Aunt Mary's Chicken Casserole

My Aunt Mary gave me this recipe when we were first married.  It has such a rich, tasty sauce!  You could make some rice or noodles to go with this too if you wanted.

Aunt Mary's Chicken Casserole

3 Half chicken breasts – skinned and deboned
1/4 cup Butter
1 can Cream of chicken
3/4 cup White wine
1 can Mushrooms -- drained
1/4 cup Green pepper -- chopped
1 can Water chestnuts -- drained
1/4  tsp. Thyme
Salt
Pepper

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Brown in butter in a large skillet. Remove to a 2-quart casserole and place skin-side up. Slowly add soup to skillet. Keep stirring and add wine, mushrooms, thyme, green pepper, and water chestnuts. Heat to boiling and pour over chicken. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 to 35 minutes longer.

Larry's Asparagus Lasagna

My husband made up this recipe himself!  I just made this last night and stuck it in the freezer so I can take it to my brother and his wife when their new baby arrives.

Larry's Asparagus Lasagna

9 Lasagna Noodles - uncooked
1 can Cream of Mushroom
1 can Cream of Chicken (use another Cream of Mushroom instead to make this meatless)
2 cups Milk
8 oz. Sliced fresh mushrooms
1 bunch Asparagus - trimmed and cut 1" long
1 lb. Cottage cheese
2 cups Mozzarella
1/2 cup Parmesan
2 Eggs - beaten
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper

 Mix soups, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium pan. Cook and stir until smooth. Mix eggs, cottage cheese, and mozzarella in a medium bowl. Place 1 cup of soup mix in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Layer 3 noodles, 1/2 of cheese mix, asparagus, and 1/3 of soup mix. Repeat layers, using mushrooms instead of asparagus. Add final 3 noodles and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Asian Chicken Stir Fry

Quick and easy, and a great way to use up leftover chicken.  One of those throw-it-together-after-a-long-day recipes.

Asian Chicken Stir Fry

1 tbsp. Oil
2 cups Chicken pieces
1 can Golden Mushroom Soup
3 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 lb. Frozen stir fry veggies -- thawed
2 cups Rice -- cooked

 Heat oil in skillet and stir fry chicken until browned. Add soup, soy sauce, and garlic. Heat to boiling, add vegetables and cook until tender-crisp. Serve over rice.

Cherry-Plum and Blackberry Cobbler

We have a cherry-plum tree!  Which means it produces plums the size of cherries, basically.  It turns out it's really hard to find recipes for cherry-plums, so I modified a recipe I found here to make it work for these.

Cherry-Plum and Blackberry Cobbler

1 cup water
1 cup sugar -- divided
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter -- melted
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (only if you don't use salted butter)
1 cup pitted cherry-plums (that's 1 cup AFTER you've pitted them, not before)
2 cups fresh blackberries

Whisk together water, four, butter, baking powder, and 3/4 cup sugar.  Pour into ungreased 8"x8" baking dish.

In separate bowl, mix cherry-plums with 1/4 cup sugar until thoroughly coated.  Stir blackberries in with cherry-plums.  Pour on top of the batter in the baking dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until top turns golden and it's not jiggly in the middle.

Serve warm or cold, top with ice cream or whipped cream if you want a bigger sugar rush.

I know I don't usually post pictures, but I happened to take one, so here it is:

Cherry-Plum and Blackberry Cobbler, huzzah!

Asian Chicken Pitas

A colorful mix of things to fill pitas.  If you don't like pitas, you could use tortillas instead, I suppose.

Asian Chicken Pitas

1/3 cup Peanut butter
1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce
2 cups Chicken pieces
1/2 cup Pineapple tidbits – drained
1 stalk Celery – sliced
1 can Water chestnuts – drained and chopped
1 Red Pepper – chopped
1/2 cup Onion – chopped
8 Half pitas
1 tbsp. Oil

 Mix peanut butter and teriyaki sauce. In a large skillet, heat the oil, add chicken pieces and saute 5 minutes. Add celery and saute 3 minutes. Add onions and saute 3 more. Add peppers and chestnuts and saute for 3 more minutes. Finally, add pineapple and sauce and heat through. Stuff pitas.

Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Cherries

A quick, tasty salad that's perfect for summer!  Would work really well on a picnic.

Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese and Cherries

1 bag Baby arugula
4 Hardboiled eggs – sliced
1 cup Dried cherries
1 Red bell pepper – thinly sliced
4 oz. Goat cheese crumbles
Honey mustard dressing

 Toss first 5 ingredients together and serve with dressing.

Artichoke Stir Fry

A vegetarian stir fry!  The artichokes and lemon give it a nice zing.  We're not vegetarians, but we try to make meatless meals several times a week.  Saves money, gets us extra helpings of vegetables, etc.

Artichoke Stir Fry

2 cups Broccoli flowerets
2 cups Cauliflower flowerets
1 medium Onion - sliced
3 tbsp. Oil
2 cups Zucchini - sliced
1 can Quartered artichoke hearts - reserve juice
1 cup Chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 tsp. Lemon zest
2 tbsp. Lemon juice
2 tsp. Basil
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1 tbsp. Cornstarch
4 cups Egg noodles - cooked according to package

 Mix cornstarch, artichoke juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, and spices in a small bowl. Set aside. Heat oil in a large pan over medium high. Add broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and sauté until crisp-tender. Move to edges of pan. Add zucchini and artichokes. Saute until zucchini starts to turn color. Move to the edges of the pan. Stir sauce and add to the center. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Mix with veggies. Serve over noodles.