Cheesy Chicken and Summer Squash Casserole

So recently I've been more addicted to Facebook, but not for the reasons you may think. There have been gobs of recipes floating around and being shared. Some sound ooey gooey good but also incredibly unhealthy (mostly the dessert ones). I decided that over the next two weeks I would spend my grocery budget on trying out five of the recipes I found. The first two I made last night and were successes, even with the few alternations I made.

The first recipe I attempted was Cheesy Chicken. It became more complicated for me than it needed to be. There are short cuts that could have been taken but I opted for the healthier option so it made more work for me. 

Recipe calls for:

1 pound of chicken tenders or 1 pound chicken breast with each breast cut into two or three strips

3 cups of GRATED cheddar cheese

2 packs of Ritz crackers, finely crushed

1/2 cup whole milk (I used 2% Lactaid)

salt

pepper

ground mustard

ground thyme

red pepper flakes

olive oil or oil spray to keep it from sticking in pan

I started by greasing a 9x13 glass baking dish with the olive oil. I had chicken breast so I cut the breasts into two or three strips depending on how thick and wide it was.

Next I took out three Rubbermaid dishes to put my milk, crackers, and cheese in. Here's where things could have been easier and less time consuming. Had I just used bread crumbs and grated cheese I would have been golden, but no, I bought a lower fat shredded cheddar cheese and the Ritz crackers that now had to be grated and crushed. Well, I have a handy dandy little food processor and in the process of grating and crushing I burned out the motor. At least now my cheese was grated and the Ritz crackers were crushed. However I'm out a food processor that I use often to make my own healthier bread crumbs for other recipes.

The recipe only called for salt and pepper but I added ground thyme, ground mustard, and red pepper flakes to the salt and pepper and added all seasonings to the crackers and stirred it up.

So each piece of chicken gets doused in the milk, pressed into the cheese, and then pressed into the crumbs. Then placed in the baking dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Uncover the dish and then bake for another 10 minutes to crisp up and brown the chicken.

How did I make it healthier? Well I used reduced fat cheese, 2% milk, and wheat Ritz crackers. Could have been better with a multi grain cracker too and quite honestly, the crackers could have been left out. They just made it a crispier chicken. The sauce that was suggested in the original recipe I saw was a mixture of a can of cream of chicken soup, two Tablespoons of sour cream, and two Tablespoons of butter. I made this sauce, but it wasn't necessary. The chicken was moist and had great flavor on its own.

Next was my side dish and could be considered a summer squash casserole with tomato and potato. 

First I sauteed one small diced onion and two diced cloves of garlic, in olive oil.

I put the sauteed onions and garlic in the bottom of a glass 8x8 baking dish.

 

Then I proceeded to thinly slice one medium zucchini, one medium yellow squash, one baking potato, and two large tomatoes.

I stood the vegetables up in order and layered it in the baking dish. I would advise putting the tomato next to the potato to help soften it while roasting. I sprinkled the top of the dish with a little salt, pepper, and ground thyme. Then I covered the dish with foil and baked for 30 minutes at 400 degrees with the chicken.

 

After the vegetables roasted for the half hour uncover them and sprinkle with one cup of shredded Italian cheese. I didn't overload the cheese and I used a reduced fat cheese which may have been detrimental to the dish as it didn't add the extra grease to finish softening up the vegetables. They were soft and could be cut with a fork, but the added fat from a full fat cheese would have made them better and probably have added a little more flavor.

The dinner was actually pretty awesome and my five year old devoured it, even with the onions and garlic in the vegetable dish.

What will I do different next time? Add full fat cheese to the veggies and buy an already grated cheese for the chicken. I may skip the cracker crumbs too.

If you choose to make this for dinner, please feel free to offer feedback. 

Pillsbury night

So recently there have been numerous recipes being passed around Facebook and I keep coming across recipes that involve Pillsbury products, namely their crescent rolls and biscuits. A girlfriend and I got together one night to test them out and see if they really were as delicious as the pictures made them out to be.

The first recipe I attempted was a monkey bread. I took two rolls of Grands biscuits with flaky layers and cut each biscuit into quarters. I greased a tube pan since the end result will be a sticky mess. I took each of the biscuit pieces and coated them in a bag that held a mixture of granulated sugar and cinnamon. Then each piece was evenly placed in pan.

                                                

The next step was to take 3/4 cup of butter and mix it with one cup of packed brown sugar. Once the two are mixed together evenly, it gets drizzled over the top of the coated biscuit pieces in the tube pan.

Bake this concoction in the even at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes and then let it rest for about ten minutes. Turn upside down a plate and release from pan to serve. It's gooey and delicious. 

