Monday, January 13, 2014

Crispy Cheddar Chicken with angel hair pasta


Crispy Cheddar Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Sauce:
1 10 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoon butter


1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks. 
 
2. In a ziplock bag, smash up the ritz crackers. 
 
3. Pour the milk, cheese into 2 separate containers and leave cracker crumbs in ziplock bag.  Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
 
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese. Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Some of it will fall off when you add it to the cracker crumbs, thats ok. 
Drop the cheesy chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in. By the time you are coating the last piece of chicken, the bag you are using for the crumbs will be full of cheese. Its all good. Once the cheese melts in the oven it will adhere nicely to the crumbs and the crackers. 
 
5. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan. 
 
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken. 
 
 
 
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy. 
 
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.
 

 


We placed the chicken and sauce on a bed of buttered angel hair pasta. It was yummmmmy! The crackers can be replaced with corn flakes for the same kind of crunch. Also, the parsley can be traded out for dried Italian seasoning flakes.





Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year's Day Dinner - Reuben Toast


So traditionally, we are suppose to eat pork and sauerkraut... so on so forth on the 1st to start the new year out with luck and fortune. This year I thought I would try to use up our cocktail bread left over from the New Years party last night.  Tonights concoction was pretty yummy and a great small meal and was quick to put together!

Ingredients

  • 4 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (1/2 of 8-oz package, softened)
  • 1 tablespoon thousand island dressing (more if you like the taste)
  • 1/4 lb corned beef (sliced deli, chopped, about 1 cup)
  • 3/4 cup sauerkraut (well-drained
  • 4 oz of sour cream
  • 3 swiss cheese (Slices, chopped
  • 14 slices of cocktail bread

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients except bread in a medium saucepan and heat until melted together. 
  2. Spread cocktail bread out on cookie sheet
  3. Place a small spoonful of melted mixture onto each bread slice
  4. Place pan under broiler until top gets a bit golden brown (2-4minutes)
  5. Remove from oven & enjoy!!
 Alternate Preparation
  1. HEAT oven to 350ºF.
  2. MIX cream cheese and dressing in medium bowl; stir in all remaining ingredients except crackers or bread.
  3. SPREAD onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate or shallow dish.
  4. BAKE 20 min. or until heated through. Serve warm with crackers or bread.
Microwave Prep:
Instead of baking the prepared spread, microwave it instead. Assemble dip as directed in shallow microwaveable dish. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 3 min. or until heated through. Serve as directed.