Bacon, Chicken, and Rice Casserole

Oh wow, how did a whole week go by without any posting? I am usually much better with this.  I will blame it on a road trip and finishing up our summer vacation.

Meanwhile, I have been cooking.  I didn't cook while on the road trip but I did some cooking before I left so the kids would have some food. Just in case it sounds like I have become a "lazy bones".

Last night, I decided to try a new recipe.  It was fairly simple which is always a "plus" in my mind.   Plus, it involved three of my favorite ingredients...chicken, bacon, and rice.

And the verdict is?  It was a hit.  I will be making it again (though I will change a couple things up...).

Ingredients:
Bacon (not thick cut)

Chicken legs/thighs or breasts, preferably bone-in.  That being said, I used bone-in chicken leg quarters for ours.  Next time I will be trying it with boneless chicken breasts.  The original recipe said to NOT use boneless but we found it really difficult to eat with bones.

2 cans/containers of Cream of Chicken soup

1 cup water

Paprika/Cajun seasoning to taste (I omitted due to food issues at our house)

1 cup long grain uncooked rice (I think next time I will try minute rice and I may even cook it first...my rice didn't cook all the way through)

salt and pepper to taste

garlic salt to taste

nutmeg to taste

1 tsp oregano

dried parsley (a sprinkle or two)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Lay bacon (around 8 slices) in the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish. I think I will pre-cook this next time, at least partially.

Mix 1 can of cream of chicken soup with the rice and pour over the top of the bacon.

Lay chicken on top of the rice.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add paprika and/or Cajun spices if desired.

Mix garlic salt, nutmeg, oregano, and parsley in the remaining cream of chicken soup and add water.  Pour over the top of the chicken. 

Bake for 2 hours.

Like I said, the flavor was delicious. We just had a hard time eating the chicken on the bone.  I will definitely make again, just changing a couple things along the way...

Oh, and we had ours with carrots/Ranch and skillet rolls.

Happy cooking!

Reba

Chicken and Bacon Wild Rice Soup

I really need to take some kind of food photography class.

Of course, the hard part is that I would have to have time to get things just right.

And usually when I make dinner, I have little people chomping at my heels, ready to eat.

Anyway, I made this one cold day last week.

It was everything I had hoped it would be...and more.

I know, you can't tell by looking at the picture.

Just trust me.

Chicken, bacon, half and half, wild rice.

A good hearty meal.  A stick to the ribs kind of meal.  A "I don't think I can eat another bite" kind of meal.

It was all good but I won't lie. The bacon just puts this over the top.  And even thought there wasn't that much bacon in it, the flavor just spread through the "soup" like wildfire.

This is technically a soup though mine was a VERY thick stew. That may be because I threw in some extra rice.  Or maybe it was just the way I cooked it.  Either way, it was thick.  But that didn't stop anyone from eating it.

I found the recipe here.  If I remember correctly, this was not a Pinterest recipe, though I think I have posted it since. It was a recipe I found during a search one night as I thought about chicken and wild rice.

Ingredients:
about 32 oz chicken broth (the original recipe calls for 3 cans but the chicken broth I use comes in large boxes :)

2 cups water

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed.  (Note:  I totally forgot the "rinsed" part.  Remember that part if you make this.  The "soup/stew" comes out kind of oddly colored otherwise.  Not to mention, with all of the news about tainted rice, it is better to rinse it first.  Another note:  I added about 1 cup of rice just because. I think that is why it was SOOO thick)

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (I didn't have any. I can't remember if I threw in a little bit of dried onion or not...probably)

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp poultry seasoning (I left this out)

1/8 tsp pepper

2 cups half and half (gives it a VERY rich flavor)

8 slices bacon cooked/crumbled

1 1/2 cups diced or shredded chicken (I actually had some chicken left over from a "crockpot rotisserie" chicken I had made so I used that)

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring the water and broth to a boil.  Add the rice (and onion if using), cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the rice is tender.  There will be extra broth. So don't worry.  That is supposed to be there. :)

In a different saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the flour and seasonings.

Cook 1 minute, stirring often until bubbly and smooth.

Gradually stir in the half and half to the butter mixture.  Stir often until it is slightly thickened.

Add the mixture into the large saucepan with the rice.

