Chicken, cheese and rice… there is nothing better!

It’s WNY and the weather is undecided at best. Spring is a wash of rain, snow, warmth and down right coldness. On and off the weather switch is flicked as if a child recently found the remote for the television.

Hey Mother Nature, please get the weather remote from your children, they are driving us nuts here!

In an effort to fight the dinner boredom monster, I took to my favorite recipe Website, allrecipes.com. We, my wife and I, are in need of a new way to prepare the same old stuff. Recently, I found a wonderful meatloaf recipe. This time on the hit list, our normal chicken and rice dish.

Away I went:

Search: chicken and rice. Result: UGH!

Search: chicken rice casserole. Result: really?

Search: chicken, rice and cheese. Result: this one looks promising!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into bite size pieces
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup (I used Campbell’s brand)
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (Tops Markets brand)
• 3 slices soft white bread, cubed (I used 5)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. To Cook Chicken: Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste, place in a microwave-safe dish, cover and cook in microwave for 5 to 6 minutes. Turn and cook another 2 to 3 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink inside. Let cool. Here’s where I deviated: I cut the four breasts into bite sized chunks and stir fried them in a large pan with olive oil.
3. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, combine chicken, rice and soup and mix well. Top with cheese, then with bread cubes.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly and bread is crunchy. Another slight deviation, the dish was cooked for 25 minutes.

Here’s the link to the original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Chicken-and-Rice-Casserole/Detail.aspx

As the baking dish emerged from the oven, outside the clouds parted and gave way to brilliant spring time sunshine! Our moods were not only jovial due to the small gift from Mother Nature, the aroma that filled the house tickled our olfactory centers screaming delightful thoughts of yumminess!

We had to let the dish cool before serving and that was probably one of the longest waits I’ve endured in quite some time. It looked good, it smelled good and was sure to taste good! Our youngest noticed the dish cooling on the counter top and knew dinner was fast approaching.

Once the casserole was cooled to serving temperature, Tami dug the serving spoon in and began slapping heaping mounds on a plate. She quickly realized that the smells and anticipation had gotten to her as well. She scaled back the servings and four reasonably portioned plates made it to the table.

Both of our daughters (under the age of 3), dove in and didn’t really say much until the food was gone. That little miracle is a winner in my eyes any day!

My first bite was met with cheese, rice, a chunk of chicken and the crunch of the baked bread cubes. The mix of consistencies was almost perfect. The only thing I might modify on a second attempt would be more bread cubes for sure! I might even separate the cheese and sprinkle a 1/2 cup or more on the bread. The flavors we awesome and I’m sure it had a lot to do with the cream of chicken soup.

Needless to say, there wasn’t much in the order of left-overs. There was enough for my wife to enjoy for lunch on the following day or two. And she did enjoy it a second time without hesitation!

The ChuckKabob.com recommendation level is really high to give this one a try!

Overall Experience: 4.5 out of 5 kabobs

The uncontested conglomeration of my favorite foods into one fine baked dish, unfathomably exquisite!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup scallions
6 slices of cooked & crumbled bacon
1 blub garlic crushed
1 lbs ground beef hamburger

Directions:

1. Sauté ground beef in oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat for 1–2 minutes.
2. Add scallions, garlic, bacon & red bell pepper. Sauté until beef is browned and peppers are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain any excess fat.
3. Place meat mixture on a plate. Immediately sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and allow to melt.

5 grams of carbs per serving – this recipe makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound chicken ( I used 4 medium sized boneless skinless breasts chopped into bite sized pieces)
1/4 cup chopped onion (1/8 inch pieces)
3/4 teaspoon chopped garlic (I sent mine through a garlic press)
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
1/4 cup sauvignon blanc or other white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup canned plum tomatoes

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken and transfer to a plate.
2. Add onion, garlic and rosemary to the skillet; cook 4 minutes, until onion is softened. Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring to loosen any browned bits. Add salt and pepper flakes.
3. Return chicken to the skillet. Cook until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 2 – 3 minutes. Add tomatoes (I hand crushed about 5-6 skinless plum tomatoes).
4. Bring to a boil for 2 mins
5. To serve, spoon over spinach.

Makes 2 servings…

Net Carbs: 5.5 grams

Fiber: 1.0 grams

Protein: 45.5 grams

Fat: 24 grams

Calories: 454

Ingredients:

3 – 8oz cream cheese

1 – cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 – cup crumbled blue cheese

1/2 – cup grated Romano cheese

8 banana peppers

Preparations:

Dice peppers. Put cream cheese in the microwave for about a minute or so to soften for ease of workability. Mix all cheeses together along with peppers. Spread in a pan.

Sprinkle bread crumbs on the top and drizzle with olive oil.

Place pan uncovered  in the oven at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Serve warm with Tostino’s Scoops

Ingredients:

1 – 8oz cream cheese

1 – 10 oz stick of pepperoni

1 – can of cream of celery soup

Preparation:

Cut up pepperoni and run it through the chopping blade on your food processor.

Next add all ingredients into a crock pot slow cooker 3-4 hrs. Stir ingredients together. Set crock pot to low and stir every 1/2 hr.

Serve with Tostito’s Scoops. Enjoy.