Mexican Chicken

This preparation came about when I decided to buy the family pack of chicken breast and have Jeff & I eat it all week long.

The first night, I just sprinkled 3 breasts with seasoning and popped them under the broiler for 20-25 minutes. Let rest and then thin slice. I served it with buttered bowtie noodles and steamed broccoli topped with cheese sauce [2% velveeta & skim milk].

The leftover slices of meat provided Jeff with chicken sandwiches for lunch.

The next night, I pulled out a casserole dish, cubed a breast and 1/2, chopped some broccoli, tossed it with a dollop of sour cream, a dollop of mayo, and a good squirt of honey mustard. I then stirred in some shredded cheddar cheese and the topped the concoction with a cup and 1/2 of [prepared as directed...I have a canister and just made 3 servings.] stove top stuffing. Popped it in the oven [375 degrees] for 30-40 minutes and out came a yummy, one dish, no mess dinner.

The third night of our all-chicken all-the-time experiment I had 2 & 1/2 breasts left. I threw them in the pressure cooker with a can of petite diced tomatoes with green chilies, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 an onion [diced], and the seasoning mix out of an Old El Paso enchilada kit. Seal the cooker, bring to pressure, and chica [verb; pronounced chee-kah - the process of cooking with the pressure cooker while it makes the "chica, chica" sound. Can also be used as a noun referring to the piece of equipment that makes the "chica, chica".] for 4 minutes. Let pressure drop on it own accord. I did this part early enough in the day that I could just let the pot sit and cool for maybe an hour while I did other things.

Now that everything is cool, remove bits of chicken and shred them with a fork. Put back into liquid & gently simmer for 15-20 minutes. The shredded chicken was super tender and soaked up the flavor of the tomatoes and seasonings. Now, it was time to break out a casserole dish and spoon a generous amount of chicken into an enchilada shell. Repeat. Cover with enclosed sauce and shredded cheese and bake as instructed. I served this dish with rice and refried beans...all topped with a bit of sour cream, shredded cheese, and slices of black olives.

There was plenty of meat left-over for another dinner and just last night, Jeff and I had chicken tacos [the kits were buy one get one free]...which ended up being more like chicken taco salads...with baby greens, tomato, avocado, shredded cheese, and just a touch of thousand island dressing.

The chicken recipe is definitely a keeper and super easy. The rest was just an exercise in how many dinners [and lunches] I could make using the same basic ingredients and simple things I had on hand with each meal being unique and different.

Jeff's Mom's Mom's Dressing

Passed down and delicious.

Best if made up the day before and if you designate a man to break the bread into crumbs.

Thank you for the recipe, Denise!

Note - I mixed one can cream of mushroom with one can cream of celery and I add a little milk [enough to get the residual soup out of the can] as part of the liquid. The only other thing I do differently is cook it a wee bit longer. We like the top to be golden and crusty and that seems to take some more time.

MOTHER’S DRESSING

Assemble all ingredients and mix in order listed.

1 Box Sweet Miracle Maize Corn Bread Mix

Mix for a pan of corn break – adding 1 tsp. Sugar – and bake according to package directions. Let cool and crumble.

1 Loaf White Bread (day old, store bread – it doesn’t matter)

Pinch in small pieces. Mix with corn bread crumbles.

1-1/2 Tsp. Sage

2-1/2 Tsp. Poultry Seasoning

½ Tsp. Black Pepper

½ Tsp. Salt

Add above dry ingredients and toss with bread mixture.

½ Med. Onion, Diced

1 Tsp. Celery Seed

1 Stick Margarine

Cook onion and celery seed in melted margarine (in misrowave for 2 – 3 minutes, medium power). Add to mixture.

2 Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup (Campbell’s Fat Free works fine)

2 Eggs, lightly beaten with fork

Add to mixture.

4 Soup Cans of Hot Water OR Substitute 1 Can of Chicken Broth with 3 Cans Water

Add to mixture, working in with hands as you add liquid. Mixture will be very liquid. This is why it ends up moist.

Place 2 Tbl. Oil in a long pan (approx. 8” x 11” x 2”) to prevent sticking. Add mixture. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes; uncover and bake 30 additional minutes.