Chicken Spinach Artichoke for One

1 chicken breast, baked
1/4 cup Spinach Artichoke Dip
1/2 cup boiling bag rice, cooked

Preheat oven to 400.  In an ovenproof dish sprayed with non-stick spray, place the rice, top with all but a tablespoon of the Spinach Artichoke Dip on the rice, top with the chicken, top that with the tablespoon of Spinach Artichoke Dip.  Place in the oven 5 minutes or until the dip is hot and lightly melting.

Comment:  This is so easy and so good.  You can actually use deli baked or fried chicken or bake your own.  The dip I buy is in the produce section.  It's creamy and full of chunks of artichoke and lots of spinach.  This is such a simple dish as well as delicious.

Chicken-Spinach-Artichoke Casserole

1 pkg. cream spinach (Green Giant)
1 can artichokes (drained and not seasoned)
1 cup cooked chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
1 boiling bag of rice (boiled)
1/2 cup cheese (shredded)
French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook spinach according to package (microwave).  When done, place in a large bowl.  Chop the drained artichokes and add to the spinach.  Add the chicken and cheese.  Spray a baking dish or pie pan with non-stick spray.  Evenly spread the rice on the bottom of the pan.  Top with the spinach/cheese mixture spreading it over the rice.  Bake 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with French fried onions.  Bake another 5 minutes.

Comments:  This is delicious and healthy!  Since spinach is the only green I'm allowed to eat (due to a health problem) I try to find creative, healthy and tasty ways to change it up.  Rotisserie chicken works great and cuts prep time too.  If you want, you can add another sprinkle of cheese before adding the onions. This helps them 'stick' to the dish.  I made this in a glass pie pan so it wouldn't be too thick nor too thin.  It worked perfectly.

Chicken Parmesan

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat

4 chicken breast cutlets (4 ounces each, about ½ inch thick), trimmed

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup chopped onions (I like red)

1 can cream of chicken soup with herbs
1 soup can of water

¾ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Season chicken with salt & pepper to taste.  Place panko in a shallow dish and dredge cutlets in it, pressing gently to fully coat.

Heat 1½ tablespoons oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat; add half the cutlets and cook until crispy, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1½ tablespoons oil and the remaining cutlets.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, garlic and onion to the pan; cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in soup and water, bring to a boil over medium-high.   Pour into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick.  Nestle the cutlets into the sauce in the pan. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese has melted.

Comments:  Due to a digestive problem I can no longer eat tomatoes but love Chicken Parmesan.  When I ran across a recipe for this delicious dish I decided to make it into one that I could actually eat without the tomatoes.  I did this by simply thinking with my taste buds, substituting the cream of chicken soup for the tomatoes.  And by using the soup with herbs it gave this dish a wonderful taste.  So, even if you still like your Chicken Parmesan with tomatoes, give this one a try too.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Easy Chicken & Dumplins

2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken 

3 – 4 frozen buttermilk biscuits

½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese

In 1 1/2- or 2-quart saucepan, heat broth and chicken to boiling. Cut each biscuit in half and cut each half into 4 pieces; add to boiling mixture. Reduce heat to medium; simmer uncovered 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until dumplings are cooked through and mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in Cheddar cheese until cheese melts. Serve immediately.

Comment:  During cooking some of the biscuits will dissolve during cooking which will make the soup nice and thick.  I used the frozen biscuits but I feel sure you could probably use canned too.  For my chicken I used butter garlic rotisserie from Walmart.  This dish is quick and sooooo easy to make.  And best of all, it’s delicious.  I made a double batch and ended up giving nice servings to 3 of my food testers who wanted more.

Tetrazzini Casserole

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 ½ cups milk

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cups cubed cooked chicken  or turkey

1 small can English peas, drained

8 ounces (1/2 of a 1-pound package) spaghetti, prepared according to package directions (about 4 cups)

1/3cup Panko

Set the oven to 400°F.  Melt half the butter.  Stir the melted butter and bread crumbs in a small bowl.

Heat the remaining butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in the soup, milk and Parmesan cheese. Add the chicken, peas and spaghetti and toss to coat. Pour the spaghetti into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick.  Evenly spread the chicken mixture over the spaghetti.  Sprinkle the Panko over the chicken mixture.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling.

Comments:  The original recipe called for mushrooms and cream of chicken soup.  When I went to my pantry I found I was out of mushrooms but did have a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I used it instead of the cream of chicken.  For my chicken I used a garlic and butter rotisserie chicken.  The original called for 2 Tbsp. of sherry which I didn’t have so I simply eliminated it from the dish.  I didn’t have frozen peas that the recipe called for but did have a small can which I think worked even better.  I also changed the original bread crumbs to Panko.  This dish is simply delicious.  It’s even better the next day after all of the flavors have blended.  And the garlic, butter rotisserie chicken was a great addition.  Simple, easy and great to make with leftovers.

Cheesy Chicken Potato Casserole

1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup with herbs

1 (8 oz) container of sour cream

1 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 (3 oz) package dehydrated hash brown potatoes
½ cup French fried onions with red bell peppers

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken

1 cup crushed croutons

1 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 3 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray and set aside.  Place the hash browns and French fried onions with peppers in a small bowl.  Add 1 cup of water to the potatoes.  In a large bowl combine the condensed soup and sour cream, whisk until smooth. Add in the cheese, hash brown potatoes and chicken. Stir until combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

Combine the crushed croutons with the melted butter and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Bake, uncovered, for 40 to 50 minutes or until heated through and center is bubbly.

Comments.  This is a delicious dish.  I had a container of the French fried onions with peppers which were perfect for this dish but you can use regular French fried onions if you want.  This is also something that can be made with left over turkey.  I've even thought about trying it using ground beef and cream of mushroom soup instead of the chicken.

Cheezy Chicken Pot Pie

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

1 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)

¾ cup milk 

1 small can Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers refrigerated biscuits

2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup carrots and peas (drained if using a can)

butter

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Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.

To large microwavable bowl, add cream cheese and shredded cheese. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds, until softened and cheese is starting to melt; add additional 30-second increments as needed. Beat in milk with whisk until mostly smooth; mixture may still be slightly lumpy.  Separate dough into biscuits; cut each into sixths. Gently stir into cream cheese mixture; stir in chicken, carrots and peas. Spoon into baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with small pieces of butter.  Bake until top is golden brown.

Comment:  This dish is simply delicious!  I found a recipe for a cheezy chicken casserole and made my usual changes.  I cut the cheese and biscuits in half, eliminated the onion and ham from the original recipe and added the carrots and peas.  You can use a can of peas and carrots or a cup of frozen peas and carrots.  I’m not saying 1 can of peas and 1 cup of carrots but the combined blend.  The flavors of the cream cheese mixed with the cheese gives this dish the special taste, as does the slight sweetness of the biscuits.  You can make changes by adding back the onions and ham or even some diced potatoes, which I think I would cook until almost done before adding.