Ma What's For Dinner?

Yes yes yes, I know that most people call this one chicken divan but this casserole is just so darn good that you just have to call it divine.  I love casseroles.  I love the fact that you can make them in advance, I love that you can throw anything leftover in the fridge into them, I love that dinner is ready by the time you get home from soccer practice!

I love that the weather has been cooler the last few days here in the northeast.  It’s going to be our first fall here and that is my favorite time of year.  It’s almost here and the kids are starting school next week.  This is great recipe for your arsenal when you need to get dinner on the table fast and homework done.

Serves: 8  Prep time: 30 minutes  Cook time: 40 minutes

10 ounces steamed broccoli

3 large boneless chicken breasts

1 T olive oil

1 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

8 ounces buttom mushrooms, halved

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 t. fresh lemon juice

1/2 t. curry powder

1 can sliced water chestnuts

S&P

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup french fried onions

4 strips bacon chopped

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Season your chicken breasts with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Meanwhile heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Add your chopped bacon and saute until crisp.  Remove and allow to drain on a paper towel.

While your chicken cooks, assemble your casserole.  In a 13×9 pan arrange your broccoli on the bottom.  In a large bowl combine soup, milk, mayo, sour cream, mushrooms, lemon juice, curry powder, water chestnuts.  Stir to mix well and season with salt and pepper.  

Once your chicken has finished cooking remove it from the oven and slice it into thin strips.  Arrange the chicken over the broccoli. Pour the soup mixture over the top of the chicken and broccoli.  Top with cheddar cheese and fried onions.  Cover with foil and bake on 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove foil and sprinkle with bacon and cook uncovered for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve with brown or white rice and enjoy!

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What’s your favorite kind of recipe after a long day out with the kids?  I’ll tell you mine…one that takes me less that 5 minutes to throw together then toss it into the oven so it can do all the work for me.  This is one of those recipes!  Fast, easy and oh so delicious.

Yesterday we were out at the local pool and waterpark with some friends.  We ended up staying a little late and by the time I hustled everyone past the 900 ice cream trucks who line the perimeter and enduring the endless screaming about how it’s sooooo unfair that everyone else gets ice cream before dinner and I’m the meanest mommy in the world, etc.  We made it home and tossed this puppy together, threw it into the oven, and wrangled everyone upstairs for baths and what not.  By the time we were done washing off all that chlorine dinner was almost ready.  Woo hoo!  Love me some good ol’ casseroles that are a whole dinner in one.

Serves 4  Prep Time  5 minutes  Cook Time  1 hour

2 T unsalted butter

1 cup long-grain uncooked white or brown rice

4 bone in pork chops

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 10 oz can beef broth

1 10 oz can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup

1 small onion sliced

1 green pepper sliced

S&P
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the rice and saute until nice and toasted, about 5 minutes.

Toss your broccoli and mushrooms into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.  Pour the rice on top of the veggies.  Season the pork chops with the S&P and place them on top of the rice.

In a bowl combine the soup and 1/2 of the beef broth, mix well.  Pour the remaining broth over the rice. Place the onion rings and green pepper over the chops and season again with S&P.  Pour the soup/broth mixture over the top.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. Serve the pork chops on a bed of the rice with Roasted Brussell Sprouts.

What is your favorite quick and easy casserole?

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This one is for Shell.  Oh you didn’t know that I take requests? Well now you do…send ‘em on over and I’m at your service.  My girl Shell over at Things I Cant Say, oh yeah you know her, cool girl, superstar, all around homecoming queen, uh yeah, that’s her.  She asked if we had any pasta salad ideas.  Do I have a pasta salad???  Of course I have a pasta salad.  Not only do I have a pasta salad, but it’s a pasta salad served up either cold or warm, it’s easy, tastes delicious, it’s healthy and you can make it with stuff already in your house.  Oh yeah, Shell my sweet, I have a pasta salad for you…

Serves: 4                        Prep Time: 5 minutes                        Cook time: 15 minutes

