Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

5 cups chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 cup sour cream
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 1/2 rolls of crackers)
1/2 cup melted butter
1 T poppy seeds
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. celery salt
1 t. minced garlic
1 T lemon juice
1/4 t. pepper
3 C. Cooked Rice
1 frozen pkg broccoli, warmed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In 9x13 pan put cooked rice in the bottom of pan. Layer the warmed broccoli on top of the rice. I just place the broccoli in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Boil raw chicken breasts until done.  Once cooled cut into one inch cubes. Place cubed chicken on top of broccoli.

In small mixing bowl stir together the condensed soup and sour cream, worcestershire sauce, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper. Pour mixture over the chicken.

In a gallon size Ziploc bag put poppy seeds and Ritz crackers. Crush into small pieces. Add melted butter to the bag and combine until cracker crumbs are evenly coated. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Instructions:

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 until the top of browned and it starts bubbling.

Chicken Pillows

2  cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk

Filling
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter 
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion flakes
2 C cooked chicken breasts, diced
3/4 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. milk
1 C grated cheddar cheese (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. In mixing bowl combine milk, 3/4 cup cheese and chicken soup

In separate bowl mix cream cheese and butter until smooth. (It is easiest when the cream cheese and butter are room temp). Add garlic powder,chopped chicken, onion, season salt, pepper, cheddar cheese, and milk; mix well. 

Unroll the crescent rolls. Place a spoonful of  chicken mixture  on top of each crescent triangle, then roll up starting at the thicker end.

 Drizzle a small amount of soup mixture on the bottom of the dish. Then place the crescent rolls seam-side down on top of the creamed mixture in the casserole.

Drizzle the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with 1 cup of grated cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Side by Side Pics in Blogger

When I created this blog I was a complete HTML novice. I choose blogger because everything was already set up for me and it was free. One thing that really bothered me though was not being able to place pictures side by side. After complete headache and through research I finally figured it out and want to share with all of you to hopefully relieve some stress. You are welcome.

1.) Start a brand new post.

2.) Click on the HTML icon beneath the post title.

3.) Paste the link below in the text area.

<table><tbody>
<tr><td>photo 1-1
</td><td>photo 1-2
</td></tr></tbody></table>

4.) Enter down a couple of lines.

5.) Insert your picture. and you will see lots more HTML text appear on your scree. Don't let it scare you. Cut ALL of that text that just appeared and insert it where it says photo 1-1.Repeat for next photo. If you would like more than two pictures next to each other copy </td><td>photo 1-2 and post it again untll you have the number of pictures you would like. 

Happy Blogging!

Indian Butter Chicken

My husband served an LDS mission in India for two years. He came home loving different Indian foods.
Indian Butter Chicken is definitely his favorite. I have made a variety of different Butter Chicken recipes trying to get it just right and this one is by far his favorite.

Indian Butter Chicken
 2/3 C. Plain yogurt
1/2 C. Ground almonds (I use the food processor)
1 1/2 t. Chili powder
1/4 t. Ground Bay leaf
1/4 t. Cloves
1/4 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Garam masala
4 Green cardamom pods (opt.)
1 t. Grated fresh ginger
1 t. Crushed garlic
1 14.5 oz Canned tomatoes (drained)
1 1/4 t. Salt
2 lbs. Skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
4 T. Butter
1/2 T. Vegetable oil
1 Yellow onion, diced
2 T. Chopped cilantro
4 T. Cream

In a bowl combine yogurt, ground almonds, chili powder, crushed bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, garam masala, cardamom pods, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, salt, and chicken. Mix together. Set aside.

In large pan melt butter and oil over med/high heat. Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes. Add chicken mixture and stir fry uncovered for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Stir in in cilantro and cream. Heath through.

Serve over rice or eat with roti/tortillas.

Enjoy!

Pear Kale Smoothie

I have tried various green smoothies and I am not going to lie, I am not that into them but this recipe has won my heart. I could drink this smoothie everyday and never get tied of it. It is something that should be on Jamba Juice's menu--that is how delicious this is!

Pear Kale Smoothie
1 cup green grapes
1 orange, peeled
1/2  Bartlett pear, seeded
1  fresh banana, peeled
1 cup kale
1/2 cup water or apple juice
2 cups  ice cubes

Blend all ingredients together. Enjoy!

One Hour Breadsticks

The thing that I love about these bread sticks is how quick and easy they are! You can have them started and done within an hour! And, did I mention they are soooo AMAZING! I've tried other bread sticks recipes and nothing compares.

1 1/2 C. Lukewarm water
1 T. Sugar or honey
1 T. Yeast
1/2 t. Salt
3-3 1/2 C. Flour
1/4 C. Butter


Combine water, sugar, and yeast in small bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile mix 3 C.  flour and salt in large mixing bowl. After the yeast mixture has sat for 10 minutes combine with the flour mixture. You may need more flour depending on the consistency  The dough should not be a sticky mess. Knead for 2 minutes or until it all comes together. Roll out dough on a greased cookie sheet (the dough should fill the whole entire sheet). Pour the melted butter on top and sprinkle garlic salt, parsley, cheese basically, whatever you want on your bread sticks. Then cut with a pizza cutter in half and then in one inch strips. Cover with towel and let rise for 45-60 minutes. Bake 400 for 12-15 minutes.

Cilantro Lime Soup

My Aunt Melanie is my cooking inspiration. When I was little I would love to go to her house and try all of her delicious recipes (and delicious is an understatement--she is seriously up there with Rachel Ray, Jaime Oliver, Gordon Ramsey). All of my favorite food are things that she has made and I have tried A LOT of food! That is how good she is. My point amongst all my bragging is this delicious Cilantro Lime Soup is from her recipe box--so it is bound to be delicious.

My husband and I have a cute windowsill garden in our little apartment and we have TONS of cilantro! So I decided to use it in this soup and let me tell you homegrown cilantro is hands down better than any cilantro you will buy in the store. Oh! and random fact: Cilantro only smells after it was been harvested. I learned that when I was making this yummy soup. So enough of my blabbering and onto the recipe:

2 T. Olive oil
1 Small onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 T. Chili powder
2 Chicken Breast, skinless & boneless, cut in 1/2" pieces
5 C. Chicken Broth
1 C. Corn kernals
1 C. Chopped seeded tomatoes
1/2 bunch cilantro sprigs
1/4 C. Cilantro, chopped
1/2 C. Lime juice (about 5 limes)
Salt and Pepper
Sour cream (garnish)
Tortilla chips (garnish)


 Heat oil in large skillet. Add onion and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Add chili powder. Stir 1 minute. Add chicken. Stir 2 minutes. Add chicken broth, corn, tomatoes  and cilantro sprigs. Bring to a boil. Simmer until chicken is cooked (about 10 minutes).  Discard cooked cilantro. Add 1/4 C. chopped cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro.

Enjoy!