Smothered Chicken Queso Casserole

I'm always looking for something different to make for my boys. We have a lot of recipes that are similar, and I tend to be afraid to jump out of my box (very far, at least) for dinner. However, this combines things that Nate & the boys all like-- chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, rice... Salsa in a main dish, however, is why this is out of my box. I am not a big salsa fan, but the boys loved this!

(However, this does make a lot-- too much for my boys, they tired of it quickly. I will definitely only make a 1/2 batch next time!)

The picture is questionable, but it is much tastier than it looks! I'm just not much of a photographer. ;)

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite out-of-the-box dish?

Printable Recipe

Smothered Chicken Queso Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil 
• 1-2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise 
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, divided
• 15 ounces salsa 
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 medium red/orange/green bell pepper, seeded, chopped 
• 2 ½ cups cooked white rice
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend 
• Chopped tomatoes and chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 13”x9” baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Sprinkle ½ tablespoon taco seasoning over chicken, then cook for 6-8 minutes. Turn once, cooking til golden brown on both sides.
3. In large bowl, stir together salsa, whipping cream, milk, and pepper. Reserve approximately ¾ cup of the sauce mixture; set aside. Stir rice into remaining sauce mixture.
4. Place rice mixture in casserole; top with chicken. Top with reserved sauce mixture, then shredded cheese. 
5. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes; uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until sauce bubbles and juice of chicken is clear when cut.
6. Cool for 10 minutes, then garnish as desired.

Yield/Time

6 servings

1 hour

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

323-371, depending on amount of chicken

Source (for original): Betty Crocker

Chicken Alfredo Stromboli

I love pretty much anything to do with alfredo. It seems like half of the new entrees I want to try from Pinterest are variations of alfredo pasta! I already have recipes I love, so I try to not do it too often, but it's definitely one of my favorite meal ideas.

This is a recipe I found years ago, I think when Nate & I were first married. We both LOVE it, and it's always a hit with the boys too. It's pretty easy to do, especially if you use shortcuts. I almost always have shredded or grilled chicken in the freezer, so I use that instead of cooking the chicken as part of the recipe. You can use your own Italian/French bread, or you can pick some up in the deli section of your local grocery store. Whatever works for you!

Printable Recipe

Chicken Alfredo Stromboli

Ingredients

• ½ loaf italian or french bread
• 6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ cups mushroom stems and pieces, chopped finely
• 1 clove Garlic, minced (or one teaspoon Garlic Garlic)
• dash Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Pepper
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup Parmesan
• 3 teaspoons butter, softened
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Place bread, cut side up, on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted; set aside.
3. In a small skillet, saute chicken in oil until juices run clear; drain. Add the mushrooms, salt, garlic, and pepper; cook for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, Parmesan, and butter; spread over bread halves. Top each with ½ of the of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella. 
5. Broil for 1-2 minutes or bake for 10-15 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Yield/Time

Serves: 4

Prep/Total time: 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

381/serving (using homemade french bread)

Source (for original): Cooking for Two

Comments are loved! What's your favorite alfredo-style dish?

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Seasoned Chicken Fingers

I love easy dinners. I get out of work fairly late, so on the nights I work we either need things that have been prepped before (hello, freezer meals!) or things that are easy to make. I stumbled across this on the Tastefully Simple website, and it is a definite hit! It's just a basic breading recipe, but the addition of the different seasonings makes a huge difference in it.

You can use any of your favorite seasonings--I've tried three different TS seasonings so far, because I always have them on hand, but use whatever seasonings you like. If you don't have any on hand, I definitely recommend using something with garlic, and some type of Italian seasoning.

I love making dinners like this. Add some veggies, and you're good. And, best thing: my boys love chicken tenders! I honestly don't make them very often, casseroles are my go-to more often than not, but these are always a hit. Nate prefers the garlic, and boys don't seem to have any preference.

Want to make something like this, but can't decide what flavors to do? Do two! Most recently when I made this, I split the bread crumbs & parmesan in two separate bags. Then, I just added 1 tablespoon of one seasoning to one bag, and the other to the second bag. Once that was done, I just made sure to keep them separated on the pan. (There really wasn't a lot of color difference between the two, so keeping them separated made it easier.)

If you are looking for an easy dinner recipe--enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Seasoned Chicken Fingers

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons Pizzeria, Garlic Garlic, Fiesta Party, or other seasoning
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

Dip (optional):

• 1 tablespoons Pizzeria, Garlic Garlic, Fiesta Party, or other seasoning
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Place bread crumbs, parmesan, and 1-2 tablespoons seasoning in a gallon resealable bag. Place beaten eggs in shallow dish.
3. In batches, coat chicken strips with egg and place in bread crumbs; shake to coat. Place on a large greased baking sheet.
4. Bake 15-25 minutes or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 170°. (This will depend on size of strips.)
5. Meanwhile, if desired, combine sour cream, mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon seasoning in a small bowl; serve with chicken fingers.