Add in the chicken and the bacon pieces.

Heat on low for at least half an hour (longer if possible).  Do NOT boil.

Enjoy!

Like I said, it was really good. And it was just as good re-heated.

A perfect winter meal.

Enjoy!
Reba

Pork Chops and Rice

 Another Pinterest Recipe.  I loved the appeal of how simple it is (as in few ingredients, few steps).  Since Hubby was gone and I was in full "get ready for Christmas mode", I wanted things as simple and easy as possible. So I thought I would give this a try.

Well, it was a hit.

My oldest child (a teenager) couldn't stop eating it.  He LOVED the flavor of the rice. 

I just smiled and said "Thank you". I felt a little guilty.  I mean, it really was simple and nothing I did beyond assembling it.

That being said, this will become a "go to" meal on those nights I don't have much time to spend in the kitchen but want a good hot meal.

I will be making it again.

(The true sign it was well-liked?  NO leftovers. Oh, there were the first night but my teenager who normally doesn't touch leftovers finished it off the next day...that says a lot. :)

Ingredients:
4 pork chops (The original recipe called for bone-in, I ended up buying boneless because it was more available AND it was a little cheaper...it worked.  If hubby had been home, I would have thrown in a couple more.)

salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 packet Lipton's Recipe Secrets Onion Mushroom soup mix

3 cups water

Note:  The original recipe used 2 cans of French Onion soup.  Due to some dietary restrictions, we couldn't do that so I decided to use this instead...it was wonderful!

Directions:
Salt and pepper pork chops liberally.

Brown both sides of the pork chops in the vegetable oil in a skillet.  Note: You do NOT have to cook it through. Just brown it.

In a 9 x 13 inch dish, spread the cup of rice out.

Mix the water and the onion soup mix and pour over the rice.

Place the browned pork chops on top.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Don't remove the foil or the rice will NOT cook through.

Enjoy!

We ate this with salad and the cheese stuffed rolls I mentioned in the last post.

Good meal.

Enjoy!

Reba

Almond Rice Pilaf

I had planned on having Swai again (at my family's request) and wanted a good side dish. I usually just use a boxed wild rice as a side dish which works. But this week, I wanted something more. Somehow I stumbled upon a recipe for almond rice pilaf, and I knew I had found what I was looking for.

It was fast. Easy. And just the right complement to the meal.

Ingredients:
2 cups instant rice (though next time, I think I will just use my favorite regular rice and cook longer)

2 cups chicken broth

chopped onion to taste (I think the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup but I just added what I thought was a good amount, didn't measure at all)

1/2 cup slivered almonds (I just had sliced, so I used that)

1 tbsp butter or margarine (I did use Blue Bonnet Light)

Directions:
In a saucepan, brown almonds and cook the onion until tender in the butter.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add rice, remove from heat, and let stand for 5-8 minutes.

Fluff with a fork.

I didn't remove mine immediately from the heat after adding the rice, so I burned the very bottom. But it didn't affect the taste at all.

It was a very nice side dish. But really, with almonds, how could you go wrong? :)

Reba

Fried Rice

Sorry I have been missing in action.

School started back. That means life got crazy. :)

Anyway, here is the fried rice recipe we made to go with the sweet and sour chicken (all found on Pinterest). I have tried different fried rice recipes, but this has been my favorite so far. It does take a little time and a little planning ahead, which thankfully we had time for that day!

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked white rice (We cooked it earlier that day and refrigerated it...from what I have read, it actually works better if you start with cold rice)

3 tbsp sesame oil (Okay, I confess...I just couldn't shell out the money for this since it wasn't an ingredient I would use often. I used our typical oil, a canola/vegetable/soy oil mix. New note:  I finally gave in and bought toasted sesame oil. Oh my word. Worth every cent!  It has such a wonderful flavor!)

1 cup frozen peas and carrots thawed (I actually did about half a cup frozen peas...didn't worry about thawing...and diced a few "baby" carrots we had in the fridge)

1 small onion chopped (I just chopped a yellow onion and used part of it)

2 tsp minced garlic (I would normally use fresh but what I had was moldy, so I had to use dried minced garlic)

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce (I think we added more but we also used more rice)

Directions: Saute the onion, garlic, and peas and carrots in the sesame oil over medium heat in a skillet.

