Cabbie’s Cooking

This recipe was given to me by a friend, and I’ve made some adaptations to it. I leave out the mushrooms and the peas, and it is SCRUMPTIOUS! You can also leave out the sherry - I usually do., This is a fantastic meal - one of those foods that makes you feel good - true comfort food. I’ve served it to company many times, and it always receives raves. Make a salad to go with it, and you have a complete meal.

Creamed Chicken on Cornbread

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups light cream (half and half)
2 cups milk
4 cups chicken (cooked and chopped)
8 oz. can mushroom pieces, drained
3 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained
1/4 cup sherry
1 pkg. frozen peas (optional)(or one can of peas)
salt and pepper to taste
Corn meal muffins or sticks

Melt butter. Add flour and salt; cook until bubbly. Add chicken broth. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Add cream and milk. Simmer 30 minutes. When ready to serve, add the other ingredients and heat thoroughly.

Serve over corn meal muffins. Yield 6 to 7 servings.

This makes a very large casserole, and it is a crowd pleaser. I’ve never served it that I didn’t get rave reviews, requests for seconds along with requests for the recipe.

Poppy Seed Chicken

2 sticks margarine or butter, melted
3/4 lbs. Ritz crackers, crushed (3 sleeves)
1 50-ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
5 Tablespoons poppy seeds
8 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
2 cups milk

Mis the margarine/buter, 3 tablespoons poppy seeds and 2 sleeves Ritz crackers together and press into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Layer chicken on top of crust. Combine soup, milk, sour cream and 2 tablespoons poppy seeds. Mix well. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle remaining crackers over mixture. Bake 45 minutes at 300 degrees until slightly browned on top. Serve over rice.

What could be easier for your holiday dinner than Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing. Thanks to Ruthlace for sending me this recipe.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dressing

5 skiness and boneless chicken breast halves
1 9×9 pan of cornbread, baked, cooked and crumbled
9 slices of day old bread, torn into small pieces
4 eggs, beaten,
1 onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
1 10.75 oz. can cream of chicken soup
2 Tablespoons margarine

Boil chicken, cook and chop into small pieces. In a crock pot, stir together the chicken, cornbread, bread, eggs, onion, salt, pepper, chicken broth and chicken soup. Stir until well blended. Dot with margarine.

Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours. Remove lid and fluff with fork. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

It cold and rainy here in middle Tennessee. I’m recovering from some type of respiratory ailment, and RT is only a couple weeks away from his battle with a more aggressive respiratory bug. Last weekend I made chili. This weekend is made for a big pot of chicken soup. Following my new resolution, I will photograph as I go. However, as I was chopping the onions, peppers and celery, I figured I might as well make meatloaf at the same time - since I’d bought several packages of lean ground beef yesterday for that specific purpose. Chopping the vegetables is the most labor-intensive part of cooking these dishes. By the time I’m finished, I’ll have at least five meals in the freezer for later on, in addition to tonight’s soup and tomorrow’s mealoaf. The recipe for the meatloaf will follow this post.

Homemade Chicken Soup

Cabbie’s Homemade Chicken Soup

1 pkg chicken breasts (boneless, skinless, approx. 1 lb.)
1 pkg. chicken thighs (boneless, skinless, approx. 1 lb.)
salt, pepper, poultlry seasoning - to taste
1 large onion, finely diced
1/2 cup finely diced bell peppers (any comibination of red, yellow, green)
2 stalks celery, finely diced
3 carrots, grated or diced
3 tablespoons diced parsley
3 tablespoons corn starch
a few drops of yellow food coloring

Put two quarts of water in a large stock pot and set on high heat. Add the diced onion, bell peppers, celery, carrots and parsley. Add salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, to taste (approx. 1 Tablespoon each).

Add the chicken. Bring to a boil and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

Add chicken to the pot of boiling veggies

Remove the chicken with tongs and place on a plate to cool. Once the chicken is cool, chop it finely and add it back into the pot.

In a small bowl mix the corn starch with 1/2 cup water. Stir until dissolved and add to the soup mixture. Add the yellow food coloring and stir well. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Simmer for 30 minutes and ENJOY!

If the soup is too thick, you can add chicken stock. You can include other vegetables, as desired - corn, beans, peas, tomatoes. You can also add some noodles or rice.

My sister, Joan, gave me this recipe.  Her son always asks for this for his birthday dinner each year.

Chicken Casserole

5 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1 stick margarine or butter
2 cups chicken broth

Cook chicken and remove from bones (or use boneless chicken breasts to begin with). Chop the chicken.
Place the chopped chicken in a casserole dish
Mix both cans of soup with one cup of chicken broth.
Pour this mixture over the chicken pieces
Mix the stuffing mix with the melted margarine and 1 cup chicken broth.
Spoon this mixture over the chicken/soup in the pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

This is a delicious cold weather soup.  It’s comfort food at its finest.  My younger sister, Debi, gave me the recipe.  It’s quick and easy - and delicious!

CHICKEN CHEESE CORN CHOWDER

1 cup chopped oniion
1 Tablespoon butter
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (chopped into chunks)
3 cups milk
8 ounces Velveeta
8 ounces of Colby/Jack or cheddar cheese
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 17-ounce can of creamed corn
salt/pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste

In a large soup pot, cook the oniions in the butter until transparent. Add the chicken broth, chicken, potatoes, salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning. Simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Add the corn, milk and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and mixed in well.

My Cotillion sister, Nicki, has a fantastic cooking website, Now We’re Cookin’, and she just posted a recipe for Thai Style Chicken.  Doesn’t this sound delicious?  I intend to try this ASAP!

Thai Style Chicken

Ingredients:

1/3 cup peanut butter (shown with creamy, use chunky if desired)
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
dash cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups uncooked pasta
2 boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

Take two cups of your favorite pasta and cook according to package instructions. I made mine with thin spaghetti. While that’s cooking, chop the chicken breasts into bite size pieces and cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear.

To mix up the sauce, combine the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, garlic, chili powder, and cayenne pepper (optional) in a medium sized bowl. I found it easiest to mix with a small wire whisk to combine the peanut butter and wet ingredients first, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in dry ingredients.

When the chicken is done, toss in with peanut butter mixture until well mixed. Drain pasta, toss in olive oil (if desired).

Serve in a bowl with pasta topped by chicken and peanut butter mixture.

Go check out Now We’re Cookin’ for more delicious recipes!