Yield/Time

8 servings, ¼ of large breast each

40 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

170/serving + 60/Tablespoon dip

Source (for original): Tastefully Simple

Remember, comments are loved! What's your favorite way to have chicken?

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Zucchini

Anyone still have buckets of zucchini? As in, literally bucketfuls of zucchini? That's the way it was at my grandparent's/mom's garden this year, but it's always like that. I have quite a bit in the freezer, but they keep telling me to take more home. Who am I to say no? ;)

I love to just lightly batter and fry it, but this year I made the effort to do more with it. That meant there was quite a lot of "zucchini" searches on Pinterest and my favorite blogs.

This recipe struck me as soon as I saw the title-- garlic, parmesan, chicken, and zucchini all in one? Yes, please!! I am not a huge fan of frying chicken, but trust me--this is worth it!! This is crispy, golden perfection, with tons of zucchini (and/or summer squash!) to go with it!

We had almost as much summer squash as zucchini, so I of course had to add summer squash too. Gabriel is currently going through an "I don't like summer squash" phase, which can be interesting. While he was more than willing to eat his zucchini and chicken, I had to convince him to eat the summer squash. How I did it? Reminded him that he likes garlic and parmesan, and this has lots of each. And, that summer squash is basically the same as zucchini, we pick them from plants that look just alike. 

I love it when I successfully use logic on my 4 year old. It make me feel like maybe we've got this parenting thing down. (Until, you know, there is a full scale temper tantrum because I did something like stir his chocolate milk when he wanted to.) 

Hopefully, if you are feeding this to small children, you have as much luck as I did getting them to eat their veggies. (Well, this time, at least.) 

Printable Recipe

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Zucchini

Ingredients

1. 5 Tablespoons butter, divided
2. 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3. 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon grated parmesan, divided
4. 2 tablespoon flour
5. 3 teaspoons Garlic Garlic (or garlic powder, or 3 garlic cloves), divided
6. 2 Chicken Breasts, sliced in half
7. 1 medium-large zucchini or summer squash, sliced
8. Salt
9. Pepper

Directions

1. In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter.
2. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, flour, and 2 teaspoons Garlic Garlic. (If using garlic cloves, see step #4.) Dip the chicken in the butter, and then coat in the bread crumb mixture and place in skillet.
3. Cook on each side for about 4-7 minutes until the outside is crispy and the chicken is cooked throughout. (Will depend on thickness of breasts.) Set aside on plate.
4. Add the zucchini to the skillet and saute until tender. (If using garlic cloves, add with the zucchini.) Add salt, pepper, remaining parmesan, and remaining garlic. Add the chicken back to the skillet and heat for a couple minutes.
5. Serve immediately.

Yield/Time

4-6 servings

30-40 minutes

Nutrition Facts

362 per half breast *I calculate nutrition facts for my use only, this is not done scientifically

Source (for original): The Recipe Critic

Remember, comments are love! What's your favorite way to serve zucchini?

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Creamy Baked Cheesy Chicken

I'm going to preface this post by saying that I am working on taking better food photos. But, sometimes good food just isn't pretty. Especially when you've had to move things around to get a good temp with the meat thermometer. (And yes, I regularly use a meat thermometer; I only risk food poisoning when raw cookie dough is involved.)

Anyways, there is no raw cookie dough here (today). Or raw meat, thankfully. Just really, really good chicken. I've made this multiple times, with good results each time. Different cheeses, too. The picture is taken with cheddar, but it's just as great with mozzarella. Asiago is what the original called for, but whatever. I go with whatever is already shredded in my fridge. ;) I love the combination of seasonings, cheese, and mayonnaise. The mayo makes this sooo creamy. The chicken is PERFECT. So tender, so juicy. I could eat this weekly. It's always a hit with my boys, too!

Printable Recipe

Creamy Baked Cheesy Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, cut in half
1 cup light mayonnaise or greek yogurt
3/4 cup shredded cheese, divided
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt (I use Seasoned Salt)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I use Garlic Garlic)

Parmesan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375° and spray a 9”x13” pan with cooking spray. Lay the chicken inside the pan.
Mix together mayonnaise, 1/2 cup cheese, and seasonings. Spread the mixture evenly over each piece so that the chicken won't dry out while baking.
Sprinkle the top with remaining cheese and fresh parmesan.
Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. (I always use really thick chicken breasts, but start checking at 20-25 minutes. If the breasts are thinner, they will be done much sooner.) Enjoy!

