Broccoli, Chicken & Rice Casserole

I needed to use up some leftover chicken, broccoli, and cheese fondue from New Year's, and this is what happened! The kids are not giant fans of casseroles - they're more of the "keep my food separate" school of thought, but they ate it and didn't die. The adults enjoyed it - a simple comfort food dish.

Broccoli, Chicken and Rice Casserole

2/3 cup milk (2% or skim)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 recipe cream soup mix

1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese (I used the fondue here) - some people prefer more cheese

1 c. cooked rice

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I used fresh I had on hand, and steamed it)
2 c. chicken, cooked, chopped (I used leftovers - rotisserie chicken works great here, too)

Cooking spray

1 (1-ounce) slice white bread (or use some pre-made bread crumbs - I had some Panko in the pantry)

Optional: Sauté some chopped mushrooms (1/2 c. or so) and 1/2 diced onion in a little butter, and stir into mixture.

Cook rice and set aside. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Gently stir in cooked rice, chicken and broccoli. Transfer broccoli mixture to an 9 x 13 or similar-sized baking dish coated with cooking spray or butter. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup (or use breadcrumbs). Sprinkle broccoli mixture with breadcrumbs and a little Parmesan cheese or additional shredded cheese if you like. You can cover with foil and freeze at this point (just thaw in the refrigerator before baking) or bake, covered, at 350° for 20ish minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until heated through and topping is golden. Makes about 6-8 servings (serving size: about 3/4 - 1 cup).

Layered Mexican Trifle Salad

So this is awesome. It's a lot of work, but it is awesome. Feeds a crowd, looks cool, tastes great. What more can you ask for? I first had this at a party, and then tracked down the recipe - I believe it was originally from Pampered Chef. You can mix it up, but I really like this combo. It's easy to double or whatever is needed, based on the serving dish. The one pictured was MASSIVE, and was basically a triple batch - so much work, and at the last minute! Layered Mexican Trifle Salad I ngredients: Beans: drain, rinse and mix together 1 15 oz. can pinto beans and 1 15 oz. can black beans 1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained (I've also used fresh) 1 large tomato, diced (I usually use several Roma tomatoes) 2 green bell peppers, diced 3 ripe avocadoes, diced and mashed with the juice of 1 lime and salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion, diced (red or white) 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded 2 cups cheddar or jack cheese, shredded

Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti & Asiago Cheese

We ALL really love this recipe. This is based on a recipe from the good people at Cooks Illustrated - I am grateful to them for getting my kids to happily eat sundried tomatoes and broccoli! I've also made this in a huge batch and served it family-style for a dinner party (and got to use my giant Pampered Chef Simple Additions square pasta bowl (it's really big), and it was AWESOME). If people could have licked the bowl clean, they might have - there was NOTHING left. Try this, and love it: Chicken, Broccoli, Penne and Asiago Cheese Skillet 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares 2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or olive oil - just don't heat that to smoking) 1 medium onion, minced (about 1 cup) 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.) 1/4 tsp. dried oregano 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 oz. ziti or penne (2 /12 cups) 3 c. water 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 3-4 c. broccoli florets 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and choppe

Another Take on Comfort Food

Sometimes there's nothing you can do but cook. I've had the displeasure of seeing 2 young moms in our school community recieve cancer diagnoses in the last 18 months. If you're like me, when someone you know is hurting, you want to help, but lots of times, there's not much you can do. If you can cook, you can take away some of the stress of getting the family fed and bring a meal or two. In fact, even if you can't cook, you can pick up a meal at a restaurant or a bag of groceries, or even a gift card for a local restaurant. I think it comes naturally to some - the church and school communities I grew up in always loved with food - church potlucks, school spaghetti dinners, and of course lots of meals for people who needed them. But not everyone has done this before, so it might be overwhelming. As in my "feeding a crowd" blurb, there are a few things to keep in mind. Don't try to impress - don't try new recipes. Find out if you're

A Cooking Baker

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