Swiss Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
4 c. boiling water
2 boxes (6 oz each) sun-dried tomato Florentine long grain and wild rice mix
2 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in to 3 strips
6 slices fully cooked ham
1/4 c. diced red bell pepper
3 slices Swiss cheese, cut in half

Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Spray 3 qt. glass baking dish with cooking spray. In baking dish, stir boiling water, rice and rice seasoning mixes.
Cut chicken breasts; wrap ham slice around each chicken piece. Stir bell pepper into rice. Place wrapped chicken over rice.
Cover with foil. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover; bake about 10 minutes longer or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is no longer pink in center.
Top each chicken breast with cheese slice. Bake uncovered 3 to 4 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings. Total time 1 hour 15 minutes.

Verdict:
When I made this, in the part of the recipe when it says to remove the foil, I removed the foil and thought Oh crap. It was liquidy so I thought for sure it was ruined. But the water cooked out nicely. I was some what surprised. This is kinda like chicken cordon bleu turned inside out. Blake loved it. One more side note: I just bought a box of long grain and wild rice mix I couldn't find sundried tomato Florentine rice mix. My rice boxes were also only 4.5 oz instead of 6 so I just didn't add as much water.

Cheesy Gnocchi Florentine

Ingredients:
1 box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach
1 T. butter
1/4 onion, chopped
1 T. flour
1 1/4 c. half and half or milk
1 package (16 oz) shelf stable gnocchi
1 c. Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 c. Muenster cheese, shredded
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1 large roma tomato, thinly sliced
1 t. olive oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Spray 1 1/2 qt. casserole with cooking spray. Cook spinach as directed on box; drain in colander or large strainer. Press spinach to remove excess moisture. Set aside.
Melt butter in a 2 qt. saucepan. Add onion; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in half and half. Stir in gnocchi; heat to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and nutmeg.
Spoon about 2 c. of the gnocchi mixture into casserole. Top with spinach, then remaining gnocchi mixture. Top with tomato slices; brush with olive oil.
Bake about 30 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top and gnocchi is tender.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 50 minutes.

Verdict:
We all liked this. After we convinced Gavin that they were noodles he scarfed them down. Miracle. Then he asked for more. He just refused to eat the green stuff. I can't say I blame him, cooked spinach is a little freaky looking but I think it tastes good.

Sausage, Mozzarella and Broccoli with Shells

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 sprigs thyme
coarse slat and ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 links spicy sausage, (3/4 lb total) casings removed
1 T. flour
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes
8 oz medium shell pasta
1 bunch broccoli rabe, trimmed and coarsely chopped or use regular broccoli
6 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 c. Parmesan, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add onion and thyme; season with salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown, 15 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
Add garlic and sausage. Cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with spoon.
Cook sauce until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 4 minutes less than package directions. Add broccoli rabe to pot and cook 15 seconds. (If using broccoli cook for 1 minute.)
Drain pasta and broccoli rabe and return to pot. Stir in sausage mixture. Transfer to a 3 quart baking dish.
Top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 50 minutes.

Verdict:
When I made this I used broccoli not broccoli rabe. I also used just regular sausage. I did add a little bit of pepper flakes when I was cooking just to spice it up a bit since I didn't use spicy sausage. This was a good warm meal. You got to love when a meal is all mixed together in one container. I think when I make this again I will most likely either use spicy sausage or more pepper flakes.

Chicken, Lemon and Dill With Orzo

Ingredients:
4 c. chicken broth
1 T. butter
1 1/4 t. coarse salt
1/4 t. ground pepper
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1 inch slices
1 lb. orzo
2 c. feta, crumbled
1/4 c. fresh dill, chopped
2 t. grated lemon zest, plus 1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 c. parmesan, grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. In a saucepan, bring broth, 3/4 c. water, butter, salt and pepper to a boil.
Combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice in a 3 quart baking dish.
Pour broth mixture over orzo and stir once to incorporate. Bake until orzo is tender and cooking liquid is creamy, 40 minutes.
Sprinkle parmesan on top and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings. Total time 50 minutes.

Verdict:
Yum. They say this is Greek, I don't know, I just know it is good. I didn't use the lemon zest. Blake is not a huge fan of lemon flavor so I just used the lemon juice and added a little extra for good measure. It was tasty and fast. Even though there is a lot of feta I don't think it is too much. It makes it creamy but if you are really leery about it you could decrease it. Blake doesn't share my love of feta but he thought it was good the way it was.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients:
1 c. celery, sliced thinly
1/2 c. onion, diced
4 T. butter
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
1 c. green bell pepper, diced
1/2 c. flour
2 c. milk
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar, shredded
1 jar pimiento (4 oz.), diced
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. garlic, minced
1/2 t. pepper
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 c. dry sherry
2 c. cooked chicken, diced
1 1/2 c. slivered almonds, toasted and divided
8 oz. spaghetti, cooked and drained
1/4 c. Parmesan, shredded

Direction:
Preheat oven to 375. Coat a 3 qt. baking dish with nonstick spray.
Saute celery and onion in butter in a large saucepan, 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and bell pepper, cook 3 minutes more. Blend in flour; add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add cheddar, pimiento, Worcestershire, salt, red pepper, garlic, pepper, and nutmeg, stirring to melt cheddar. Stir in sherry.
Add chicken, 3/4 c. almonds, and spaghetti to the saucepan; transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Mix the remaining 3/4 c. almonds with Parmesan; sprinkle over top of spaghetti mixture.
Bake tetrazzini, uncovered, until bubbly, about 15-20 minutes.

Makes 8 servings. Total time 1 hr. 15 min.

Verdict:
Eeew. Not good. I didn't even want to eat leftovers.

(Teri-the lady that made the tetrazzini must have had a better recipe than me. I couldn't steal any man with this.)

Lentil Casserole

For the Casserole:
6 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. lentils, uncooked
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. brown rice, uncooked
1/2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 small can diced chilies

For toppings:
cheddar cheese, shredded
tomatoes, diced
olives, sliced
green onions, sliced thin
cilantro, minced

For the Casserole:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together in a oven safe dish. Cover and cook for 1 1/2-2 hours or until lentils and rice are cooked through and no liquid is left.
Place cheese and any other toppings on casserole and heat through.

Makes: a lot. Total Time: 15 minutes plus cooking time

Verdict:
When my mom first made this growing up I told her I would not eat it. It does not look good. She made us try it and I am glad I did. I enjoy it quite a bit. The nice thing about this is that you can use dried ingredients that you have in your cupboard like: onions, chicken bouillon instead of chicken broth and today I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. It was still good. We like to eat it with sour cream and salsa. Everything is better with those right?