Yield/Time

4-8 servings

50 minutes

Nutrition Facts

267 per 1/2 breast *I calculate nutrition facts for my use only, this is not done scientifically

Source (for original): Recipe Critic

Remember, comments are love! What's your favorite way to make chicken?

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Creamy Artichoke & Spinach Chicken

There are two things that are important to me when I am cooking: I want the recipe to be fairly easy (no 30-stop process here!), and I want it to taste great. I love to cook from scratch, but again: no 30-step process. I've been known to make my own spinach tortillas (hint: they are amazing!), cheez-its, oatmeal cream pies, etc. However... I like the easy route, too. Especially if I can do a little something that adds a lot of flavor to my meals. Which is one of the many, many reasons I love Tastefully Simple. We have a lot of great products that make my mealtimes easier--and tastier! 

When I decided to start blogging again, I wasn't sure how much of my TS stuff I wanted to post. I certainly don't want to be pushing anything onto anyone, but I would be remiss if I didn't share awesome recipes with you lovely readers--regardless of the ingredients. I wouldn't keep from posting a Nutella recipe just to make sure no one thought I was pressuring them into buying Nutella. If you are interested, there is a link at the bottom to purchase things through me, or you can just message me. (Disclaimer: clearly, if you make a purchase through me as a consultant, I am paid a small amount, based on the sale. That's the deal with being a consultant.) If not, no worries! I will be sharing plenty of recipes, and they certainly aren't all TS based!

On to the recipe itself....

I have been (kinda) trying to do more with rice. When I first got married and started cooking more, we ate a lot of pasta. Two reasons: 1, it's easy, and 2, I really love pasta. But the last few years I've been trying to do more with rice. Partially per my husband's request--he doesn't complain much about anything I make, but he gets tired of pasta much faster than I do. Partially to branch out--rice is great, pretty versatile, and is simply different than using pasta.

It's not that rice is hard to work with,  or cook. It's just that I don't think about it--I just toss pasta into a dish and call it good. This recipe is really pretty basic (read: easy), but sooo tasty. I can just toss rice into this and call it good. ;)

The original called for broccoli, but it's zucchini & summer squash season too. That means that, currently, I can have as many zucchini & summer squash as I want. Mom & Grandma are constantly asking me if I need/want more. They had a lot of broccoli too, but when I made this I had 3 zucchini and 2 summer squash in the fridge, so...  Sub whatever veggie is your favorite/you have an abundance of!

Printable Recipe

In this photo, I actually used a mix from a past season, but this is great with Artichoke & Spinach too!

Creamy Artichoke & Spinach Chicken

Ingredients

2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (I use bouillon, or make my own broth when I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot)
1 packet Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
1 tablespoon avocado or vegetable oil
1 small - medium zucchini, diced

1 small - medium summer squash, diced

1 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt

1 cup white rice
2 ounces cream cheese, cubed

Directions

In medium bowl, combine chicken broth and Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix; whisk until combined. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; saute veggies until tender. (About  2-3 minutes.) Add chicken, Seasoned Salt, and rice; saute 1 minute. Add broth mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream cheese; continue cooking until melted and smooth.

Yield/Time

8 servings

45 minutes

Nutrition Facts

174 (I calculate calories for my personal use, this is not done scientifically)

Source (for original): Tastefully Simple

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: again, I am paid a small amount with each purchase made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

I am such a pasta girl. I love a good alfredo, but I am bit of a snob. I'll try any homemade recipe, but I can't buy the canned stuff. (I've tried them all.... they are disgusting.) I do a lot of different recipes, and most of them are essentially the same, but this is the most recent. Pretty easy, too! 

This would be easy to vary, too. Toss in any frozen veggie you like, add some more seasonings, etc.  

Do you have a favorite alfredo recipe? Share in the comments!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 1 1/2 cups cooked and chopped chicken
• 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups cream
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Combine broccoli, pasta, and chicken; place into a 9”x13” baking dish.
3. Melt butter completely over medium heat in large skillet or pan. Add flour, garlic, onion, salt, and stir to form a roux. Slowly add milk and cream, stir continuously until sauce has thickened. Add Parmesan, stir to combine thoroughly.
4. Evenly pour and distribute alfredo sauce over pasta combination. Gently stir to combine, and sprinkle with more Parmesan as desired.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

Yield/Time

6 servings

30 minutes

Source (for original): Chef in Training