Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I have to share these, because I love them:

I find that I often have a bit of chicken left after dinner and really the left over chicken breast never tastes as good the next day. It gets a little dry and forlorn you know? So I decided that I needed a chicken casserole recipe that I could make without planning for. That means only ingredients that I have in my house on a regular basis. I found this recipe online (I forget where) and I love it. Now I try to plan for chicken leftovers!

Easy Chicken Casserole (is what I call it)

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups soft bread cubes (2 to 3 slices) (something else to do with your bread heels)
  • 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 cup cooked vegetables (peas, green beans, mixed, etc.) (we like it with peas!)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped onion
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked cubed chicken
  • 1 large tomato, sliced (I have left the tomato out and used all sorts of canned tomatoes)

PREPARATION:

Combine bread cubes with melted butter and cheese; arrange half of mixture in a buttered 1 1/2-quart casserole. Spread vegetables over the bread mixture.

Sauté chopped onion in remaining 3 tablespoons butter until tender.

Blend in flour and seasonings; cook, stirring, until flour is blended into butter. Gradually add milk, stirring and cooking until thickened and bubbling. Stir in cooked cubed chicken. Pour chicken in sauce over the vegetables in casserole; arrange tomatoes slices over sauce then top with remaining bread mixture. Bake at 325° for 25 to 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly and lightly browned.


Next: I thought, when I got married, that hamburgers were just ground beef formed into patties. My husband informed me that that was NOT the case. As a surprise for him one day I decided to find a RECIPE for hamburgers and I loved this one* (You might want to check out the site it came from. This guy KNOWS his burgers!)

BASIC BURGER

1lb/500g ground beef
1 half onion grated or finely chopped
½ tsp pinches ground coriander
½ tsp pinches paprika powder
a little pepper, fresh ground is better
a little salt
1 hand fresh bread crumbs
1 egg lightly beaten
1 quarter beef stock block dissolved in a quarter cup water

*I have never been completely pleased with a restaurant burger since I started making these, I just thought I would warn you because that is a little sad.

Getting Ready for Baby Jesus