Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta Bake!

This "Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta Bake" is a recipe you will probably want to put in your rotation of favorites.  It's easy and the flavors are delicious.  I like lemon in anything and even though you might not think of it in a pasta dish, it's fairly subtle in this!   The other great thing about this recipe is that you usually have the ingredients on hand.  This will feed quite a few people also!

Here is what you will need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning (divided)

1 tsp. Greek seasoning, divided

1 lb. bow tie pasta, cooked according to the package directions for al dente (could use penne, rotinni, or ziti)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, divided

2 (10 ounce) cans of cream of chicken soup

1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tsp. lemon zest

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 sleeve of buttery crackers, crushed  (I used Ritz)

Preheat over to 375 degrees.  

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with half of the lemon pepper seasoning and half of the Greek seasoning. Place on a baking sheet.  Bake in the oven until done, about 40-45 minutes depending on the size. 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, shy of about a minute or two, since you will be baking this also.  Drain and return to the warm pot, but off of the heat.  Add 1/2 of the butter or 4 Tablespoons.  Let the butter melt most of the way.   Add the cream of chicken soups, evaporated milk, sour cream, 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 tsp. black pepper, the other half of the Greek seasoning and the rest of the lemon pepper seasoning.   Toss to mix all and get all of the pasta coated.
    

Dice the chicken in small bites and add to the pasta and toss.  Pour into a 2  1/2 to 3 quart casserole dish.   Sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan cheese over the top.  Sprinkle with the cup of shredded cheddar cheese then sprinkle the crushed crackers over all.  Dot with pats of the rest of the butter. Place in the oven at 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes or until its bubbly and just browning.

See the bubbly around the edges and how it's just starting to brown and get yummy!

Serve this with a green vegetable or a nice salad and dinner is served!

Chicken and Herb Stuffing Bake!

Sometimes I get a craving for Thanksgiving dinner, when it is not Thanksgiving or even near Thanksgiving.  I do bake turkey and make dressing year round, but sometimes I just want the flavors in a much easier form.  This little casserole fits the bill.

  It is easy as can be and bakes in just an hour. The chicken  is fork tender and it even makes it's own gravy you can put on some fluffy mashed potatoes.  

 Here is what you will need:

9 boneless, skinless chicken breast tender fillets or 3 large chicken breasts, cut in 3 pieces each

1 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1 (10.25 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10.25 oz.) can cream of celery soup

1 cup sour cream

1 cup half and half cream or whole milk

1 (6 oz.) box of Stove Top Stuffing mix for chicken or turkey

4 Tbs. of butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken in a 9"x13" baking dish sprayed with nonstick spray.  Sprinkle the chicken with the seasoned salt, black pepper and poultry seasoning.

In a bowl mix the soups, sour cream and milk.  Spread evenly over the chicken.

Sprinkle the stuffing and herb mixture evenly over the soup mixture. Dot the top with pats of butter.  Cover tightly with foil and place in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.  Uncover and just brown the top for about 5 minutes.

This forms a nice gravy that is so good over mashed potatoes!  The chicken is so flavorful and tender!

Add some green beans and dinner is served!  It's so yummy and couldn't be any easier!

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole!

This is one of my favorite chicken casseroles.  When my son was growing up he loved rice (still does), but he didn't like any casseroles made with pasta, his father on the other hand wouldn't eat a casserole made with rice.  Do you see the dilemma I was in here?  It made cooking a real challenge.  This casserole is one that my son and I love though and it made enough for the two of us to have leftovers for a while from.  It's also a really good dish to take to a potluck or family dinner, because it travels well and can be made a day or even two ahead and then baked right before your event.   Here is what you will need:

3 bone in chicken breasts with skin

1 stalk celery

1 half onion

1 Tbs chicken bouillon granules or 2 chicken bouillon cubes

reserved chicken broth

1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Blend (6 oz. size)

1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup half and half

1 cup sliced or slivered almonds

1 tsp. curry powder

seasoned salt

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

salt

black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 sleeve Ritz or Townhouse crackers, crushed

1/2 stick of butter

Place the chicken breasts in a dutch oven and cover with water.  Add the stalk of celery, onion, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and the bullion cubes or granules.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender.  You can use 4 boneless chicken breasts instead, but add 2 Tbs. of butter in addition to the other ingredients if you do. You need a good broth and boneless breasts have very little fat in them.  Once the chicken is done, remove it to a plate to cool enough to debone and chop in bite size pieces.  Reserve the broth.

Prepare the wild rice mix according to the directions on the box, except instead of water use the chicken broth to cook the rice in.  When the rice is done add the soup, additional broth, half and half, the can of soup, sour cream, curry powder, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. of seasoned salt, and Worstershire sauce. Mix all of this together until it's well blended.

Add the almonds and chopped chicken and mix those in well.  Spread the mixture in a 3 quart casserole dish that has been sprayed well with nonstick spray.

Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over top of the rice mixture,  then sread the crushed cracker crumbs over the cheese.  Cut the butter in pats and lay them evenly over the cracker crumb  layer.  Place the casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.  The crackers should just be getting nice and brown.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole!