The second recipe I attempted is a taco ring and used two packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls. This is hard to describe how to do, but my picture probably shows it best. Pull the dough triangles apart and place them end to end in a circle so the long point is pointing to the outside (looks like a sun). Then brown a pound and a half of 90/10 ground beef (the less fat the better). Once it is browned add a package of taco seasoning and 3/4 cup of water to the ground beef and cook down til meat is thoroughly seasoned. 

Take the ground beef and place it on the crescent circle so that it is on the fat part of dough that is completely covered. Then take a mixture of shredded cheese (preferably a taco cheese or Mexican mix) and sprinkle it over the top of the ground beef. Then fold the points of the crescent rolls back over towards the inside of the circle .

Bake at 375 degrees for the length of time on crescent package. I forget, but I'm thinking it is right around 18 minutes. And of course you could add re-fried beans, olives, tomatoes, etc to the inside, but keep in mind that the more you stuff the ring, the fatter it will be and more difficult to "seal" the circle. Best way to serve it when it comes out of the oven is to put your lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream in the middle of the ring.

I apologize. We were very eager to eat our ring when it came out and I forgot to get a final picture of the ring itself, but did manage to get a picture of the lowly piece of ring that was left for the next day. This was probably my favorite savory Pillsbury creation of the night.

The next recipe I tried was more for my daughter since she isn't a fan of taco meat. However she does like pizza. So at the suggestion of my girlfriend we decided to make a pull apart pizza ring. I used the same tube pan as the monkey bread, but oiled it well with olive oil. I then made a mixture of olive oil, dried basil, dried oregano, garlic salt, and black pepper. I took three packages of Pillsbury Homestyle biscuits and again cut each biscuit into quarters. I dipped each piece of the biscuit in the olive oil and spice mixture. I put a first layer down in the pan and then put down a layer of pizza cheese (Italian mix including mozzarella) and a layer of pepperoni. Then another layer of biscuits and another layer of cheese and pepperoni, etc, until it was all gone. I ended with a layer of biscuits. This concoction then baked in the oven at 350 degrees for close to a half hour. When it came out I served it with some pizza sauce to dip it in. Honestly I was not impressed. It was too dry for my taste. I think it could have been made better by adding a layer of sauce with each layer of cheese and pepperoni. Greasing the pan was smart as I can see how horrible it would have been to get out of the pan otherwise. My daughter is a pepperoni junkie so this was probably her favorite Pillsbury creation to help with. She liked dipping the dough in oil and layering the pepperoni. 

The final recipe that was attempted was hands down the yummiest in my book for the sweet recipes. I took one can of Pillsbury crescent rolls and unrolled them. In the fat "square" end of the roll I placed two squares of Hershey's milk chocolate. I then placed one marshmallow on top and rolled up the crescent. These were baked in the oven at 350 degrees for 14 minutes. Once they cooled slightly they were phenomenal to eat. However, they were super gooey and messy. Be prepared. 

So that was the end of Pillsbury night. I have since made the chocolate and marshmallow crescent rolls but none of the other three recipes. I may be inclined to make the taco ring again down the road. 

Inspiration from a drink

Blueberry Limeade

So I have never been one to make smoothies or other fruity drinks. I think I have made maybe three milkshakes in my life that weren't part of a part time job I had. I hate having to clean the blender so I avoid it. When really it is probably the most underrated and undervalued tool/appliance that someone can own. From juice to smoothies, to salad dressings, to creating bread crumbs. There are so many uses for a blender.

I caught wind of a recipe for a blueberry smoothie but decided to alter it to suit mine and my daughter's tastes a little more. I have some issues with lactose so I chose to make this strictly as a fruit juice. My daughter doesnt seem to be a fan of lemonades or limeades to I altered that element also. The original recipe called for a mix of limeade and blueberries. I simply added more blueberries, less lime juice, less sugar, and added some ice to make it a little more frothy and smoothie like. Blueberries have a natural sweetness to them so if you cut back on the citrus and acidity of the lime, you can sacrifice some sugar and have a little bit of a healthier drink. And next to acai and pomegranate, blueberries are about the best you can get for an immune system and brain booster. And lime, along with lemon (which would taste just as good) has great cleansing power and is said to keep illness away and help to boost the immune system also.

Here is the breakdown of my recipe:

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
3/4 cup limeade
3/4 cup granulated sugar (could be done with less...this is just what I ended up measuring out)
ice
6 cups of water

 

Success!! She insisted on the wine glasses to be "fancy" but gobbled up the drink despite the lime juice. I think that maybe this is a sign that I can start using the blender more and being a little more experiment. Especially as the summer continues and strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and wine berries all ripen.