Reduce heat to medium low. Push the food over to one side and stir fry/scramble the eggs on the other side until cooked through.

Add the rice and soy sauce. Cook until heated through.

It was very good.

I do think if I had had any bacon, I would have cut it up and added that.

But I didn't.

Otherwise, there wasn't much I would change.

It was good stuff.

I have another recipe to share...maybe tomorrow. :)

Reba

Hopping John

I really thought I had shared this recipe which just shows what a blur December was. :) Because today when I searched for it, it was not there. Oops.

So here is the recipe for Hopping John.

We eat this on New Year's if we are with my parents. You know, supposedly eating black-eye peas on January 1 is good luck. Now I don't really believe in luck, but I never turn down a reason to eat sausage, ham, rice, and beans. :)

If you are a Southerner, you have probably eaten this. If you aren't, you may think it sounds crazy.

But it really is good. I promise.

Even my picky picky eaters will eat this.

In fact, tonight the pickiest ate 5 bowls.

And one of my children who gags at anything the color green will eat this up in a heartbeat, celery and all. In fact, he wanted this for his birthday meal. So that is what we had.

You can either cook this on the stove or in a crock pot. If you know me at all, you know which way I went.

Ingredients:
1 cup celery, sliced (I just sliced a couple stalks)

2/3 cup onions, chopped (I used a yellow)

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp vegetable oil or bacon drippings

2 (10 3/4 oz) cans chicken broth

1 (16 oz) bag frozen black eye peas or 15 oz can black eye peas (I used the can...I have had trouble getting frozen to cook thoroughly)

1/2 lb ham, cut into cubes (I totally cheated on this...bought a package of already cubed ham :)

4 oz smoked sausage, sliced (I just used the Lil Smokies/cocktail wienies and slice them in half)

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 bay leaf

3 cups cooked long-grain enriched white rice

Directions:
Saute' celery and onion in vegetable oil or bacon drippings until tender.

For the stovetop:
Add remaining ingredients except rice. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until the peas are tender.

Remove and discard bay leaf.

Add rice and heat through.

For the crockpot:
After sauteing the celery and onions, add all ingredients except for the rice to the crockpot.

I think I cooked it about five hours. I started off on high then switched to low.

I am trying to remember exactly.

Anyway, when the beans are cooked thoroughly, remove the bay leaf and add the rice about 30 minutes before serving.

Oh, and I made a double batch since we were having family over for our son's birthday. I think a regular batch would easily feed about 6. :)

Reba

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Another Pinterest recipe.

It just sounded good.

Wild rice- love. Parmesan-love. Sour cream-love. Chicken-love.

A win win situation for me!

And perfect for a cold night.

So I headed on over to Better Homes and Garden and checked out the recipe behind the picture. (The picture on Pinterest, not on here above :)

As with any recipe, we had to make some adjustments.

The original recipe calls for celery.

My family isn't particularly crazy about celery, though I did have some for a recipe we are having tonight. I decided to just nix it. I am sure it gives the dish a nice little crunch. I just don't think my kids have recovered from the last casserole I made with water chestnuts. They still talk about that one ingredient with a distrust in their eyes.

Anyway, after all was said and done, the recipe was a hit. Even my pickiest eater who turned her nose up at it the first time she saw it ended up liking it to her dismay and even had seconds.

I will be making this again.

Ingredients:
1 box wild grain and rice, cooked according to box directions (this was the longest part of the process for us)

1 medium onion chopped (I just added some dried chopped onion later in the recipe for a little flavor; my family isn't big on a lot of onion)

1/2 cup celery chopped (optional for us :)

2 tbsp butter (only needed if you are sauteing the onion and the celery)

1 can cream of chicken soup (or you can use a can of chicken with white and wild rice soup...we stuck with the basic cream of chicken)

1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)

1/3 cup cooking white wine (can also use chicken broth instead...I just love the flavor of cooking wine)

1/2 tsp dried crushed basil (can use 2 tbsp fresh snipped basil instead)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (I used about 3 boiled chicken breasts, shredded)

1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese (I HIGHLY recommend shredding it "fresh"...YUM)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

If you are using onion and celery, saute first in the butter over medium heat in a skillet.

