Southwestern Chicken Casserole

1 cup uncooked wild rice blend
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 cup chicken stock
3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 can Rotel
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish with cooking spray.  Sprinkle rice over the bottom.  Top evenly with black beans.  Mix chicken stock, chili powder and cumin.  Slowly pour over beans.  Sprinkle with chicken and evenly pour Rotel over the chicken.  Cover with foil.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until rice is tender.  Sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for about 5 minutes allowing the cheese to melt.  Serves 6.  Top with sour cream (optional).

Martha:  As usual, I found the recipe and made a few changes to to make it a little easier.  The original called for long grain rice but I love a blend that I get at Harris Teeter which has barley, wild rice, long grain white rice and rye berries.  This is so good and gives a great texture to the rice.  I added the cumin, used Rotel and changed from a regular cheddar cheese to the Mexican blend.  I also added the sour cream when serving.  This dish was one that my testers requested I make often.

Chicken Bake

1 2/3 cups hot water
1 pkg Stove Top stuffing mix
1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken cooked
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup sour cream
6-8 slices Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Mix soup and sour cream.  Spread over chicken.  Add a layer of Mozzarella cheese slices over soup mix.  Mix hot water and stuffing mix.  Spread over cheese.   Bake 30-35 minutes or until bubbly in the center.  Serves 6

Martha:  The original recipe came from Kraft and I did make my usual changes.  I used packaged stuffing instead of the stove top.  I did this for 2 reasons.  I'm not crazy about the seasoning packet in the stove top and I also had 3 cups of the packaged stuffing in the pantry (I use Pepperidge Farm blue package).  The sour cream was increased to 1/2 cup and the Mozzarella cheese addition was not in the original recipe.  Out of the 5 food testers that were lucky enough to get this dish, they all raved about the different flavors that blended so well.  This is a good one to make quickly after a long day at work.

Chickens with Mushrooms and White Wine

4 chicken legs
6 fresh sage leaves (1/4 tsp. dried)
1 cup white wine
salt and pepper
1 pkd (about 8 oz.) mushrooms
1 Tbsp. crushed garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil

In a large frying pan over medium high heat saute garlic in oil.  Salt and pepper chicken and place in hot pan over garlic.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side or until both are golden brown.  Add sage, wine and chopped mushrooms.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Cover, turn the heat down to a simmer and continue to cook for about 40-45 minutes.

Comments:  The original recipe for this dish came from Petitchef.com.  It called for a 'drop' of white wine and I was never able to find anyone who knew what a 'drop' was so I decided to use a cup.  It called for 8.82 oz of fresh mushrooms and to chop them finely.  I used Portabella and cut them into chunks.  It also used 2 cloves of garlic but I always use minced, due to it's ease of using, plus I wanted a bit more of the garlic taste.  Their dish was served as-is.  Well, apparently I didn't let the wine evaporate enough or used more than a 'drop' and mine had about 1/2 of liquid that had such a wonderful taste that I didn't want it wasted.  I served mine over Basmati Rice which turned out to be a hit with my food tasters.  There is one change I will make when making this dish again.  I'll use chicken breasts instead of legs/thighs.  I personally like the white meat best and this creates a moist juicy meat so the breast will work nicely.

Cheddar Chicken Broccoli Soup

1 pkg. Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli Soup Mix (11.2 oz.)
8 cups chicken stock/water
2 chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. sage
1 cube granulated onion
1 cup shredded cheese
seasoned stuffing mix

Boil the chicken breasts until completely done.  Remove meat from bone.  Strain the broth and measure broth adding enough water to make 8 cups of stock/water.  In a large pot, bring to a boil.  Add onion cube and sage.  Whisk in soup mix and cook on low uncovered 10 minutes.  Add chicken and cheese.  Heat, stirring constantly until cheese melts.  Serve with seasoned stuffing mix. 

Comments:  This soup comes out a little thick but oh so good.  I decided to use the stuffing mix instead of crackers giving it just a little more of that heart warming sage taste.  This is a great recipe to have on hand using leftover turkey in place of the chicken.

For my review of Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli Soup Mix, visit my site The Good, The Bad, The Maybe.

Chicken Delicious

2 chicken breasts - cooked, cooled, cut up into bite size pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup celery, chopped (about 2 stalks)
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted
2 cups stuffing mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix chicken, soup, chestnuts, mayo, celery and cheese.  Spread into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Mix melted butter and stuffing.  Pour over chicken mix.  Bake 45-50 minutes.

This dish has a story.  Here is my co-author, Lillian Mort's portion of the story.

When our sister was ill, my sister, Lorretta, brought dinner to us (I was there helping to care for my sister and, when Lorretta brought dinner, she did the whole thing from salad, to entree, to home made rolls and to dessert!). This time, the entree was Chicken Delicious and it stood up to its name.  Later, after I came home, I added Water Chestnuts and, sometimes, thinly sliced green onions, to her recipe and have been making it ever since.  It's always a hit with shut-ins from church, too.  Sometimes, I make two smaller casseroles and freeze one before baking for a meal on another day.

Now for my part of the story.  When I went to FL for the release party of our cookbook Think With Your Taste Buds - Desserts, Lillian cooked this dish.  It's such a simple recipe that required very little preparation time, giving us more time to spend together just talking.  I really enjoyed the dish so I copied down the recipe and decided to make it myself.  But...I decided to add one more ingredient.  Lillian had added the water chestnuts giving it an extra texture so I added the cheese.

You can bet this recipe will be in our next book Think With Your Taste Buds - Meats.  In the meantime, make it our own recipe by adding your own ingredients.

Chicken Rolls

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (12 oz.)
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
6 flour tortillas (6")
1/2 can (2.8oz. size) French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix Monterey Jack, salt, ricotta cheese and egg. Lay out tortillas, spoon 1/3 cup of cheese mixture down the center of each tortilla. Top with chicken, roll up. Place filled tortillas, seam side down in an 8 x 11 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray. Spoon any remaining cheese mix over the top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with fried onions. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Serves 3-6

Change suggestions - add black olives, spinach, finely chopped broccoli, top with salsa, sour cream or use cooked jumbo shells instead of the tortillas.