Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Every now and then I come across a recipe that looks really good but then I compare it to other similar recipes and I end up getting nervous about making it.

This recipe is one of those that looked delicious but because I am used to making regular broccoli casserole with a jar of processed cheese, I automatically start comparing the two and wondering if they will taste the same.

I am here to say that I had no reason to be nervous. This dinner knocked our socks off and the best part was how simple it was to make. We all had multiple servings and the girls and I ate the leftovers for lunch the next couple of days.

Further proof at how delicious it was is the fact I didn't snap a picture of it. I was starving by the time I had gotten it prepared and that first bite was so tasty that I couldn't stop long enough to grab my camera. I highly suggest going to the recipes source to view a great picture of the dish. I used the same exact baking dish so my picture could have been twins with hers.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Source: Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of mayo
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of shredded Colby and Monterrey cheese
1 bag of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1/2 a small onion, finely diced*
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste*

*= my little additions

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2.) Mix all ingredients together. Add to a lightly greased, 2 quart baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is a light golden color and bubbly around the edges.

3.) Serve over rice or your favorite pasta.

We served ours over rice and it was awesome. It was so awesome that I'm putting it back on our two week menu for the second time in a row. I'm going to try adding the cooked rice to the mixture and then baking and someday I'll make it again using spaghetti noodles added and baked in with the mixture.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Tater Chips

Daniel has been after me for the past week to make some homemade potato chips. I've been putting it off for two reasons. The first one being that the thought of standing there and frying potato chips was a little overwhelming. The second being that I have never made them before.

I finally overcame my two issues tonight and I'm so glad that I did. They were so good that Addison and Cadence were eating them quicker than I could fry them. What is even better is how easy they were to make. I seasoned them with sea salt as I was taking them out and I can't wait to make them again and try different seasonings.

I sliced them by hand, but I would highly suggest using your food processor or a mandolin as they will be thinner that way. I got them as thin as I could without slicing my fingers so they weren't as crispy as I would like.

Sorry for the lousy phone picture, we ate these to quickly to grab a good photo.

Homemade potato chips

Ingredients:
4 Idaho potatoes, thinly sliced
Vegetable oil
Sea salt or favorite seasonings

Directions:
1.) In a medium sauce pan, bring two inches of vegetable oil to around 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) Add thinly sliced potatoes one at a time to hot oil, stirring around every so often. Fry until they are a golden brown color.
3.) Take them out and place them into a large bowl lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to cool.

Serve right away or store them for up to a day or so. Four potatoes served the four of us so I would use one potato per person. Also, I don't have a thermometer, so I just tested the oil temp with a very small and thin potato to check the oil to see if it was hot enough. Remember, you want the oil to be ready because if you put the potatoes in before the oil is hot enough, the potato will start to absorb the oil instead of frying in it.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

O.M.G.!!! There is no other way to describe this cake. I whipped this baby up in no time last night and managed to let it cool for about twenty minutes before I couldn't take it anymore and dove right in. It was delicious and still slightly warm which meant the chocolate chips sprinkled on top were still slightly melted.
The best part of this cake, besides its taste, was the fact I paid around $2.00 for it. Yes, two smackeroos! I bought a store brand cake mix at $1.19, I got the pudding on sale for 50 cents, and since there was a small amount of milk in it, I guessed that it came in around that two dollar mark.

This will most definitely get made again in our house with a glass of nice cold milk to go along with it. Try it, trust me when I say that you will not be disappointed.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to eat my second piece of the day...lol.


Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake
Source: eat, live, run

Ingredients:
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1 small box of instant chocolate pudding
1 3/4 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.) In a medium mixing bowl add pudding and milk. Whisk until dry pudding mix has fully dissolved and becomes thick.
3.) Add dry cake mix into pudding mix and whisk until fully incorporated. Batter will be really thick!
4.) Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish and add batter mixture. Spread evenly among pan.
5.) Bake for thirty minutes or until edges have begun pulling away from the sides.