Combine the sour cream, cooking wine, cream of chicken soup, rice, chicken, and basil (and the sauteed ingredients if used) in the skillet or in a large bowl.

Spread in a 2 quart baking dish (not greased).

Top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake (uncovered) for about 35 minutes.

Enjoy!

It makes about 4 "servings" but this was actually just right for our family of 6.

Oh, and our oldest had actually eaten dinner already at a school function, came home and smelled this, and insisted on eating some. I think he ate two bowls of it after having already eaten a dinner!

More soon,
Reba

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Not long ago, our oldest son said he really wanted some jambalaya. I have never made that so I am not sure where the request came from. However, if you knew this son and his eating habits, that request would have surprised you. Even a year again, he likely wouldn't have touched rice, shrimp, or tomatoes. Jambalaya (our version) has all three!

Not long after the request was made, a slow cooker jambalaya recipe appeared on Pinterest. I was intrigued; the picture of it made it look delicious.

So knowing it was going to be quite a bit cooler today, I planned to make it. I ran home at lunch, threw the ingredients in the slow cooker, and came home several hours later to a most wonderful smell. Jambalaya.

Here is the link to the original recipe. I stuck fairly close to it since this was my first time to make it, though I had to alter a couple things due to lack of supplies...

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes. When I say chicken breasts, I always mean skinless and boneless unless I specify otherwise. Oh, and I really haven't figured out how to cute it into cubes. I just use scissors and cut it into small chunks. :)
1 lb smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice (don't drain). Confession: I didn't check to see if I had enough diced tomatoes. I didn't. Luckily I had a can of mild Rotel which is mostly tomatoes. I used it too.
2 tbsp dried minced onion flakes
1 cup chicken broth (Note: I really used closer to 2 since that was the container it was in; I hated to waste any.)
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Optional: shrimp. I really wanted shrimp in mine. However, I accidentally grabbed a bag of the frozen COOKED shrimp when I meant to get the frozen RAW shrimp. The cooked shrimp worked okay but I would have preferred the raw to let it "cook" in the seasonings.

white rice or instant rice (I used white long grain enriched; I believe I made 6 servings)
Note: The directions on the original call say to add celery which was not in the ingredients list, so I have no idea how much. However, my family would shun them anyway, so I did not add any.

Directions:
In a slow cooker (and of course, I used a liner), mix the chicken, sausage, tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, and broth. Season with oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, and thyme.

Cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on High.

If you are adding shrimp, add it about 30 minutes before eating. Shrimp cooks quickly.

Mix in cooked rice for about 15 minutes to warm through.

Enjoy! (We had cornbread muffins with it)

Pork Chops Ole

This recipe showed up in our family cookbook a few years ago courtesy of my little sister. I will admit, I didn't really notice it for a while. But then one day I decided to try it. Oh, yum. Loved it. So now it is in our rotation. I love the combination of pork and Mexican flavor!

Pork Chops Ole
Ingredients:
6 loin pork chops (I use boneless)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
seasoned salt and pepper
3/4 cup long grain rice
1 1/2 cups water
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 envelope taco seasoning (about 2 tbsp)
chopped bell pepper
1 bag cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

In a skillet, heat the oil (I don't really measure it). Brown pork sprinkled with seasoned salt and pepper. I am fairly liberal with it.

Meanwhile, in a greased baking dish (I use 13x9), stir together water, tomato sauce, rice, and taco seasoning.

Place browned pork chops on top.

Top with bell pepper. Do you remember me saying that we are not big veggie eaters? I think this one would be at the bottom of our list. It is one taste I have yet to acquire. So I don't use one. :)

Cover tightly with foil.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

At the end of the cooking time, take out and sprinkle with cheese. I usually use cheddar OR the Mexican blend (both low fat). Return to oven until cheese is melted.

This is a dish my whole family will eat. Even my "non Mexican" food eaters will eat it.

It is a good recipe, though you have to plan ahead due to cooking time.

Here are a couple of pictures...have I mentioned I am not a good food photo taker? :)


Here is a not pretty pic of my plate. I wasn't in a plating mood. I was in a hungry mood. The left is the pork chop, the right is the rice. The rice is by far my kids' favorite...

Happy cooking!
Reba