Penne Pasta

Like Tiffany's Alfredo Recipe, which by the way I have actual measurements for, this is sort of a put in however much recipe. Bo and I made it up one day and fell in love with it. I'm sure there's an actual recipe out there--we're not THAT creative.

8 oz of Penne Pasta--I say 8 oz. because we usually use about 1/2 to 2/3 of a 16 oz. box.
1/2 lb kielbasa (polish sausage),chopped or sliced. We prefer chopped.
1 can chopped tomatoes. (You can use real tomatoes, about 2-3, this just saves time and is fairly cheap)
1 can tomato sauce, the small one (6 or 8 oz?)
1/3 cup parmesean cheese (The best is mozarella, but we hardly have that, so we settle for Parm.)
Italian seasoning, or oregeno or thyme or both yada yada
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

So. . . Start boiling the pasta. While it's boiling, saute onion and amount of garlic you want. Once it's sauteed, add the sausage and Italian seasoning and heat through. Once it is all cooked/warmed, add tomatoes and tomato sauce, and cheese. Heat through again, stirring to make sure all the flavors blend. By now your pasta should be fully cooked. Drain and add the sauce once it is heated and cheese is melted. Stir all together and enjoy! We love this dish! So easy and yummy!

Such Yummy Chicken!

Parmesan-Dijon Chicken

I like Dijon but I am not a huge fan but this recipe was prefect so if you aren't a mustard fan you still might like this one.

3/4 cup dry bread crumb ( I used Italian flavored crumb and I added a little salt to it)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese ( I didn't bother using the expensive freshly grated kind)
1/4 cup margarine, salted butter, or spread ( I have made it with all of the above and the butter was the best taste but was the highest in calories)
2 TB Dijon mustard
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 and 1/2 pound)

1.) Heat Oven to 375

2.) mix bread crumbs and cheese in large plastic bag. Combine margarine and mustard. Dip the chicken in the mustard mixture . Shake chicken in the bag to coat with crumb mixture.

3.) Bake uncovered 20 to 30 minutes, turning once (I never remember to turn them and they are fine), cook until cooked through.

Alfredo Sauce

Ok so I am really sorry to those of you who like to measure out everything when you cook, because this recipe is a non measuring recipe!! I never measure anything when I make this! I don't even think I ever saw any measurements to it either, sort of just went for it one day! But I must say it is my favorite alfredo sauce!!!

butter (I use margarine and probably a couple of Tbl.)
Cream Cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat and at least half of the 8 oz. package - just depending on how much I want to make!)
Milk
Garlic salt or powder
Parmesan cheese (the cheap stuff that is in the shaker jar!!)
italian seasoning

in saucepan melt butter and cream cheese slightly, over medium heat, then add milk. continue to melt butter and cream cheese. Add parmesan cheese, and seasonings to taste! If it is too thin add more cheese or more cream cheese, to thick add more milk!! I don't think you can really mess this one up!!

I put over pasta with chicken and brocoli, or my favorite lately is to make mini chicken alfredo pizza wheels!!!

Chicken & Dumplings

I often cheat with this recipe and pick up a roaster chicken at the store. It seems to save me a ton of time.

54 0z Chicken Broth
3/4 C Water
2 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Large Chicken Breast
2-3 Potatoes
3-4 Carrots

2 C Bisquick
2/3 C Milk


Combine broth, water, thyme, salt, bay leaves. Simmer while you chop up carrots and potatoes. Add vegetables. Cook up the chicken, and add to soup when done.

Mix Bisquick and milk and drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup. Reduce heat to medium.
Cook uncovered 10 min. Cover and cook 10 more minutes. Remove from heat immediately.

Additional note: If you like dense dumplings you should make sure the dough is well mixed and moist and drop small spoonfuls of dough into boiling soup. If you like fluffy dumplings you should keep the dough less-mixed and a little dry looking and add as larger spoonfuls to soup.

Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
(#1)
1 C Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Orange Rind
(#2)
1 C Orange Juice
2 Tbsp Milk
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Lg Egg, lightly beaten
(#3)
1 C Blueberries (we use frozen)

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Stir both together until smooth. Preheat non-stick pan on med med-high heat. I spray the pan with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Add 1/2 C batter to hot pan. Add desired number of blueberries to batter in pan...(FYI-if you mix them in the bowl the batter turns greyish blue).
Flip pancake over when batter starts to look dry and the little bubbles don't fill in. Make sure to cook both sides pretty well so the insides don't end up runny.

They aren't difficult to make and they are completely YUMMY!!

Cocoa Cookies

These cookies are a hit. They never last more than a week at my house.

1 cup shortening
2 cup sugar
2 egg
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup cocoa
about 1 cup powder sugar

Cream shortening, eggs, milk and vanilla together. Then add sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Use a cookie scoop to form a ball and roll in powder sugar. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes and put on cooling rack. The cookies are suppose be soft, so don't over cook.

Peaches and Cream Pie

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 (3 ounce) package non-instant vanilla pudding mix
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 (29 ounce) can sliced peaches, drained and syrup reserved
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease sides and bottom of a 10 inch deep-dish pie pan. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and pudding mix. Mix in butter, egg and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Pour mixture into pie pan. Arrange the peach slices on top of the pudding mixture.
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons reserved peach syrup. Beat for 2 minutes. Spoon mixture over peaches to within 1 inch of pan edge. Mix together 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and sprinkle over top.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown. Chill before serving.

Swiss Cheese Chicken

4 chicken breasts
4-6 slices of swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
1 package of seasoned stuffing mix
salt and pepper

Lay Chicken breasts in a 9x13" baking dish. Place cheese slices on top of chicken. Mix soup and water together and pour on top of Chicken. Prepare stuffing as directed on the box and spoon over chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake 300 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours. (or 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until chicken in done)