Chicken Pot Pie

Sauce:
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup flour
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 c. whole milk, half & half, or cream

Melt butter, add flour, and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Slowly add broth, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add milk and season to taste with salt, pepper and parsley.

Pie:
1 1/2# chicken, cooked and cubed
2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion
2 small celery stalks, sliced 1/4" thick
12 oz. package of frozen peas and carrots
2 pie crusts (top and bottom layer)

Melt butter and saute onion and celery. Add sauce and peas and carrots. Cool.

Line a pie pan with bottom crust, add filling, and top crust. Seal edges with water and crimp closed.

Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Brush top with 1 yolk mixed with 1/8 tsp. water.

Watch the edges of the pie!

Hawaiian Haystacks

Here's a classic dish, but the sauce is a bit richer than usual. I call it the "fancy" style! A definite favorite in our house.

4 c. cooked, diced chicken
2 c. cream of chicken soup
1 soup can full of milk
16 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp. celery salt
1 Tbsp. onion powder

Heat mixture through on medium low heat. Serve over white rice.

Top as desired:
Cheddar Cheese
Celery
Pineapple
Tomatoes
Sliced almonds
Chinese noodles
Coconut
Green onions
Black olives
Green bell pepper

Chicken Noodle Casserole

This is one that has been requested to post. It's a good one!

Note: the recipe calls for egg noodles. You can certainly purchase them, I like to make my own - which are simple but take a little more time (maybe 15-20 minutes). I use the recipe for egg noodles out of the Betty Crocker cookbook, and mix it on the Kitchenaid.

Topping:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh Parsley

Filling:
Salt
12 oz. egg noodles
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1 lb. white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
Pepper
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups sour cream
4 cups cubed chicken
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. nutmeg

For the topping: Mix melted butter, bread crumbs, Parmesan, and parsley together in a bowl.

For the filling: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 Tbsp. salt and noodles, and cook until nearly tender. Drain and set aside in colander.

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat in your now-empty, large pot. Add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper, and cook until mushrooms begin to brown, about 7 minutes.

Stir in remaining 4 Tbsp. butter until melted. Add flour and stir until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in broth and sour cream, and cook - not letting mixture boil, until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in chicken, noodles, parsley, thyme, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer mixture to a 3 quart baking dish. Top with bread-crumb mixture and bake until browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Serve.

Suzanne's Tin Foil Dinners

These are so good! When I get stuck in a dinner rut - I make these. It's different and everyone loves them. They take a bit to prepare - about 20-30 minutes, depending on how many you're making and how fast you chop!

This is for 1, so multiply for as many as you would like!

1 chicken breast, cubed

1 small potato, cubed

Baby carrots, cut in 1/2 or 1/3 (depending on the thickness)

Onion, thinly sliced

1 Tbsp. Butter

Seasoning Salt

Salt

Pepper

Place chicken, potatoes, and carrots side by side on foil. Add some onion and butter. Sprinkle with seasoning salt, salt and pepper.

Fold over foil and crimp edges to make a packet. Wrap packet again in a 2nd sheet of foil.

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, turn over packets, bake another 25 minutes.

Or put them on the grill over medium high heat for about 11 minutes on each side.

Open one and make sure the potatoes and carrots are cooked and tender - Enjoy!!

Creamy Pasta with Asparagus, Parmesan, and Crispy Prosciutto

Serves 4

I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! Everyone (including my 9 month old) ate until they could eat no more. The recipe says that you can substitute bacon for the Prosciutto (which I did), and the asparagus that I could find (at the 2nd store I went too) looked terrible and was crazy expensive so I substituted broccoli. I also added cooked chicken and I always have a heavy hand on the heavy cream - I probably ended up adding a whole extra cup before it was said and done. (I don't cook much without heavy cream!) Try it - you will love it!

1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4" strips (or 12 slices of bacon)
1 garlic clove, minced (or more if you like garlic like me)
1 cup of heavy cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 lb. Fusilli or Penne pasta
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese
3/4 c. chopped fresh basil

1. Bring 4 qts. water to a boil in a large pot (DO NOT COOK YOUR PASTA YET!). Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Cook prosciutto until lightly browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cream and lemon juice and simmer until slightly thickened, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Add 1 Tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until just beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add asparagus to the pot with the pasta and cook until bright green and tender and pasta is al dente, about 4 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, drain pasta and asparagus, and return to pot. Add sauce, 1/2 c. reserved cooking water, cheese and basil to pot and toss to combine, adding remaining cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with crispy prosciutto. Serve.

Wonton Salad

Our playgroup started a new "dinner recipe" lunch once a month and I LOVED this salad that Nichole brought.
Instead of frying the wontons she puts them on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Put them in a single layer and spray the tops with Pam. Brown the in an oven at 400.

1 pkg. wontons, slightly browned
2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 small head of lettuce (or 2 pkgs of ready to eat)
4 small green onions
1/4 c. toasted sesame seeds
1/4 c. or less parsley (optional)
A couple handfuls of peanuts or another nut (optional)
1 cup halved red grapes (optional)

Dressing:
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
2 Tbsp. sesame seed oil

Mix greens, chicken, sesame seeds, parsley, nuts and grapes. Mix dressing ingredients in a separate container. Add dressings, onions and crushed wontons to the salad just before serving. (Do not mix it all together until the last minute - the wontons will go soggy and the entire salad will taste like an onion)

Cashew Chicken

I kid you not when I say this is fast & easy! It was one of those days when I didn't think I had anything for dinner. I had everything for this on hand, and everyone loved it. It took longer to make the rice than the chicken! If you have the "Redhawk" cookbook, its on page 118.

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, raw
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. cashews, unsalted

Cube the uncooked chicken. Mix cornstarch, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and chicken broth in a bowl. Heat wok or frying pan over medium high heat. Add oil, add chicken. Saute until tender. Add liquid mixture to chicken. Simmer 2 minutes. Add cashews. Heat. Serve over rice.

Shaggy Chicken

1 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. corn flakes
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
1 cube of butter, melted
Boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders

Mix together the cheese, corn flakes, and dressing mix. Cut the chicken into 2-3" pieces. Roll in butter, then in flake mixture. Place in a 9"x13" baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

I like to serve it with rice pilaf, green beans and rolls. So easy!