Super Easy Chicken Recipes, Make Ahead Monday

OK, so I just realized that I haven't every posted two of my favorite chicken recipes!  I wanted to rectify that today by sharing with you two recipes that my family really enjoys!  The second is one of my husbands FAVORITE dishes!  These both freeze wonderfully and are quick to heat up for dinner...which makes me love these dishes too :)  Enjoy!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (serves ~8)
4-6 c cooked, diced/shredded chicken
2 cans cream of chicken soup^
1 small can diced green chilies (undrained)
flour/corn tortillas cut into strips or cubes
grated cheese

1.  Combine chicken, soup, and chilies.
2. Layer: tortillas, 1/2 chicken filling, 1/2 cheese, and repeat.
3.  Sprinkle top with paprika and bake @ 350 for approx 20 min.
[This usually makes 2 casseroles for our family, 8x8 sized casserole dishes are what I use.  If you make the whole thing, you'll probably want to use a 9x13.]

**You can also mix all of this together and put in a Ziploc bag to freeze for later.  Then you just thaw, pour into a casserole dish, and go to step #3.


Dump Chicken (serves ~10-12)
12 chicken breasts or thighs (trust me, use boneless)
1/2 c melted butter
2 envelopes Italian salad dressing mix (you could try a homemade mix...here's one...or here)
2 cans cream of chicken soup^
1 c chicken broth/white wine (I always use broth, but the recipe originally called for wine...your choice)

1. Mix butter, dressing mix, soup, and broth/wine together.
2. Place chicken pieces in Ziploc bag and top with wet mixture.
3. To freeze, just seal it up, label with date/name/instructions, and freeze.
    To cook: Dump in crock pot and cook on low 8-9 hours (or high 4-5 hours).  toward end of cook time (about 1 hour until end), stir in a tub of flavored cream cheese (we like garden veggie).
4.  Serve over rice, potatoes, or noodles.

**I make this into two smaller batches b/c otherwise this is A LOT of food.  But this would be great to feed a crowd!  Also, even if I halve the recipe, I usually still use a full tub of cream cheese at the end (b/c if I tried to store 1/2 a tub it would inevitably go bad before I got back to it).

^I highly recommend this recipe for cream of chicken soup.  It doesn't have any MSG and it tastes so much better in my opinion.  It's also super fast and easy!  I read somewhere that you can also freeze this which sounds awesome and something I plan to try soon.  A heads up...this recipe makes the equivalent of 2 cans of cream of chicken soup so make sure you only use 1/2 if your recipe only calls for 1 can.

Make Ahead Monday: Chili

When my husband and I were in college, one of the "things to do" in that small town was to go to a burger chain there called Steak'N'Shake.  It was super yummy!  Almost everything they serve is wonderful, but one thing I especially love there is their chili.  We searched long and hard to find a chili that compared and finally I found a knock-off recipe online.  After a few minor tweaks here is what we ended up with.  We really enjoy this hearty meal during the colder months, but have even been known to enjoy it in the spring and summer!  Even better is what a frugal meal this is (though not completely healthy as I have yet to find a good substitute for the cola) and the fact that it is done in the slow cooker AND it freezes well for a quick meal!


Steak'N'Shake Style Chili

2 T oil

1 lbs ground beef

½ t salt

1 T chili powder

2 t ground cumin

½ t pepper

2 t cocoa

3 (15 oz) cans chili/kidney beans

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup cola (not diet)

Brown ground beef and salt in oil – if there is a high fat content to the ground beef you can omit the oil (I usually do).

Drain meat and add to slow cooker.  Add remaining ingredients and stir.

Let simmer on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.

To Freeze: Mix ingredients together and transfer to freezer bag (or other container for freezing).  I usually double bag soup style dinners to prevent leakage when thawing.  Also be sure to write the date and directions for cooking on the bag.  Take out of freezer the day before to thaw (or thaw in cool water in sink--will probably take a few hours), place in slow cooker morning/afternoon you want to enjoy and follow cooking instructions.

**Frugal Tip: You can cut the amount of ground beef in half and add more beans to make this stretch further and be cheaper.

