Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Had a sick little babe this weekend and needed a quick meal to put together before flint and Al got home from church. This worked out perfect and was delicious. not like all of those dry, bland casseroles I have tried before. definitely a keeper :) Enjoy!ingredients

• 1 10 3/4 ounce can  cream of chicken soup

• 1 cup water

• 3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2/3 c. frozen peas

• 2 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

directions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
2. Top with the chicken. Cover the baking dish.
3. Bake for 70 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Recover and cook 10 more minutes. Stir the rice before serving.

Chicken Marsala

Can I just start out by saying that I hate when recipes say they are "quick" and "easy" and they're really not? Well, I must say that this recipe truly was! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, in search of a yummy way to use up the rest of some mushrooms. Not only was it super delicious, but even my little Allie ate it up, which is quite the triumph lately. My husband loved it as well. I cooked some pasta, that was perfect topped with the wonderful marsala sauce, and steamed some broccoli on the side. I didn't have any marsala wine on hand tonight, so I subbed red cooking wine with a couple pinches of sugar. I also had no sherry, so I subbed white cooking wine. I'm sure it would be even better done right :) Enjoy this dish! So easy and good. 

Ingredients:

1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 T. butter
4 T. olive oil
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. marsala wine
1/4 c. cooking sherry

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken

Let's just start by saying me and the crock pot have a love hate relationship. Love that it is so convenient, hate that it's hard to find crock pot recipes that I love. Found this super easy recipe on pinterest the other day. Worked out great for me on Sunday when I was busy keeping kids occupied during General Conference. Flint and I loved it, plus, I just happened to have everything on hand :) Enjoy!

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins
1 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. light soy sauce

Mix it all together in the crock pot. Cook on low 6-8 hrs. (If you have a bigger crock pot like me, I suggest checking it at 4 hrs.) I made some white rice and gravy to go with ours. When chicken is done, pour juices into a saucepan on med. high heat. In a small bowl mix together 1-2 T. corn starch with a little bit of cold water. Slowly stir the mixture into the saucepan of juices. Remove from heat when it has reached your desired consistency. Now just pour over top your chicken and rice! Enjoy!

The Sisters Cafe: Pesto Chicken Pizza with Pinenuts and Feta

We made this pizza for dinner last night and LOVED it! We are big pizza people so anytime I get a new recipe I've got to try it. The only things I did differently were that I did not make HOMEMADE pesto (because I sadly don't yet own a food processor), and I cooked our pizza at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. This makes our pizza perfect every time. I just bought a pesto mix that was like $1 at the grocery store. You just add water and oil and voila! I used the Grilled Lemon Chicken & Pizza Dough recipes from their site as well. I will make sure I post them next. Hope you love this pizza as much as we did.

Preheat Pizza Stone in 400° oven. Roll out prepared pizza dough and place on preheated pizza stone. Top pizza dough with the following ingredients in order:

1) Pesto (LIBERALLY spread pesto over the pizza, so you can’t see the dough through it, and up on top the edges so the crusts will have pesto on them as well.)
2) Feta cheese (about 4 oz)
3) Red onion slivers (about 1/3 onion -I like lots of red onion and tomatoes)
4) Chicken pieces (about 1 1/2 Grilled Lemon marinated breasts, diced and cooked)
5) Tomato slices (1-2 tomatoes, bite-sized slices)
6) Mozzarella cheese (to your liking)
7) Pine nuts (sprinkle over top)

Bake in 400° oven for 18-20 minutes.

{Tuscan Garlic Chicken}

This recipe comes from my sister-in-law's blog. Last time I cooked this for my husband he was in heaven. DELISH!

Noodles & Co. Pasta Fresca Recipe - Food.com - 308516

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups pre-cooked farfalle pasta
1/4 cup cubed roma tomato
1 tablespoon diced red onion
2 dashes kosher salt, and
cracked pepper
1 ounce baby fresh spinach
1/4 cup fresh garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sweet white wine
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Sauté Instructions: In a very hot sauté pan, add: extra virgin olive oil, pre-cooked farfalle (bow-tie pasta), roma tomatoes, diced red onions, kosher salt & cracked pepper. Sear noodles, stirring occasionally until steaming hot. Add: baby fresh spinach, 1 oz. fresca sauce. Toss to combine, serve with freshly shaved parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

FRESCA SAUCE: (for 15 servings) 1/4 cup fresh garlic, 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup sweet white wine, 1 cup extra virgin olive oil.

-I first tried this dish at Noodles & Company about a year back. I was instantly in love! I was browsing what used to be recipezaar.com (now food.com) when I came across this recipe. Whoever found or came up with this was genious! It tastes just like it! First off- my husand and I can eat this all by ourselves. So in our case it serves 2 :) There are a few variations that I use. For instance last night I made this dish and topped it with feta cheese instead. We grilled some cheap salmon with lemon & herbs and voilla! It was a great meal and a healthy one too. I often chop up grilled chicken w/lemon pepper and add it to the pasta. Sometimes I toss in a few kalamata olives. SO GOOD! The fresca sauce recipe they have makes a ton! I revised it to make just enough for what you need. Here goes:

4 tsp. fresh garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
4 tsp. white wine
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

Enjoy! You're gonna love this stuff.