1 lb Rotini (corkscrew) pasta

1 bag frozen veggies (I like mixes of broccoli, carrots, & cauliflower)

2 c  Italian dressing (bottled is fine, I like Newman’s Own)

2 c rotisserie chicken, cubed (from your supermarket)

½ c  parmesan cheese

1 can marinated artichoke hearts, drained

Heat a large pot of water over high heat for pasta.  Take out your frozen veggies and let them thaw on the counter. Once the water is boiling add some salt to flavor the pasta and then pour in fusili and cook, according to package, to al dente.  4 minutes before you pasta is set to be done add in your veggies.

Drain well and pour into large pasta serving bowl.  Top with chicken and artichoke hearts.  Pour on dressing and toss to coat.  Top with parmesan cheese.  This is a complete meal in minutes and all in one bowl!  Everyone loves less dishes to clean.

Whenever I take this dish to potlucks or when I’m in charge of snack at school everyone always asks for this recipe.  I’m almost embarrassed to tell them how simple it is, but it’s so good!

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What’s the quickest and easiest way to get a picky eater to finish off a serving of veggies?  Toss them with some chicken and teriyaki sauce and serve up on a bed of rice of course!  Fast, affordable, healthy, and delicious!  You won’t have to resort to dessert bribery, not that I’ve ever ever considered anything like that, no really, not ever, to get your kids to clean their plates with this dish.

1 lb chicken tenders cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup sliced carrots

1 bell pepper chopped

1 T canola oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated on a microplane or minced

a couple of dashes chili oil

a couple of dashes sesame oil

1/2 T fish sauce (optional and available on your asian foods aisle)

2 T soy sauce

1/2 cup bottled teriyaki sauce

2 cups brown rice cooked according to package instructions (you could use white if you haven’t watched the Today show too many times and are now scared of anything with the word white in the title a la white bread, white rice, etc.)

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat.  When the oil is hot add garlic and ginger and stir well to flavor the oil.  Have your chicken on hand and ready to go so that as soon as the garlic begins to brown toss in your chicken.  Toss well and allow chicken to brown stirring often (hence the stir-fry).  When you chicken is browned well toss in all of your veggies.  Stir and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes, until they just begin to soften a bit.  

Season with chili oil, sesame oil, and fish sauce.  Cook for a minutes.  Add soy sauce and cook for another minute.  Pour in your teriyaki sauce and turn the heat down to medium-low.  Allow to simmer for a few minutes while you spoon your rice into a mound on the center of each plate.  Top with stir fry mixture and plenty of sauce.  It’s good and good for you!  How can you beat that combination?  Ok, who wants dessert?

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Oh yeah, I did it…I know what you’re thinking, first spaghetti tacos and now the wretched Ramen?  Has Ma lost it?  Think of the low nutritional value, think of the sodium content!  I know, I know.  You all know what a crazy week it was last week, GG’s in the hospital and I just wasn’t feeling like Supermom so I folded and gave the chillins some Top Ramen.  I tried, I added some good stuff like protein and veggies, and it’s not like I just tossed the stuff into the microwave and let them have at it on the couch in front of an episode of Sponge Bob.  You know everything said in jest is at least partly true right?  The television was paused in the other room when they came to the table and scarfed it down.  And it wasn’t Sponge Bob, it was Fanboy and Chum Chum…but come on, how do you beat a meal that costs less than $1.50 to make and takes less than 10 minutes to prepare???

Serves 4  Prep Time:  5 minutes  Cook Time: 5 minutes

1 package chicken flavored ramen noodles

1 head broccoli cut into florets

1 leftover pork chop cut into small chunks

In a small saucepan heat 2 cups of water over high heat.  When the water boils add the noodles and cook for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes turn the heat down and add the seasoning package, the broccoli and the pork.  Allow the broccoli and pork to warm through, about 4 minutes, and serve.  For the record, the hubs and the kids loved this!

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