Make Ahead Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe isn't as frugal as most of the others I have or will post, but it is super yummy!  It is something I usually make for special occasions with my husband as some of the ingredients are usually on my regular shopping list (boneless, skinless chicken breast being one of them).  My husband also enjoys the leftover ham and swiss cheese for sandwiches the following week ;)

Chicken Cordon Bleu


6 4-oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
6 thin ham slices
6 slices swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup 
1/4 c white wine or chicken stock (I never have wine in the house)
1/4 c nonfat sour cream
1 T dijon (or spicy brown) mustard
1 c mushrooms, sliced (optional)
1 t minced garlic
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 t salt (preferably kosher or sea salt)
1/2 t black pepper
2 scallions, chopped (optional)

Putting the dinner together:

1. Place the chicken breasts on a plastic cutting board.  Arrange a slice of ham and swiss cheese on top of each one.  Roll each chicken breast tightly and secure with a toothpick.  
2. Place the rolled breasts in the prepared baking dish(es).  
3. In a bowl, combine the soup, wine, sour cream, mustard, mushrooms, garlic, nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly.  
4. Pour the mixture over the chicken.  
5. Sprinkle with the scallions.

For dinner tonight:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.

To freeze:

Cover the dishes with plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking as directed above.

***Frugal Tip:  Since I only make this for the two of us, I usually cook 3 portions (one for each for dinner and one lunch for the next day) and freeze the other three.  So, theoretically, if you doubled this recipe you could make enough meals for 4 nights.

Make Ahead Monday: Mexican Casserole

For our second installment of Make Ahead Monday, I am sharing a recipe that I found online.  I am fairly certain that, in some way, it came from a recipe on The Common Room blog, but I can't for the life of me locate the recipe.  I also know that I have cut it down from it's original amounts.  Anyway, here it goes...and please check out The Common Room for other recipe ideas (especially to feed a large family or crowd on the cheap).

Mexican Casserole

2-3 lb ground beef

2 cans cream of chicken soup (can use this recipe to make a homemade, gluten free version)

2 cans black beans

2 cans corn/ranch beans/pinto beans (optional)

1 can rotel or 1 c salsa

¼ c taco seasoning

Grated cheese

Tortillas or corn chips

Cook and drain ground beef.  Add soup, beans, rotel/salsa, and taco seasoning.  Heat and stir.

In large greased roaster (or 2 9x13 pans), layer as follows:

- tortillas cut to fit (cubes/strips)

- ½ meat sauce

- ½ grated cheese

- repeat

Heat in oven @ 325 until bubbly, about 25 minutes.

***A few hints about this recipe:

1. I can split this recipe (as written) into 3 9x9 casserole dishes and I freeze the extra to that and heat up later.  You can also mix everything up (instead of layering) and freeze in a gallon size freezer bag.  This method takes up a lot less space and means that you won't have a casserole dish out of use.
2. You can add extra beans and take out some of the meat to make this a more frugal options.  Or you can just add extra beans to stretch the meal even further.
3. We prefer this dish made with corn tortillas instead of flour.  We just like the taste better that way. [And now that we are gluten free, as long as we use a gluten free cream of chicken soup, the corn tortillas make this an easy gf meal!]

Make Ahead Monday: Ranch Chicken and Potatoes

I am headed to the doctor this morning for another blood pressure check and, most likely, will be headed to the hospital this afternoon to be induced.  Since a lot is going on in our house, I have planned out a few posts for the next few weeks in lieu of Menu Plan Monday.

I am calling these posts "Make Ahead Monday" as they are all meals that freeze incredibly well and can make for a quick dinner during the week or during a stressful time in life.  These make wonderful meals to take to others.  For instance new mothers, after loss of loved ones, when people are sick, or just to let someone know you're thinking of them.  These meals are all fairly frugal options and easy to assemble.  They are also easy to double or triple and then you can cook one night and have 2-3 meals to put in the freezer for the future (this method has really helped us in not going out to eat as much).

I will be posting various recipes, most of which we will be enjoying after the baby comes thanks to my marathon freezer cooking session a few weeks ago.  I hope that you will enjoy these recipes and that they will bless your bellies and wallets :)

Ranch Chicken and Potatoes

1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, quartered and blanched in boiling water for 3-5 minutes
1 c red bell peppers, diced/minced 
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thirds (I usually use diced/shredded, precooked chicken to make this faster and cheaper)
1 c nonfat sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1-oz package powdered ranch salad dressing
1 t garlic salt

1. Spread the potatoes in the bottom of the prepared baking dish(es).  Layer the bell peppers and chicken breasts on top of the potatoes.  Set aside.  
2. In a large bowl, combine the sour cream, soup, ranch dressing mix, and salt and stir thoroughly.  
3. Spread sour cream mixture over the chicken.

For dinner tonight:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 1 ½ hours, until browned and bubbly (may take less time if using precooked chicken--test potatoes after 45 minutes).

           

To freeze:

Cover with plastic wrap and heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking as directed above.