Chicken Loaf

It’s kind of an uninspiring title isn’t it?  This dish is an adaptation of my college friend Lauren’s mom’s casserole (yes, called Chicken Loaf), which was always a huge favorite when we went home on weekends.  I suppose it’s supposed to be a chicken version of meat loaf?  It’s a fantastic dish for all those “well what can I do with that?” ingredients.  For example, my mother gave me 4 cans of chicken.  Canned chicken is not a staple in our house, and other than a quick chicken salad, there’s not much else I’ve ever done with it.  But we needed a quick prep dinner that could cook unattended tonight while we raced the sun to finish mowing the lawn (didn’t make it) before dark.  As I also had leftover brown rice, homemade chicken stock,  and a huge bag of homemade breadcrumbs in the pantry, this was a perfect fit. It can also be made ahead of time and frozen.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked, diced chicken (I used 2 cans of chicken for this recipe, though this is fantastic with leftover rotisserie or roast chicken)
• 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 3 cups broth (reserve 1 for gravy)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (1/2 is intended for gravy, but I missed the small print on the post it note where I had the recipe written and used the whole thing–it didn’t hurt a thing, except that I added another half cup of breadcrumbs)
• 3 eggs well-beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Beat eggs and mix with all wet ingredients.
3. Add chicken and rice.  Mix well
4. Add breadcrumbs.  Mix well.  It will be kind of soupy.
5. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish or 9×13 pan for 45-50 minutes.

Variations:

In the past I have added some other veggies to this casserole, primarily diced crimini mushrooms, but you could take a sort of tuna casserole approach and add diced celery, peas, carrots, and/or scallions if you wanted to get your veggies in one dish.  I tend to prefer this as is, with a side veggie like green beans.  You might also add 1/2 cup of low fat sour cream for a richer flavor.

Shepherd’s Pie

This is another one of those dishes that’s great to make ahead and freeze. I’m doing a bunch of cooking this weekend to try to make next week easier on me (as work is going to be insane).
Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, grated or diced
• 1-2 carrots, peeled and diced (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen crinkle cut carrots)
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
• 3 wedges of Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese
• 1/2 cup petite English peas
• 1 cup chopped portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• ground pepper and salt to taste
• the kitchen sink (not really but any other veggies you like really)

Directions:

1. Brown and drain ground beef.
2. Using either the leftover drippings from the beef or olive oil, sautee the vegetables (except the peas and mushrooms) along with all spices until onion is slightly translucent.
3. In a large bowl, add mushroom soup, mushrooms, peas, and 3 wedges of Laughing Cow or other garlic and herb cheese spread. Mix well.
4. Add ground beef and sauteed veggies. Mix well.
5. Pour into large casserole dish.
6. Add mashed potato topping (see below).
7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cook’s note: If freezing, allow to thaw before baking (pull it out of the freezer and throw it in the fridge over night). You can freeze it with the mashed potato topping, but I find it works better to make the potatoes fresh and add them when you get ready to cook.

Mashed Potato Topping:*

• 4-5 small russet or other potatoes
• 2 wedges laughing cow garlic and herb cheese
• half and half (Fat Free by Land O’Lakes is what I prefer)
• 1 Tbsp margarine
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Scrub potatoes clean and add to pot. DO NOT DICE! I know, it takes a lot longer (like an hour), but it’s part of my secret to making creamy potatoes.
2. Boil for an hour.
3. Drain. Peel if you wish, but I prefer to eat the peels.
4. Add salt, pepper, garlic and herb cheese, and margarine, and mash well.
5. Add half an half in small splashes, mixing well until you reach the desired consistency.

* Can also be used as a recipe for plain old mashed potatoes.

Easy Low-Fat Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite foods. All that creamy, comforting goodness. Of course, in my opinion the pastry is the best part, so this recipe doesn’t satisfy that particular craving. But it’s a darn good low fat substitute. It’s healthy and light. The phyllo dough is a good low cal alternative to heavy pastry.

Ingredients:

• 1 can cream of chicken soup (98% FF)
  1 medium onion, diced
  1 cup celery, diced
• ½ cup carrots, diced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 can low sodium Le Soeur Very Early Young Peas (English peas), drained
• any other desired vegetables (ex. broccoli, mushrooms, green beans)–step away from the Veg-all!
• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
• Phyllo Dough
• Sea salt (to taste)
• Fresh ground pepper (to taste)
• ¼ to ½ tsp. paprika

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat 2-3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil on medium high heat.
3. Sautee chicken until no longer pink.
4. Add garlic, onion, celery, and carrots, and sautee until transluscent
5. Add peas (and other vegetables, if any).
6. Pour sautéed mixture into a large mixing bowl.
7. Fold in the cream of chicken soup, sea salt, pepper, and paprika
8. Pour filling mixture into a casserole dish.
9. Top with phyllo dough, one sheet at a time, spraying each sheet with cooking spray before applying the next.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cook’s notes: The filling can easily be frozen. Simply line a casserole dish with foil (several layers), add filling, close up the foil. Freeze in the casserole dish, then remove foil packet in stackable shape. When ready to prepare, return foil packet to casserole dish and allow to thaw. Then proceed from step 9 above.

Cornbread Dressin’ Just Like Grandma Used To Make

It really is just like my grandmother used to make. This is her recipe. It took me years to pin it down, since she’s absolutely one of those women who never measures anything.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 cup of diced celery
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (also 98% fat free)
• 5-6 slices of white bread, torn into pieces
• 2 pans good, homemade cornbread (if you go with a mix, do NOT under any circumstances buy sweet cornbread–it DOES NOT WORK for this recipe–STEP AWAY FROM THE JIFFY MIX–find a mix that says buttermilk cornbread–and for heaven’s sake, use a cast iron skillet to cook it. You only do this once a year, so do it right.)
• 1 pinch (1/8th tsp) poultry seasoning
• good chicken stock (either roast your own chicken and boil the skin and bones, or buy a rotisserie one at the grocery, have a couple meals off of it, and boil the skin and bones of that–see my post about batch cooking for how to make your own chicken stock).
• 3 eggs
• 3/4ths cup Egg Beaters (or just use 6 whole eggs if you don’t care about fat and calories)

Crumble the cornbread into a large bowl. Add the 2 cans of soup and mix well. Add the onions and celery and the eggs/Egg Beaters. Mix well. Add the white bread. Mix well. Add enough chicken stock to make the consistency just on the soupy side of moist. Add poultry seasoning. Mix well. Please note there is NO SAGE in this recipe. It overpowers the other flavors. Don’t use it. Pour the mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish. You may freeze the dressin at this point if you’re making it ahead of time. Just be sure to thaw completely before popping it in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. If you like moister dressin’ (and I’m from Mississippi…there is no “g” on the end), drizzle more chicken stock over the dressin before baking. If you like it dryer, don’t add as much. Serve with turkey and giblet gravy (if you’re into giblet gravy…I’m not…the rest of my family is).

Corn Casserole (Otherwise Known As Heaven In A Casserole Dish)

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen (gotta love the Food Network) by way of my neighbor Jackie.  It’s a popular and wonderful dish for holiday dinners and there’s never, ever any leftovers.  The original link to the foodnetwork site is here.

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
  
• 1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (recommended: Jiffy)
  
• 1 cup sour cream
  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

Notes about lowering the fat content: Now my neighbor (and probably Paula) would never dream of trying to lower the fat content in this dish.  However, you can use half the butter (must use real butter though) and low fat sour cream (don’t you dare use fat free, it ruins everything).  And if you use extra sharp cheddar you can use about half the cheese (as extra sharp has more flavor).