Creamy Broccoli-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Original Recipe from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken

1 cup water

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (approx 1 1/2 pounds)

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp paprika

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine stuffing mix and water in large bowl.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.  Add broccoli to stuffing; mix lightly.  Spread onto chicken to within 1/2 inch of edges; roll up starting at one short end of each.

Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9 inch baking dish.  Mix soup and milk; pour over chicken.  Top with paprika and cheese.

Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is done (165 degrees).

Thoughts and Tips:

If you need more detailed directions on how to stuff the chicken, check http://recipeexperiment.blogspot.com/2011/07/bruschetta-stuffed-chicken-breasts.html. 
You can use any "cream of" soup for this recipe.  I recommend lower fat or lower sodium for a healthier meal.

This is one of our new favorites.  Covering the chicken with the soup keeps it very tender and moist.  The broccoli adds a nice flavor without being overwhelming.

Stuffed Chicken Caprese

Originally from Cooking Pleasures Magazine

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

4 (1 oz) slices mozzarella cheese

8 large fresh basil leaves

1/4 tsp salt, divided

1/8 tsp pepper

2 tsp olive oil

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup torn fresh basil

With small knife, make a horizontal slit in chicken breasts to create pockets, being careful not to cut all the way through.  Sandwich 1 cheese slice between 2 basil leaves; stuff into pocket.  Secure with toothpick.  Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 tsp of the salt and pepper.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add oil; heat until hot.  Cook chicken 5 minutes; turn.  Scatter tomatoes over chicken; sprinkle with remaining 1/8 tsp salt.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook, covered, 4 to 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.  Sprinkle chicken with torn basil.  Remove toothpicks before serving.

Thoughts and Tips:
This ended up being way easier than I expected it to be.  Use a thermometer to check the chicken--it should be at least 170 degrees before taking it off the heat.  The chicken breasts I used were fairly thick, so it took more like 8-10 minutes a side to get them cooked through.

We really liked this recipe.  The chicken stayed beautifully tender and the basil and olive oil infused it with a great flavor.  Highly recommend!

Luscious Tropical Dream Cake

Originally from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, drained (reserve juice)

1 pkg (2 layer size) yellow cake mix

1 pkg (3.4 oz) lemon flavor instant pudding

1 1/2 cups cold milk

2 cups thawed whipped topping

1/2 cup coconut, toasted

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cake batter as directed on package, substituting 1 cup reserved pineapple juice for 1 cup of the water.  Pour into greased 15x10x1 inch pan.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely.

Beat pudding mix and milk with whisk 2 minutes.  Stir in pineapple.  Spread over cake; cover with whipped topping.  Top with coconut and nuts.  Keep refrigerated.

Thoughts and Tips

If you don't like lemon, you can make this with vanilla pudding instead. 

You may not be able to get a full cup of pineapple juice from the crushed pineapple.  If not, just add water to make a cup.

The cake comes out fairly thin, but it is a good proportion to the topping.

It is hard to spread the whipped topping over the pudding without mixing the pudding into it.  Don't worry if it looks a little funny--once you sprinkle the coconut and nuts you can't tell.

This cake is delicious!  The combination of flavors is excellent and it is not too rich.  It's like a little taste of the tropics.

Taco Bake

Originally from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

1 package (14 oz) Macaroni and Cheese Dinner

1 pound ground beef

1 package (1 1/4 oz) taco seasoning mix

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare dinner as directed on package.  While macaroni is cooking, brown meat; drain.  Add taco seasoning mix and water to meat; simmer 5 minutes.

Stir sour cream into prepared dinner.  Spoon half of the dinner mix into 8 inch square or 9 inch round baking dish; top with layers of the meat mixture, 1 cup of the cheese, and remaining dinner mixture.  Cover.

Bake 15 minutes.  Top with salsa and remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Bake, uncovered, an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Thoughts and Tips:

You can use any brand of Macaroni and Cheese, but our family prefers Kraft.  I only use 1 Tbsp of butter instead of the 4 the box calls for.

Use any strength of salsa you desire.  Mild almost got overwhelmed by the other flavors in this dish, so I would recommend at least a Medium.

Really, how can you go wrong with this?  Tacos--good.  Mac and Cheese--everyone's favorite.  Quick and easy--perfect for a weeknight!

Chicken Bruschetta Pasta

Originally from Kraft Food and Family

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/3 cup chicken broth

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tub (10 oz) Philadelphia Original cooking Crème

2 cups grape tomatoes

1/2 pound hot cooked pasta

12 fresh basil leaves, torn

Cook chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 minutes or until done.  Stir in broth and garlic powder; cook 3 minutes.

Add cooking crème and tomatoes; cook and stir 3 minutes.

Stir in pasta.  Top with basil.

Thoughts and Tips:
I have to say that the Philadelphia Cooking Cremes are awesome!  They are a little expensive normally, but I've had not problems finding sales and coupons.  For the convenience and the fact that you don't have to add a lot of other seasonings, they are well worth it and have become a staple in our refrigerator for quick and easy meals.
Cut the grape tomatoes in half so they will be more present throughout the dish.

Even the members of our family who are not fond of tomatoes liked this meal. 

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

 1 pouch sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 to 1/2 tsp mint extract

6-8 drops green food color

1 egg

1 cup crème de menthe baking chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Mix cookie mix, butter, extract, food color, and egg in bowl until soft dough forms.  Stir in both types of baking chips.

Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Serve warm or cool completely.

Thoughts and Tips:

These cookies are awesome!  Super easy to make and everybody loved them.  If you like mint chocolate chip ice cream, you will love these!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee and Coconut

Originally from Cooking Pleasures Magazine

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups self-rising flour

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white baking chips

3/4 cup toffee bits

3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease baking sheets. 

In large bowl, beat butter and shortening at medium speed 30 seconds or until blended.  Add sugar and brown sugar; beat until combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla until well blended.  At low speed, slowly beat in flour.  Stir in chocolate chips, white baking chips, toffee bits and coconut.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets.  Bake, one sheet at a time, 10 to 12 minutes or until  light brown.  Place cookies on wire racks; cool completely.

Thoughts and Tips:

If you don't have self-rising flour on hand, for each cup of flour you can substitute 1 cup of flour plus 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda.

I really didn't think that the coconut added anything to these and will leave it out the next time.  They also didn't have enough toffee or chocolate for our tastes, so I will probably double the amount of each of those chips and leave out the white chocolate chips next time.  Definitely do not over bake or they get really hard.  Err on the side of underdone!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake

Originally from Cooking Pleasures Magazine

Crust

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Filling

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cartons (1.75 quart) vanilla ice cream

4 cups chocolate chip cookies, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and cinnamon in medium bowl until crumbs are moistened.  Stir in 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips.  Press into bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan.  Bake 6 minutes until set.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Meanwhile, heat cream in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot and steamy.  Remove from heat.  Add bittersweet chocolate chips.  Let stand 1 minute; stir until melted and smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Cool 20 minutes or until room temperature.

Place ice cream in refrigerator 20 minutes or until slightly softened.  Spread half of the ice cream over crust; quickly spread with spatula to level.  Sprinkle half of the cookies over ice cream.  Quickly spoon 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate sauce over cookies and ice cream; spread with spatula to cover.   Freeze 15 minutes to firm sauce.

Quickly spread remaining ice cream over sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining cookies.  Drizzle with remaining sauce.  Sauce will not completely cover top.

Freeze 2 hours to firm.  Wrap tightly; freeze overnight or up to 1 week.  Remove from freezer to soften slightly before serving.  Cut with warm knife.  Store in freezer.

Thoughts and Tips:

Do not use premium ice cream in this; it freezes too hard!

Soften the ice cream only to the point where it's easy to spread.  If it melts too much, the texture will not be good after it refreezes.

If ice cream is not soft enough to spread when you start, microwave in 30 second intervals on 50% power.

We liked this, but it was a bit of a pain to put together.  The graham cracker crust wanted to stick to the ice cream; if I were making it again, I would experiment with making a cookie crust instead.  I used homemade cookies, but you could definitely use store bought.  The bittersweet chocolate sauce was a little too dark for most of the family; I would use semi-sweet the next time.

No-Melt Sundae Pie

Originally from Kraft Food and Family Magazine

15 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (approx. 1 1/2 cups)

3 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed, divided

1 cup cold milk

1 pkg (4 serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding

2 squares Semi-Sweet baking chocolate OR 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

Mix crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.  Reserve 1/2 cup whipped topping; refrigerate.

Pour milk into large bowl.  Add dry pudding mix.  Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended.  Gently stir in remaining whipped topping.  Spoon into crust.  Mix melted chocolate and condensed milk until well blended.  Spoon over pie.  Cut through chocolate mixture several times with knife for marble effect.

Freeze 6 hours until firm.  Remove pie from freezer 15 minutes before serving.  Top with reserved whipped topping.  Garnish with maraschino cherry if desired.

Thoughts and Tips:

To speed up the process, use a premade chocolate crust instead of the cookie crumb crust.

Melt chocolate easily in the microwave:  use a microwave safe bowl.  For one square of chocolate, microwave on high for one minute, stirring after 30 seconds.  (squares will retain their shape.)  Add 10 seconds for each additional square.  Continue to microwave in 15 second intervals until melted.

I was a little dubious about this pie--frozen pudding?!-- but it turned out to be delicious.  The filling is super creamy and it has just the right amount of chocolate so you can still taste the vanilla.  Emily especially was a fan of this one.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

Originally from Cooking Pleasures Magazine

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided

1 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes in puree

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

1 tsp pepper, divided

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (approx. 2 lbs)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until hot.  Add onion, garlic, and oregano.  Cook and stir until onion is softened, approximately 4 minutes.  Add tomatoes, sugar, 1 tsp of the salt, and 1/2 tsp of the pepper.  Simmer 35 minutes or until sauce is thick, stirring occasionally.  Stir in cream.

Spoon 2 cups of the sauce into 13x9 baking dish.

Sprinkle chicken with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and pepper.  Heat remaining 2 Tbsp oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Cook chicken 4 to 6 minutes or until browned, turning once.  Place chicken on top of sauce.  Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheeses. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling, chicken is no longer pink in center, and cheese begins to brown.

Serve over pasta or rice.

Thoughts and tips:

You could probably make this just as easily with a jarred sauce, but this sauce was really good and not too hard to make.  It was a little sweeter and lightly creamy. 

Sauce can be made 4 days ahead and refrigerated or a month ahead and frozen.  Heat gently before using.

Instead of using a 13x9, make this in 2 square pans and freeze one up to a month.

All of us really liked this dish.  It was pretty easy to make and definitely delicious.  The chicken stayed nice and tender.