Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

2 cups mixed veggies corn, carrots, peas and green beans

10 1/2 oz can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp minced onions

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

40-45 frozen tater tot crowns

Add the chicken, veggies, soup, milk, onion, thyme, and pepper to a 10” round pie dish. Stir until combined. Spread out evenly. Cover with tater tots. Bake at 425° for 25-30 minutes, until the tater tots are golden and the chicken pot pie filling is hot and bubbling.

Comments:  I saw a version of this while visiting my friend at the nursing home and she expressed how much she wished she could make it because it looks so good.  Well, that was all it took for me to find a recipe so I could make and take it to her the next Sunday.  The recipe above is from The Gunny Sack.  It looked easy and sounded delicious.  The only changes I made was to the veggies.  She has problems with corn so I bought a small can of peas and carrots and used them (drained).  My friend loved it and ask if I would make it for again in the near future.  I shared with one of my food testers and she couldn’t get over how something so simple could be so tasty.  This is a keeper.

Chicken & Rice Stuffed Peppers

1/2 onion, chopped
3/4 cup cooked wild rice & brown rice blend
1/2 cooked chicken breast, shredded
1/2 cup spinach
2 Tbsp. cheese
salt & pepper to taste
1 bell pepper, cut in half & cleaned

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a non-stick frying pan cook onions for about 5 minutes. add rice, chicken and spinach.  cook for about a minute blending well.  Spoon into bell pepper halves.  Cook 25 minutes.  Sprinkle each half with 1 Tbsp. cheese.  Return to oven until cheese has melted.  Serves 1 - 2

Comments:  This is simply delicious!  And so simple to make!  Plus it's healthy!  I also baked mine in the toaster oven which worked perfectly.   I've tried to come up with additions or changes and so far haven't come up with anything.  It's great as it is.  If you have suggestions, please add in the comments.

Chicken Dijonnise #3

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions
1/3 cup whipping cream
3 Tbsp. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

Place each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, lightly pound chicken to 1/4- to 1/8-inch thickness. Discard plastic wrap. In a shallow dish combine flour and pepper. Coat chicken pieces with flour mixture.  In a 12-inch skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken to skillet. Cook about 6 minutes or until no pink remains in the chicken, turning once. Transfer chicken to a platter, reserving drippings in skillet. Cover to keep warm. 

For sauce, add green onion to the drippings in the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in whipping cream, white wine, and mustard. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Martha:  OH MY GOODNESS!  This is delicious!  I was surfing the internet looking for healthy dishes and ran across this one on a diabetic site.  Wasn't sure I would really like it and almost wished I wouldn't so as not to be tempted to eat more than I was supposed to.  Well, I had to give the rest it away to my food testers to keep myself out of it.  I didn't change a thing in their recipe either.  But... I want to try this with pork chops.  I know that is going to be just as good.  Yes, the food testers loved it just as much as I did.  I did serve it over wild rice blend which completed the meal for me.

Chicken Broccoli Rollups

1 stalk fresh broccoli
6 slices deli ham (1/8" thick, approx.)
6 slices cheese
6 strips leftover cooked chicken (1/2 x 1/2 x 4 long approx.)
horseradish sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut broccoli florets off the stalk.  Boil in water for about 5 minutes.  You want them about half way done.  Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.  Roll 2-3 broccoli florets and 1 piece of chicken in the cheese, then roll everything in the ham.  Place seam side down in baking dish.  After all six slices have been rolled, bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese has melted and the dish is hot.  Top with just a slight coating of horseradish sauce.  Serves 2 - 3

Martha:  I found the basic recipe for this in a 1974 cookbook.  The original called for broccoli, ham and Swiss cheese.  I made mine 4 different ways.  2 had Swiss cheese, 2 had cheddar cheese, 1 had Swiss cheese with chicken and 1 had cheddar cheese with chicken.  The original didn't call for the horseradish sauce but I thought it would be a great addition and believe me it was!  This is an easy, quick dish to make.  It's something you can whip up in no time and have not only a tasty dish but a healthy one too.  Now for changes - try covering the dish with Alfredo sauce when baking.

