Chicken Florentine

Another recipe from my mother. She loves this one, because you can actually make the whole thing in the microwave with leftover chicken. I love to buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco and then use the leftovers to make this.


1 package frozen spinach
2 tbl chopped onion
1 c chopped cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 tbl vinegar
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tbl butter
1/4 - 1/2 c bread crumbs



Cook onions in a small amount of oil. Mix in spinach and chicken. Remove 1 tablespoon broth and replace with 1 tablespoon vinegar (this is a wine substitute: you could also use wine, but I don't) Mix soup, cheese and 2-3 tbl of chicken broth mixture. If you are using the microwave, heat this until cheese is melted. Stir sauce into chicken mixture. Melt butter and mix in bread crumbs. Cook in microwave about 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Top chicken/sauce mixture with bread crumbs. Heat in microwave until hot through. Or cook at 350 until bubbly.


I usually use the oven, just because I am not a fan of food cooked in the microwave. But it still tastes fine when my mother makes it in the microwave. And it's faster. And although my friends I made it for loved it, my little penguins refused to eat it,

Chicken Stroganoff

There are times I know I am setting myself up for failure when it comes to feeding the little animals that live at my house. This is one of the recipes that I know my son won't eat. So I served him plain noodles and separate chicken thinking he might actually eat some of it. Nope. He had green beans for dinner. And that's it. I was sure he'd at least eat the noodles, but no. And then at his refusal, my daughter decided that it must not be anything worth eating, so she would only eat the corn I served with it. We had two very hungry penguins on our hands the next morning. I wonder why...



1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1-2 c all purpose flour (for coating)
salt
pepper
1 tbl butter
1 can cream of chicken soup*
1 1/4 c half&half
1 (1oz) package onion soup mix
2 tbl chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 c sour cream
egg noodles


Season chicken with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. In a large skillet brown chicken in butter until golden. Combine soup, half&half, onion soup mix, parsley, garlic, mushrooms and nutmeg in medium bowl. Pour mixture over chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for one hour. Stir in sour cream and heat through but do not boil. Serve over prepared egg noodles.

*If I have time, I substitute the canned soup with:
4 tbl butter
8 oz mushrooms
1 small onion minced
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 c beef broth

In medium sauce pan melt butter and cook mushrooms and onions for three minutes. Add flour, salt and pepper stirring until well mixed. Add beef broth slowly and cook until thickened.

It tastes way better than canned soup and it adds more mushrooms to the sauce, which I love!

Shrimp Alfredo

One thing that my kids will usually eat is anything that involves noodles. We eat a lot of pasta with marinara sauce because of this. But my mother makes awesome shrimp Alfredo and they like that too. Of course they pick everything except the noodles out. But at least they eat those!


1/2 c butter
2 cloves garlic, minced (you can add more if you like garlic a lot)
1 c cream or milk
1 tbl - 1/8 c flour
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese (fresh is best)
1 c steamed broccoli, well dried
3/4 c chopped tomatoes, well dried
1 c cooked shrimp, well dried (or cooked chopped chicken)
2 c penne noodles (this is a pre-cooked measurement)


Boil noodles according to instructions. Drain and rinse well. Transfer to oven proof dish and place in 200 degree oven. Melt butter over medium heat in large skillet. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add flour (about a tablespoon for cream or about 1/8 cup for milk) and cook until well incorporated. Add cream or milk and cook until hot. Add cheese stirring until melted. Add broccoli, tomatoes, shrimp and noodles stirring to coat. Serve hot.



I usually use cream because it gives the sauce such a great flavor, but you can use milk to make it lower fat or if it is all you have on hand (like I did last night!). The flour thickens and adds stability to the sauce, so when you use a lower fat base you need to add more flour. If the sauce starts to separate you can add a little more flour and if you add too much flour, just add a bit more of the cream or milk. I love the shrimp in this but I have also made it with chicken (again what was on hand).

Chicken Manicotti

This is my mother's recipe and I totally love it. It's even some thing that my picky little penguins will usually eat. I always make my own sauce for it (I'm neurotic like that), but canned sauce works just as well and makes the recipe much easier.


1 c cooked chopped chicken
15 oz ricotta cheese
3/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 - 3/4 c mozzarella cheese, grated
1/8 c chopped fresh parsley
1 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/8 - 1/4 tsp pepper
marinara sauce
1 package manicotti shells


Boil manicotti shells according to package's instructions, until al dente. While these are cooking combine all other ingredients (except sauce) in a bowl. Drain shells and rinse with cold water to cool and prevent sticking. Stuff shells with chicken mixture. Place in 9x11 pan, cover with sauce and top with more grated mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot through.

You can also use fresh spinach if you wilt it first. To do this you rinse your spinach, put it in a non-stick pan and cook it over medium heat until it looks like thawed frozen spinach. It takes about five minutes (or that's how long it took me tonight), but if you have fresh spinach on hand, or if you like it better anyway, it's not that hard.



I made this tonight thinking my little penguins would both eat it (unlike most of the meals I've made lately), but they both surprised me and refused it. Well, my daughter ate some but only when I fed her and could get my son to actually sit at the table instead of telling me he didn't like it and didn't want to eat it. Instead they both ate strawberries, snow peas and the croutons out of the Caesar salad for dinner.

Chicken Noodle Soup

So my son is crazy. He'll eat cold plain tofu, frozen chicken nuggets, and the fat off the top of his Yo-baby yogurt. But he won't eat things that most kids eat, like potatoes. And for his birthday, when given the option of having any meal he could ever want, he asks for chicken noodle soup. And it wasn't a fluke either; it's what he wanted for his last birthday dinner too. So here is the recipe for his favorite meal.


1 lb chicken breasts
3-4 ribs chopped celery
4-5 chopped carrots
4-6 oz quartered mushrooms
10-12 cups chicken broth (or water with bullion)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion minced
egg noodles


Boil chicken in chicken broth. Remove and cut up chicken. Skim any foam off the broth. Add vegetables and spices. Boil until vegetables are almost tender. Add chicken and egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done.


I actually love that he likes this, because it is one of my less labor intensive meals. You can also make this with turkey (like after Thanksgiving).

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

I have two recipes for this dish; one from my mother in law and on from a friend in college. I don't follow either of course, although I do reference them to make sure I don't leave any ingredients out (I totally forget the olives all the time and then am very sad when it comes out of the oven). Here is my own version of the recipe.

2 - 2 1/2 cups cooked chopped chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 sm can diced green chili peppers
1 small can sliced olives
2-3 chopped green onions
4 cups shredded cheese (I use Colby jack or Cheddar)
8 soft taco size tortillas


Combine soup, sour cream, peppers, onions and 2 cups of cheese in bowl. Remove two cups of mixture and add to chicken. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture. Place in 9" by 13" pan. Add olives to remaining soup mixture and spread over filled tortillas. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350.

I love these and my husband inhales them. Too bad my son refuses to even taste them. I was sure he'd eat them as he loves olives, but he wouldn't even pick those out! He ate a lot of green beans tonight (our one side dish as I have been refusing to make salad as our fridge is currently in the garage and it's way to hard to haul everything to make a salad into in the house and then back into the garage-hey I'm pregnant so I'm allowed to be a little lazy, right?).