Poppy Seed Chicken

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 cup sour cream

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 T poppy seeds

Additional Ingredients to make it fancy:

1 tsp Worchestire sauce

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp minced garlic

1 T lemon juice

1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper until done. I like to boil it with half an onion cut into large chunks to give it more flavor. Let chicken cool slightly and cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken in a 9X13 casserole dish.

Stir together the condensed soup and sour cream. If you wish to add the additional flavorings stir in the worchestire, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper to the soup and sour cream mixture. Pour over the chicken.

In a separate bowl, stir together the crushed crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter. Sprinkle over the chicken and sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top of the casserole is browned and the sauce is bubbly. Serve plain or over rice. We like to eat it with steamed broccoli.

Mac n' Cheese with a Facelift!

Mac n' Cheese with a Facelift!
(got this idea from a friend and will never go back to plain ol' Kraft!)

1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzerella cheese
1-2 chicken breasts cooked as desired and cubed

Directions:
Make boxed mac n' cheese according to directions on box. After stirring in the milk, butter, and powdered cheese, stir in parmesan, mozzerella, and ranch dressing over low heat until cheeses are fully incorporated. Serve with chicken on top. So good!

Deee-licious Oven Fried Chicken!

2 1/2 lbs chicken parts (thighs and drumsticks)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp shortening

Mix flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper. Put chicken pieces into bag with mixture and shake to coat. Heat oil and shortening in a 9x13 inch pan in 425 degree oven until melted.

Place coated chicken in pan, cook uncovered for 30 minutes, then turn chicken over and cook for another 30 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes and country gravy, and a side of sweet cornbread. Yum!

Meatloaf!

Meatloaf, Baby!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, chopped
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• 6 slices white bread, cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons yellow mustard, divided
• 1/2 cup ketchup, divided
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix ground beef, onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix in bread, milk, egg, 2 tablespoons mustard and 1/4 cup ketchup.
3. Press the meat mixture into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a small bowl, stir together remaining mustard, ketchup and brown sugar; pour on top of the meat loaf.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 2 hours.

Chicken and Rice Casserole

I added the changes i would make to this recipe in ( )

2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 (14 ½-ounce) cans green beans (or frozen peas), drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (4-ounce) jar pimentos (not even sure what this is?)
1 (10 ¾-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup (or cream of chicken)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (6-ounce) box long-grain wild rice, cooked according to package
directions
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat butter or oil in a small skillet over
medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.
2. Add all remaining ingredients to bowl and mix together until
thoroughly combined.
3. Pour into a greased 3-quart casserole dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes
or until bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

The Best BBQ Chicken EVER!

This is my favorite BBQ sauce:
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
2TBS vinegar
2 TBS brown sugar
4 TBS lemon juice
1 cup ketchup
3 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. prepared mustard


Mix everything together in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Use boneless chicken breasts, cut into smaller pieces, or bone-in legs,thighs, etc. Baste the chicken with the sauce and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes (longer for bone in meat)
Always check before you eat to make sure its done inside. You can turn and baste the meat throughout baking. You can also cook on the BBQ, unless of course its covered with snow!

Veggie Lasagna

I love the veggie lasagna from Stouffer's but it is kind of expensive and makes a ton, we usually eat it for two or three days after. so here is a recipe that seems very similar, I will add some notes of ways to make it easier!

Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 cloves garlic, minced(or go by a bag of mixed veggies from the freezer section)

Sauce:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper(or buy a can of your favorite alfredo)

1 (8 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
24 ounces ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided(this actually sounds like it might be an adequate amount of cheese! but hey, throw in some extra just for fun)

Directions:

These are for making your own sauce and cooking the fresh veggies, you can probably just use the frozen ones without cooking them first, also if you by sauce skip the sauce instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
(I have never boiled lasagna noodles prior to baking in my life. I realize some people do this but it seems silly when you can just add some extra water to the sauce and add the dry noodles. they cook up just fine in the oven this way! and it saves you a half hour of cooking time!) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot add broccoli, carrots, zucchini and garlic. Saute for 7 minutes; set aside.
Place flour in a medium saucepan and gradually whisk in milk until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, or until thick, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in spinach. Reserve 1/2 cup spinach mixture. In a small bowl combine cottage and ricotta cheeses; stir well.

Spread about 1/2 cup of spinach mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer noodles, ricotta mixture, vegetables, spinach mixture and 2 cups mozzarella cheese, ending with noodles. Top with reserved spinach mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cool for approximately 10 minutes before serving. (if you want to make it with dry noodles, build the lasagna like normal then pour about a 1-1 1/2 cups water over the entire thing! you can make this in the morning and leave it in the ridge till your ready to cook as well!)