Mushroom Chicken with Rice

Most of the meals I cook are simple, but sometimes I go all out for a more elaborate dish.  This is probably one of the more complicated dishes I make.  Not because any one step is hard, but just because it is time consuming.  This recipe will feature more pictures because it involves more steps than others.  But it's good, really good, and worth the time invested.  This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on FeaturedDish.com.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 lb sliced mushrooms 

Cream of mushroom soup

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups italian bread crumbs

3 eggs, beaten

Olive oil for pan

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon of basil

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup flour

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

First, prepare your cream of mushroom soup, if you want to avoid condensed soup.  It's easy!  Set aside.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add minced garlic and mushrooms to pan.  Sprinkle with salt.  Cook until mushrooms are soft and cooked through, approximately 5 minutes.

Remove mushrooms from heat and spread evenly inside a large, deep baking pan (I used a 9x13).

After removing mushrooms, heat more olive oil in the skillet on medium-high heat.  Mix eggs with dry basil and a pinch of salt in a small bowl, and beat well.  Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then dip chicken in egg mixture, then coat both sides with bread crumbs.  Place in pan, and cook chicken thoroughly, turning over as it browns.  

When finished cooking, place chicken over mushrooms in baking pan.

*If you are using canned cream of mushroom soup, mix cream of mushroom soup with chicken broth in a separate bowl, then pour over chicken.  This saves you time and effort, but if you make your own gravy, the payoff is worth it.  

In the skillet, melt 1 tablespoons of butter in with the chicken and breading left in the pan.  Mix it all together over medium heat, then add in 1/2 cup of flour and stir until it absorbs the remainder of olive oil and butter in the pan.  Slowly pour in the cream of mushroom soup, stirring constantly until it thickens into a delicious gravy.

Once it has thickened, pour evenly over your chicken breasts in the baking pan, then sprinkle mozzarella cheese over everything.  Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.  While this delicious mixture is baking, prepare white rice.  Serve each breast and gravy over rice.  An amazing meal!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

This easy cream of mushroom soup is a great substitute for canned condensed soup, and it tastes delicious.  I adapted a recipe from food.com and use it for recipes that call for condensed soup.

Ingredients
8 ounces fresh mushrooms
1 -2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour (separated)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Cut the mushrooms into slices, and set aside.  Melt butter in a large pan, and add minced garlic and mushrooms.  Cook until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.  Blend in 2 tablespoons of flour, and stir.
Add chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened while stirring frequently.  In a bowl, stir 1 tablespoon of flour and salt into cream, then slowly add to soup, stirring constantly.  Heat to thicken--don't forget to stir to keep it smooth.  

Green Bean Bacon Bundles

Bacon makes green foods tolerable.  And cheese.  Don't forget the cheese!  There are a lot of creative recipes out there for vegetables wrapped in bacon.  This is an easy way to get more green veggies into your diet.  It would also work for asparagus.

Serves 10-12, depending on your bundle size

Ingredients

1- 2 lbs of fresh green beans
10-12 slices of bacon
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced very fine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
pinch of salt
Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray, then place a wire rack inside sheet to elevate your bundles.  Wash your green beans and pat dry with a paper towel.  Sprinkle beans with salt, then bundle together 8-10 beans, wrapping a slice of bacon around the center of the bundle to hold it together.  Lay each bundle seam side down on your cookie sheet / rack.

In a small saucepan, add butter, brown sugar, garlic, and soy sauce over low heat and whisk until melted.  Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of each bundle.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, turning bundles and reapplying sauce after 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and grate fresh parmesan onto bundles, as much as you would like, then return to oven for 10-15 minutes more, until bacon is nice and crispy.

This is a side dish everyone in the family loves--even me.  I usually grate more cheese over the bundles as soon as they come out of the oven to add to the cheesy goodness.  This time we served with smothered pork chops, but it also goes well with steak and chicken.  Enjoy!

Lasagna Soup

Tonight I wanted to fight this winter weather with a warm bowl of soup.  Lasagna soup is cheesy, simple, and delicious.  There are lots of good recipes out there, but I adapted mine from Paula Deen's "Tastes Like Lasagna" soup recipe.  Many subtractions and cheesy additions later, and you have my version.  Delicious with garlic cheese bread on the side.  Thanks, Paula!

