Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

Here's an easy chicken dish from Campbell's ad in one of my magazines. Yes, it has Campbell's soup in it. I used chicken thighs with skin removed. I cannot taste the onion powder, but as you know, my sense of smell doesn't work. Next time, I will add some minced onion for that reason. When you need a brainless day, this works. I served it with cornbread and salad. I've noticed that I've been on a real casserole bent of late for posting recipes. I haven't had a lot of recipes lately that I ever cared to have again. I am also trying to cut back on the baked goods. While my cholesterol is not too bad, my weight is suffering. I've been having a great time trying out different recipes for stir fry. We have a new Oriental grocery store that opened up blocks from here. Yum. But just like in regular supermarkets, most of the canned stuff has a lot of salt.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup (regular or 98% fat free)
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (4-6)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz).

Mix soup, water, rice, onion powder and black pepper in 2 qt. shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Sprinkle chicken with additional pepper. Cover and bake at 375 F for 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is done. Uncover. Sprinkle cheese over chicken. Serves 4.

Pineapple Chicken

I'm not shy about where I get my recipes. One of the best additives I have for soup (baby spinach) came from a recipe in one of the grocery store magazine grabs. The recipe below also comes from Women's World - a weekly that has diet of the week as well as occasional useful health tips and fairly often, some pretty good recipes.

Yep, made some substitutions mostly to use what was on hand, so I'm going to give you the recipe the way I did it. The original recipe did not include a thickener; I opted to add a little cornstarch. Add very little (no more than 2 tsp) as it thickens quickly. If you use fresh pineapple, it will have an even better flavor. I used frozen, prechopped red/yellow pepper. Thaw it first and it works great!

Now, you might ask, frozen pepper? Red, yellow and orange peppers are very sweet, but only really affordable when in season. So, when they are on special, buy 10, chop them neatly and stick them in freezer Ziplocs. This is especially useful if you have family members who don't like green peppers as these taste quite differently. Use them in any kind of casserole or sauce. If you thaw first, they will brown nicely as well.

Pineapple Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp. curry seasoning blend
1 red or yellow sweet pepper, chopped
1 can chunk pineapple, drained
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tbsp. packed brown sugar
thickener, arrowroot or corn starch (optional)
1 serrano pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

1. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 tsp. salt and curry seasoning. In 12 inch skillet, quickly brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook 12 minutes, until tender and no longer pink.
2. For sauce, in another skillet, cook sweet pepper in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil over medium-high heat 3 minutes; set aside. Add pineapple; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add serrano pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, brown sugar and thickener; heat through. Serve sauce over chicken.

Almond Turkey Casserole

Been a while since I've tried some new recipes. Needed new things to do with turkey and tried this casserole which was yummy and easy to make. If you start the rice, you'll get everything else done by the time the rice is cooked. I discovered after I had already chopped vegetables that I didn't have enough mayonnaise, so made half the recipe in a 9x9 Corning casserole. I used The extra celery, onion and water chestnuts (used the whole can) worked extremely well. I did not add the salt required in the recipe because I'm serving some folks who can't have the salt. I didn't miss it.

Almond Turkey Casserole

Jill Black, Troy Ontario from Taste of Home's Best of Country Casseroles

2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 cups cubed cooked turkey
3 cups cooked rice
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 cup sliced almonds

Topping:
1 1/2 cups crushed butter-flavored crackers (about 38 crackers)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sliced almonds

In a large bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the turkey, rice, celery, water chestnuts and almonds. Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 x 2 in baking dish. Combine topping ingredients, sprinkle over turkey mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Yield 8-10 servings.

Note: Do not substitute reduced-fat or fat free mayonnaise in this recipe.