Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

This was an easy Chicken and Broccoli casserole from my Grandma Davis. I have always loved this simple casserole, but wanted to make it healthier. It turned out great with the substitutions I made. I would definitely served this with rice or noodles. Alone it seems too "soupy". Here is my healthy chicken and broccoli casserole. I will put in parenthesis what the original recipe called for in case you want to go for the full fat version :)

20 oz. frozen broccoli florets

6-8 chicken breasts, cooked

2 cans healthy request cream of chicken soup (or regular)

1 can healthy request cream of celery soup (or regular)

1 c. low fat mayonnaise (or regular)

1 tsp curry (original called for 1/2 tsp curry... but we really like curry around here)

1 TB lemon juice

1 1/2 c. light shredded cheddar cheese

Layer frozen broccoli in a 9x13 in pan. Break chicken into large pieces and lay on top of broccoli. Mix soups, mayonnaise, curry and lemon juice together. Spread on top on chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Chicken Pasta Salad

This has become a staple for all of us at showers, birthdays, or just about any party that you've got a big group coming to.  It's delicious and you can't mess it up. 

12 oz bow tie pasta    
12 oz tri-colored pasta
20 oz can of pineapple tidbits
2 c. chopped celery
4 green onions, sliced
8 oz craisins
1 c. cashews
1 c grapes, sliced in half
4 c cooked chicken breast, cubed or shredded
1 c. mayonnaise
16 oz bottled coleslaw dressing (Marie's brand is yummy)

 Just cook the noodles, and rinse them in cold water.  Mix the mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing.  Then toss all the ingredients together in a LARGE bowl.  Keep it in the refrigerator until serving time.  

I sometimes make it the night before then toss in the dressing before serving.  This time around I knew I wouldn't even have that much time, so I tossed it with the dressing the night before, but didn't add the craisins until serving. (The craisins will stain some of the pasta purple if dressed and added the day before)

This is always a crowd pleasing recipe!  And a great way to get your kids to eat a little veggies and protein with their pasta!  So next time you're entertaining, make this chicken pasta salad and it won't disappoint.

Oatmeal Bars

WARNING!!!!

THESE OATMEAL BARS ARE HIGHLY ADDICTIVE AND IF LEFT ON THE COUNTER, MAY DISAPPEAR BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES.

But seriously, these things are so delicious! I took Dana's originally recipe and made a few changes to fit the likes of our family... well just Haws, who does not like butterscotch (what a shame). The original version is equally tasty, so you can choose what you want to try. Just beware that these gooey, chocolaty, crumbly treats are too hard to resist not having more than one. I like to think since they have oatmeal in them, the are healthy oatmeal bars... but who am I kidding? Look at all that butter! :)

Oatmeal Bars

2 c. melted butter

2 1/4 c. brown sugar

3 c. Quaker Oats (or any other plain oatmeal)

3 c. Flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of the above ingredients and spread HALF of the mixture out onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Then combine:

1 jar caramel (original recipe uses butterscotch)

2 TB. flour

Pour on top of baked oatmeal mixture and then sprinkle:

2 c. chocolate chips

(original recipe uses 1 c. chocolate chips and 1 c. butterscotch chips)

I might try these sometime using peanut butter chips in place of the butterscotch... that sounds yummy to me. If you get creative, let me know what you like :)

Make sure the chips are spread evenly.

Crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture on top and then continue baking for 15-20 at 350.

Cool before cutting.

This made a lot or bars. I would say about 30, with a few casualties. They are very gooey and crumbly so be careful when removing from pan.

Snickerdoodles

I love my cookies. Cookies are probably my favorite dessert to make and i especially  love the dough :) I probably eat about half the dough before I bake them, which just means I have to make more of these delicious cookies! These snickerdoodles are a must have in the Hathaway household. They are just the perfect texture and Chase can just eat them all day (so can I).

