Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Ingredients:
2T olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes
Chicken breasts - as many as you need
1 jar pasta sauce of your choice
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella cheese
1 package of croutons

Cooking Info:
No exact measurements required for this recipe!

In a casserole dish, drizzle some olive oil in the bottom. Spread the minced garlic & red pepper flakes over oil.

Layer chicken breasts over oil.

Top with the jar of pasta sauce.

Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of sauce.

Sprinkle half of your parmesan over the sauce and top with half of your shredded mozzarella.

Cover with croutons. Make sure all croutons are laying in some sauce. (Sorry, forgot to get any more pics.)

Bake 350 for 30 minutes or so, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. In the last 5-10 minutes, sprinkle remaining cheese on top of croutons and allow to melt.

 Serve With: Spaghetti and a green salad

Cream Cheese Chicken

Ingredients: 

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used about 1 lb of thin cutlets)
4 ounces softened cream cheese (I had extra left over)

1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

1 tablespoon of onion, minced

2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup flour

1/2 teapoon garlic salt (I used 1/2 tsp of minced garlic)

1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup corn flake crumbs (I used just under 1 cup before crushing)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Place chicken breasts between sheets of wax paper. Use a rolling pin, flatten to around 1/4 inch thick (or just be lazy and buy thin cutlets like I did.  Worked great)

In a bowl, beat cream cheese, parsley, onion, garlic salt and pepper and lemon juice until blended. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture on each piece of chicken (You would have enough for probably 5 to 6 rolls - I only had 4 and had leftover). Roll chicken. 

Coat rolls with flour, dip in egg mixture, then roll in corn flakes. Drizzle some olive oil in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat. Make sure to brown on all sides. I did this, but questioned if it was necessary.  I think it probably gives the final result a better crunch than if you skipped it.

After browning:

Place chicken rolls in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear.  I baked for 30 minutes, but think I'll cut that back by 5 minutes next time.  I think you would only need 30 minutes if you didn't pre-brown it.

Final result...delicious!  Calorie count with the 1/3 fat cream cheese (taking into account leftovers) was 210 calories for each roll (I had 4 rolls).  Kids loved it.  I served it with cheese tortellini, but I would probably make with sweet potato fries next time.

Garlic & Brown Sugar Chicken

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tbl Dried minced onion (or fresh if you prefer)
4 Tbl Brown Sugar
1 Tbl Olive Oil
About 1 Tbl. Soy Sauce (I just estimated)
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, onion powder to taste

 Cooking Info:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (yes, 500!)

Line a casserole dish with tinfoil to aid in clean up.  Arrange chicken breasts in pan, than add salt, pepper, and onion powder on top of them.

Add oil, soy sauce, worcestershire, garlic, and onion into a pan.  Saute until garlic is tender.

Remove from heat and stir in the brown sugar until dissolved.

Pour over prepared chicken.

Cook at 500 degrees until done.  This will take 15 to 30 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts (mine were thick and took 30 minutes).  Let stand 5 minutes for the chicken to reabsorb some of the liquid.

 Serve With: Rice, mashed potatoes, or Parmesan Orzo and a vegetable.

Beef Barley Soup

This soup/stew is hit or miss at our house...I love it, Owen usually eats it pretty well, and the other two won't touch it with a 10-foot pole.  But it's easy and quick.  So I make it 1-2 times each fall/winter.

Ingredients:
2-3 pounds stew beef
32 oz beef broth OR 1 packet Lipton Beefy Onion soup mix dissolved in 4 c. water
4 medium-large carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
3/4 c. medium pearl barley
1/4 onion, chopped (I skip this if I use the Lipton soup)
1 c. water (in addition to liquid above)
thyme
rosemary
fresh parsley (I just use a bit of dried)
salt & pepper to taste

Process:
Brown stew beef and onions (if using them).  Dissolve soup mix in 4 cups water (if using).  Add all ingredients to crock pot.  Cook on low for 9-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

You can also cook it on the stove - brown the beef in a stock pot, drain, add in spices, barley, liquids and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer slowly 1 hour.  Add in carrots and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes.  Add in parsley just before serving.

Easy Broiled Chicken Drumsticks

I found this on myrecipes.com and the kids will love this (I can post a review after today!)

Ingredients: 

6-8 chicken drumsticks
1/4-1/2 cup of BBQ sauce
Salt and pepper

1. Cooking Info:

1. Position oven rack about 8 inches from heat source. Preheat broiler; line a broiling pan with foil. Pat drumsticks dry and trim off fat. Arrange in a single layer on prepared pan.
2. Pour about half the BBQ sauce into a small bowl.  Season drumsticks with salt and pepper. Brush each lightly with sauce.
3. Broil, turning often and brushing with reserved sauce, until chicken is browned and crisp and has no traces of pink juices when pierced, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve drumsticks with extra sauce.
4. Original recipe called for a melted butter/lemon sauce that looked yummy, but my kids prefer BBQ chicken.
5. 
   

6. 1. Serve With:

   Rice, veggies, salad...we love the parmesan orzo that Holly posted.

Veggie Rice

We've had this as a side dish quite a bit lately, and it's super easy to halve/double as needed. I prefer this to a flavored, packaged rice.

For the four of us, I make 2 cups of Minute rice according to pkg directions. I throw a couple of teaspoons of chicken bouillon in for flavor.

Chop veggies to bite sized - I use whatever is in season or throw in what I have left from the week - great way to use the rest of the tomatoes, leftover broccoli, etc. My favorite is a small zucchini, a small summer squash, and a red pepper. But you can use anything.

Sauté veggies in a little olive oil. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic, or whatever spices go with your main dish When the rice is ready, dump it into the frying pan and mix with the veggies.

This makes enough for six side dish sized servings.

Chicken Explosion!