I am all about {Less Stressed} Dinners ...because they are planned in advance, made from staple items I typically keep around and (if its a good one) I can kill more than one bird with one stone.
I have two go-to extremely versatile recipes that fit all those qualifications ..they are actually kinna similar, but both easy peasy and totally adaptable for what you may have in the house.
The first one I stole and adapted from my friend, Kim. Hers was a simple creamy chicken casserole. I adapted it a bit and added a veggie to make it a one-dish supper, leaving adding another vegetable or bread totally optional (at least in my book).
Its also a favorite because just about every ingredient is part of the sales cycle at my local grocery stores. I can get most of these things on sale somewhere just about every week, or I can stock up on it for later.
It also makes a great make-ahead, make-alot, take-to-someone meal. ...So without further adieu...
{Creamy Chicken Casserole Dinner}
4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and shredded
{or chicken from a whole chicken, or leftovers from a rotissourie chicken, etc)
1 can of cream of "something" soup
{I have used cream of chicken, celery or mushroom ..whatever I have}
8 oz sour cream
8-15 oz of a veggie ..canned or frozen
{I use french style green beans, corn, or mixed veggies}
1.5 rolls of Ritz crackers, crushed
{I really like the veggie flavored ones!}
1 stick of melted margarine
I just throw my shredded chicken in a 9x13 casserole dish; mix in the soup, sour cream and veggies. Then, I crush the Ritz crackers, pour them into the melted butter, mix until all the crumbs are coated well with butter. Then, place the buttered crumbs on the top of the chicken mixture. Pop in the oven for about 350 degrees, until the top is crunchy and the middle is bubbly.
Since stealing this from Kim, it has become a Steed family favorite ..hope you can use it to make a Less Stressed Dinner soon!
I have made this casserole only without the cracker crumbs and with poppy seeds (not good if you have a drug screening coming up). I also use to prepare several dishes ahead on the weekend and freeze so I could have at least the entree nailed down. Nicole and I have had cooking marathons using say chicken. we might make the poppy seed casserole and freeze, take the dark meat from the same chicken and a few bony pieces of chicken and the stock from cooking it to make homemade chicken noodle soup or dumplings or homemade chicken pot pie. WHen I make pot pie, I always make two. One for that night and one for the freezer for those nights when I am running late and or out of steam. I prepared on weekends a lot when my kids were a little younger. I like to stretch things like a roast is a roast at one meal. I then make beef stew out of the left overs for another night. My kids always loved beef stew and grilled cheese sandwiches. My family loves homemade potato soup, crab stew, seafood bisque (I have stretched expensive crab meat by using the juice in bisque and stew so it seems like more crab is in it that there really is). I have a family that loves quiche. I have made so many different ones that fit any time of day. I have them that are easy to freeze too. I also use the crock pots. I am a working outside of the home mom. I have had to learn to let go of some things through the years, but I am not big on convenience foods. I feel like I have to do better than that for my family (could be that was how my mom was and still is). However, I have to make it work for me. I also want to get better at couponing, etc. I try but seem to run out of time. I love Courtney's ideas. Smart Young lady!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad you like that recipe! That type of simplicity is basically my level of cooking. If it gets too much more complicated than that, I'm not interested:).
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