Rotel Chicken Pasta Bake!

This is one of our new favorite casseroles.  Even my husband who is not always crazy about a casserole, loved it! The basic recipe is one that has been around for a while, but I took it and jazzed it up a bit. I think the tweaks to it worked very well and it's one of the easiest pasta bakes I have ever made.  It's also very budget friendly and the leftovers are even better the next day.  That's a winner in my book.   Here is what you will need:

Ingredients:
3/4 of a 16 oz. box of pasta ( I used rotinni, but penne, bow tie or elbow would work fine also)
4 - 5 boneless chicken breasts depending on size, about 4 cups chopped chicken
1 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel tomatoes (I used regular, but if you don't like spicy, use the mild ones)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup diced green or red bell pepper
1 pkg taco seasoning ( I used Old El Paso, but any would work)
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Tabasco sauce (optional)

Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil or vegetable oil.  Sprinkle with a little salt, black pepper and the taco seasoning (reserve 2 tsp. of taco seasoning for the pasta).  Place in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes or until done but not dry.  Let it cool while you prepare the rest of the casserole, the chop in bite size pieces.

Saute onion and green or red pepper in the half stick of butter.

Cook the pasta as directed on the package just until al dente, just under cook it by about a minute.  Drain it thoroughly in a colander and then add it back to the warm pot. Add the soup, cubed Velveeta, Rotel tomatoes, sour cream, milk, onions and peppers, black pepper, seasoned salt, and the rest of the taco seasoning.  Let it sit for a few minutes so the warm pasta sort of melts the Velveeta.  It doesn't have to be completely melted because it will melt more as it bakes.  The consistency is actually better if it isn't totally melted when it goes in the oven. Gently fold all of this together, careful not to mash up your pasta. If it doesn't seem moist enough add another 1/2 cup of milk. 

Add the chopped chicken and fold that in. 

Pour this mixture in a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Sprinkle the top with shredded cheddar cheese.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 -45 minutes.  When it has been in the oven for 30 minutes, sprinkle the top with the crushed tortilla chips. Return to oven for the last 10 - 15 minutes.  It should be hot and bubbly when you take it out and the tortilla chips will just be starting to brown

Serve with a salad and bread and dinner is served!

Poppy Seed Chicken...Comfort Food at it's Best!

 

Poppy seed chicken is one of those 'best dishes' I said I was going to cover in the first post of this blog.  It has definitely always been one of my son's and all of his friend's favorites through the years.  My son had one friend who was sort of a picky eater and he stayed for dinner one night when I made this and he told my son "That's the best thing I ever ate".  After that night he kept showing up every night for dinner like clockwork which was fine because I always cook too much.  I finally asked my son, after about two weeks of him doing this, why he was suddenly eating with us every day.  He said, he thinks you are going to make poppy seed chicken again and he doesn't want to miss it...lol.  It is just one of those dishes that makes you happy when you eat it.  It's also not hard to make and you usually have all of the ingredients on hand for it. I am not sure where I got the recipe to begin with and I have modified it a little (of course).   One warning, make plenty because you probably won't have leftovers.

Here is what you will need:

Chicken breasts (I used frozen ones I got at GFS), sour cream, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, butter, cheddar cheese, poppy seeds, Ritz crackers. 

The recipes calls for boiling the chicken, but I roast mine in the oven for better flavor.  I cooked 5 of these frozen chicken breasts (they are fairly large ones).  I sprinkled them with Lawry's poultry and chicken rub, pepper and dotted them with butter.  Cook until they are done but not too dry, let them cool and then chop them in small pieces.

Mix chicken, sour cream and 2 cans of soup until combined. Add 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp seasoned salt.  Pour this into a 9"x13" baking dish or a deeper 2 quart casserole dish sprayed well with nonstick baking spray.

Place 2 sleeves of Ritz crackers in a zip lock bag, seal it well and crush them with a rolling pin or you can just use the bottom of a heavy mug.  Melt the rest of the stick of butter you had left after dotting the chicken with it (about 3/4 of a stick) and when it is cool enough put into the bag with the crumbs.  Don't pour the butter into the bag when it's real hot, because it will melt your zip lock bag.  Add 1 Tbs. of poppy seeds and mix it around well. 

Cover the top of your chicken mixture with 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, then cover with your Ritz cracker, poppy seed mixture.   This is where I modified the recipe.  Most of the recipes I have ever seen do not call for the cheese layer and I think it makes a world of difference in the taste of the dish. 

Place it in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until it is bubbly around the edges.  This can be served over mashed potatoes, rice or hot buttered egg noodles, but I usually just serve it with a vegetable, salad and bread and it makes a complete meal.  If you have a lot of people to feed, serving it over a carb of some sort will stretch the servings.

It's yummy!  We had it last night and there was not a bite leftover!

Ingredients:

5 cups chicken breast chopped

2 cans cream of chicken soup

16 oz. sour cream

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 stick butter

2 sleeves Ritz crackers

1 Tbs. poppy seeds

Lawry's poultry and chicken rub

black pepper

seasoned salt