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
2 teaspoon oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
32 oz. chicken stock
2 (14 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 oz. box of pasta (I used vegetable farfalle, but use whatever pasta you'd like)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
8 oz. ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella, shredded

Directions
In a soup pot, brown your ground beef.  Drain well, and return to pan.  Stir in oregano, garlic, brown sugar, broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and salt.  My family doesn't enjoy chunks of tomatoes, so I blended my diced tomatoes in some of the chicken broth separately and added it in.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes to incorporate all of the flavors.  Add noodles, and return soup to boiling until noodles are tender.  (I actually boiled my pasta in some chicken broth and added it to the soup to save time, but most recipes just say to cook the noodles in the soup.  Do what works for you.)  Return soup to simmering once the noodles are tender and heat while you prepare your garlic bread and cheese topping.

While the soup is simmering, mix up your three cheeses in a bowl and stir together.  Put a generous spoonful in the bottom of each bowl, then ladle the hot soup on top.  Sprinkle soup with shredded mozzarella and serve with piping hot garlic bread.

This turned out great!  Enjoy a new twist on an old classic and warm your winter bones from the inside out.

Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite side dishes.  Its ooey, gooey, cheesy goodness is the ultimate in comfort food.  Fortunately, it's fairly easy to make, with patience and lots of stirring.  Tonight I decided to add mushrooms, and it was delicious with our chicken cooked on the grill.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

32 oz. chicken stock

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced thin (I used button and cremini)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)

salt to taste

Directions

Bring chicken stock to a boil in a sauce pan, then simmer on low.

Melt the butter in a separate pan over medium heat.

Add fresh mushrooms and saute until they turn tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the minced garlic and saute about one minutes, stirring throughout.

Add the arborio rice and toast about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until it begins to become translucent.

Start adding stock to the rice mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is has been absorbed.  As it begins to look dry, stir in another 1/2 cup of stock.  This is where the patience comes into play. Find yourself a good book, or fire up your iPod, because you are going to need to be by the pan stirring in the liquid.

As the risotto absorbs the liquid, it get tender and sticky.  After the chicken stock is fully added, you should have a pan full of soft rice that is ready for the cheese.

Add the grated parmesan and stir until it has melted throughout.  

Season with salt to taste.

Grate more parmesan over the bowls when serving if you want an extra kick of cheese.

This was so good, and it was delicious with the grilled chicken.  A couple of tweaks for next time: chop the mushrooms smaller and thinner.  The whole family gave it rave reviews and it was simple enough to do anytime.

What additions do you love in your risotto?  Post in the comments so I can steal some good ideas.

Braided Spaghetti Bread

I kept seeing a recipe for braided spaghetti bread on Pinterest, courtesy of Rhodesbread.com, and it looked delicious.  I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti but the rest of the family likes it so I thought it would be good to give it a try.  This is one the whole family can enjoy, even the non-spaghetti lovers like me.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 loaf Rhodes bread dough, thawed

6 ounces spaghetti, cooked

1 cup thick spaghetti sauce (my husband makes ours)

1 lb lean ground beef, browned and added to sauce

8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 egg white, beaten

Parmesan cheese

Garlic powder

Instructions

1.  Let loaf thaw to room temperature 1-2 hours, lightly covered.  

2.  Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray, or use parchment paper.  Roll loaf into a 12x16 inch rectangle.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10-15 minutes.  

3.  Brown ground beef and drain,  setting aside.  

4.  Cook spaghetti according to package instructions.  Drain and return to pan, letting cool slightly.  

5.  Heat sauce in saucepan over medium heat and add ground beef.  When bubbly, pour sauce over spaghetti and stir until incorporated.  

6.  Place spaghetti mixture in a 4 inch strip down the center of dough.  

7.  Top with cheese cubes.  

8.  Make cuts 1 1/2 inches apart on the long sides of the dough to within 1/2 inch of the filling.  

9.  Begin braid by folding top and bottom strips towards filling.  Braid strips left over right, then right over left, until you reach the end.  Finish by pulling the last strip over and tucking under the braid.  

10.  Slide dough carefully on the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet, or lift braid carefully with both hands to transfer to the sprayed cookie sheet if you did not use the parchment paper.  The paper made it much easier.  

11.  Brush with egg white and grate parmesan cheese on the top.  Sprinkle with garlic powder.

12.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool slightly and slice to serve.

Apple Pie Enchiladas

These delicious, easy apple pie enchiladas will be a hit with your family.  Bake them while you enjoy the chicken enchiladas with green chile sour cream sauce.   Best served warm.  There are hundreds of versions of this recipe floating around the internet, but I adapted this one from allrecipes.com.

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling
8 flour tortillas
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup water

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
2.  Spoon about one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Roll up, tucking in edges, and place in prepared dish, seam side down.
3.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and water.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.  Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 15 minutes.
4.  Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serve warm.  Very delicious when served ala mode with vanilla ice cream.