Snickerdoodles

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c, shortening
1 1/2 C. Sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 C. Flour
2 tsp. cream of Tarter
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. Salt

Heat oven to 400. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, sugar and eggs. Blend in flour, cream of tartar, soda, and salt. Shape dough by rounded tablespoon or ice cream scoop into balls. I like to make my cookies a little on the big side.

Mix 2 tbl of sugar and cinnamon and roll balls in mixture, Place two inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes immediately remove from baking sheet.

Chicken Taco Pie

1 c. chopped onions
1 T. cooking oil (optional)
2 T taco seasoning
1 3/4 T. chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 (10 1/2 oz.) cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 c. sour cream
3 c. cubed, cooked chicken
6-8 flour tortillas
1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

In a skillet, cook onions in oil until tender.  (I actually used cooking spray and a non stick pan and it worked great.) Add seasonings, cream of mushroom soup and sour cream (I ended up using light sour cream because that's what we keep in our house); heat and stir until smooth and warm.  Add chicken.  Oil a 2-3 quart flat casserole dish and cover the bottom with torn-up tortillas. (Make sure you tear them up in smaller pieces, they don't soften as much as corn tortillas do in the sauce.) Spread half of the chicken mixture on tortillas; top with additional torn tortillas, then cover with remaining filling.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 until hot and bubble.  Serves 6-8. 

This was a quick and easy family meal to make.  I made it before church, stuck it in the fridge and baked it when we got home.  The kids loved it - which is unusual.  They normally only sing the raves for pasta.  I think next time I might add an extra 1/2 -1 cup chicken. 

Crockpot Swiss Steak

I LOVE cooking with the crockpot!!! I made this dish on a busy day when Haws had the day off and I had a list of things I wanted us to do! We worked around the house, went to the Railroad Park in Irvine (that place is amazing!) for a picnic with some friends, headed out to the Nixon Library (free on Presidents Day) and then came home to dinner being practically ready! All I had to do was cook up the noodles and make a salad and wa-lah! This was really yummy and the meat was very tender. I would definitely make it again.

Crockpot Swiss Steak with Noodles

1 med onion, separated into rings

1 (4oz) can mushrooms, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I always use the 98% fat free kind)

1 (8oz) can stewed tomatoes

1-2 lbs round steak, cut into pieces

1/2 c. Swiss cheese

Cooked noodles

Combine first 4 ingredients in crockpot.

Place meat on top and bury in mixture. Cover and heat on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Just before serving, remove meat and mix in cheese.

Add meat back in and stir. Serve over cooked noodles.

CHOCOLATE MINT BROWNIES

These were a perfect treat for St. Patty's Day! The recipe comes from my Aunt Nancy. I changed nothing because I didn't want to mess with something so perfect! I gave these to my visiting teachees and they all loved them. Haws loves the chocolate and mint combo, so I knew the ones we kept around the house wouldn't last long. And between the two of us they didn't :)

Now if you are looking to whip up some brownies really quick, this is not the recipe you are looking for. But if you have the time, they are worth the effort. I split it up into two days. I made the brownies one day and then did the frosting and chocolate layers the next. This made it a lot easier. Here is what it looks like out of the freezer. Don't you just want to dig right in???

Brownies:

1 1/2 c. melted butter

3/4 c. cocoa

3 c. sugar

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 tsp salt

2 1/4 c. sifted flour

Frosting:

3/4 c. butter, softened

3 T. milk

3 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

green food coloring optional

Chocolate layer:

2 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 c. butter

Whisk together melted butter and cocoa. Add sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Mix well, then stir in flour by hand. Do not over mix. Spread in greased 12x17-inch cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Cool and then put in the freezer for 20 min. For frosting, mix butter, milk, powdered sugar and extract. Can color with green (or red) food coloring if desired. Frost brownies and then put in freezer for another 20 min. Melt chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler and spread on top of the frosting layer. Freeze another 20 min to set.