Parmesan Swiss Chicken

Oil for frying – about 1/2 – 3/4 cup

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts – about 4-5 oz each

3/4 cup Seasoned Parmesan cheese, the jar type

1/4 tsp garlic 

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices bacon- cooked, crumbled
1 egg beaten

1 tablespoon water
Broccoli

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small shallow bowl, mix egg and water.  In another shallow bowl, mix cheese, pepper, salt and garlic.  Heat oil over medium high heat using a frying pan suitable for oven use.  Dip each piece of chicken first in egg mixture then in cheese mixture.  Fry in hot oil until crust is golden brown.  Prepare a baking pan by covering with foil and placing wire rack on top.  Place chicken on rack and bake about 20 minutes or until juices run clear.  Strain the grease from the frying pan leaving browned Parmesan that came from cooking chicken.  Add broccoli and toss to coat. Cook in oven until broccoli is done but still has a slight crunch.   Remove chicken and broccoli from oven.  Place chicken in an 8 x 8 x 2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle Broccoli around chicken.  Place 1 piece of cheese on each piece of chicken.  Top each with 1/4 of the bacon.  Return to oven and allow cheese to melt, about 5 minutes.  Serves 4.

Martha:  I think I found the original recipe on Fridgg.  Wherever it was it caught my eye and I decided to give it a try.  I did my usual and made a couple of changes.  First, the Parmesan was plain, I used seasoned.  It called for Asiago cheese which I changed to Swiss.  And the broccoli was my idea completely.  When I saw the bits of cheese that had come off while frying my chicken I just couldn't let it go to waste.  I knew I liked cheese on my broccoli so it became the perfect blend.  I also did my final cooking a little different from the original recipe.  I put my chicken into another dish (in my case individual dishes but give you instructions for using the 8 x 8). The original called for broiling the cheese on the chicken while still on the rack, I didn't broil but just let it stay in the oven for the last 5 minutes.  This dish came out with so much flavor.  If you like chicken and Swiss, you must give this one a try.  It's a pretty dish too!

Comment from Food Tester Carol:  First of all, this is a very attractice dish.  Chicken crusted in herbed parmesan crumbs with Swiss cheese melted on top reminds me a little of a schnitzel, which I love.  The broccoli is also dredged in these tasty crumb mix before roasting.  Altogether delicious!

Chicken with Squash Dressing

4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup Picsweet Seasoned Onions & Peppers
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 pkg. (6 oz.) Cornbread Stuffing Mix
3-4 med. yellow squash
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Cheddar Cheese Soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken in a 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and seasoned onions and peppers.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until chicken is done.  Peel and slice squash.  Place in a saucepan and add enough water to cover.  Boil until done.  Drain squash.  Remove cooked chicken from baking dish.  In a large bowl combine squash,  stuffing mix and cheddar cheese soup.  Pour liquid and cooked onions and peppers form baking dish into squash mixture and stir to blend.  Spread squash/dressing mix evenly in the chicken baking dish.  Top with chicken and return to oven.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until squash/dressing mixture is hot.

Martha:  A neighbor brought me some fresh squash and to be honest I only eat squash one way and that is mixed with stuffing and cheese.  I had found a recipe for an Italian chicken dish which was supposed to have spaghetti sauce poured over the chicken, onions and peppers.  I eliminated the sauce and decided to create a Chicken with Squash Dressing dish instead.  This is a simple dish to make and the chicken goes perfectly with the squash dressing.  I loved it and all I had to do was add a salad and I have an easy, delicious meal.

Food Tester Carol:  Squash casseroles are such a great mainstay of our menus.  We loved this blend of squash, chicken and cheddar flavors with the herbed bread stuffing.  The stuffing makes it taste like Thanksgiving or like a Sunday dinner all in one dish.  You said it was easy and we are going to make this one soon.

Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes

(Make this mixture twice)

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
4-5 med. potatoes, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In 1 large bowl mix oil, paprika, rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a large bowl.  Add chicken.  Toss to coat well and set aside.  In another large bowl mix 2nd batch of oil, paprika, rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Add potatoes and toss.  Arrange potatoes in single layer on a foil lined 9 x 13 x 2 baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake 15 minutes.  Place chicken in another baking dish and place in the oven.  Bake 25-30 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and chicken is done.  Turn occasionally through cooking.

Martha:  I found this recipe in a McCormick handout.  I ended up making just a couple changes.  The original used bone-in chicken thighs and red potatoes.  I used chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces.  I also used regular baking potatoes instead of the red.  The original had the chicken and potatoes tossed in the same bowl as well as cooked in the same bowl.  I separated them not only in tossing with the mixture but also in cooking.  Doing this required me to make up 2 mixtures and it was worth it.  I did combine the 2 when serving.  The potatoes came out with such a wonderful taste, as did the chicken.  I served this with slaw and farro.

Food Tester Carol:  Succulent chicken and crispy roasted potato wedges, both rubbed in an enticing combination of spices that bring zest to the palate - that's what this dish is.  Can't wait to see what these spices are.  Farro is a nice mild partner and the coleslaw was a fresh and lightly acidic taste just the way my family likes it.