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.

Stuffed Savoy Cabbage

For the tomato sauce:
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled plum tomatoes, with juice
2 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped (1 c.)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
coarse salt

For the stuffed cabbage:
coarse salt
1 large head Savoy cabbage (2 to 3 lbs.)
12 oz. ground chuck
12 oz. ground pork
2 c. cooked brown rice (from 1 c. dry)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. fresh flat leaf parsley
1 T. hot paprika

For the sauce:
Pulse tomatoes with juice in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thick, about 20 minutes. Season with salt. Let cool completely.

For the cabbage:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cabbage head, and cook until outer leaves are just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Peel outer layer of leaves, and drain. Return remaining cabbage to water, and repeat until all leaves are cooked and removed.
Pat each leaf dry with a kitchen towel.
Preheat oven to 375.
Gently combine beef, pork, rice, onion, parsley, paprika, and 1 T. salt.
Working with 1 leaf at a time, trim thick part of rib with a paring knife, leaving leaf intact. Arrange about 1/2 c. filling (less for smaller leaves) in center of each leaf. Fold stem end of cabbage over filling. Fold in sides of cabbage. Carefully roll cabbage over to form a package, overlapping ends to seal. Transfer each, seam side down, to a large shallow baking dish.
Spread sauce over stuffed cabbage leaves. Cover with foil and bake until cooked through and cabbage is tender, about 1 hour.

Makes 12 servings. Total time 2 hours + cooling time.

Verdict:
Things wrapped in cabbage seem so fancy. It was a good dinner but it takes a long time. If it didn't take so long I would make them again but because it is so time consuming I probably wont.

Chicken, Rice and Black Bean Salad

For the salad:
1 cup brown or white rice
1 cooked chicken (I use the Costco rotisserie), shredded
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 plum tomatoes, seeded, and sliced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

For the dressing:
1/4 c. white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

For the salad:
Cook rice according to package directions. Mix together all salad ingredients including cooked rice.

For the dressing:
Mix together all ingredients and toss with salad.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 40 min.

Verdict:
We eat this a lot at our house. It is easy and fresh. We like it by itself or wrapped in a tortilla with some sour cream. You will like this too. I promise.