Chicken Noodle Casserole

Recipe FILLS a 9x13 dish, so cut in half if you feed a smaller family.

4 large chicken breasts, boiled to tenderness & shredded
1 small onion, diced and sauteed in butter
6-7 small potatoes, diced (or other vegetable equivalent)
1 23 oz can of cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
6 oz. egg noodles, cooked in stock from chicken; drained
salt and pepper to taste
Ritz crackers, crumbled and sauteed in butter (crackers not pictured here... I went to make my casserole, thinking I had crackers in the pantry...but then low and behold I didn't!!!! ugh!!!...It was still good without them, though.)

*Broccoli or other veggies would be a great thing to add to this! However, I feed picky eaters. Hence, the plainness which you see here. ;) But, this is a great base to add a variety of things to. Be creative!

Mix all ingredients except sauteed crackers, and place in a casserole dish. Top with crackers and Bake at 350 degrees until potatoes are tender--around 1 hour 15 minutes. Use varying times according to the vegetable you put into it, though.

Japanese Chicken Salad

I had this for the first time when we lived in Hawaii and fell in love with this yummy salad many years ago. I love simple dishes that are full of taste, and this one fits this category perfectly:

Salad:
1 green cabbage head, chopped

1/2 red cabbage head, chopped

2-3 stalks green onions, chopped

(I didn't have any when I made this, so it's not as colorful as usual, but it was still good.)

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (more if you love it meaty)

2 pkgs Chicken Ramen noodles, cooked & drained without seasoning

Dressing:

2 seasoning packets from Ramen noodles

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

4 Tb sugar

1 cup vinegar

2/3 cup oil (I use olive oil, so it's healthier)

Mix everything together in a large bowl and toss with dressing. If you let it sit overnight, it's even better the next day. Stir every few hours to let the dressing soak in. YUM!!!

*These aren't exact measurements, because I kind of eyeball the amount that I like, but it's a good estimate. Just have fun with it...and ENJOY! It's sooo good!

Chicken Lettuce Cups

I made this yesterday and it was so good. I found it out of the Good Housekeeping Magazine. Although, when I went to the store to buy Boston Lettuce they didn't have any. I subbed for Romain lettuce instead. It didn't work so well. The leaves weren't big enough and didn't have that built in cup shape like the Boston Lettuce does. It still tasted good though. Also, I know people like more flavor in their food than others. So feel free to add more soy sauce, ginger or honey if you like.

Yields: 4 main-dish servings

Ingredients:
3 Tbs. soy sauce (or more for your liking)
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. honey
2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 1/4 lbs chicken, cut into 1/4" chunks
1 c. frozen shelled edamame (soybeans)
2 med. stalks celery, chopped
12 lg. Boston lettuce leaves.

Directions:
1. In cup combine soy sauce, ginger, and honey. Set aside
2. Heat sesame oil in skillet over medium heat, 1 min. Add chicken chunks, cook 3 min.
3. Add soybeans, cook 2 min. longer. Add soy sauce mixture, cook 1-2 min, or until chicken is cooked through. Toss to make sure chicken is evenly coated with sauce.
4. Scoop a big spoonful of chicken onto each lettuce leaf. Fold leaves over chicken and eat out of hand.

Teriyaki Chicken

I also got this recipe from a sister in the Del Rio Branch, Christina Gregory. This is just the sauce, so you can pour it on whatever kind of chicken you want to have. Most of the time you do wings, but this time I just did chicken breasts and served it over rice. Yummy
1c brown sugar
1/2c soy sauce
1c water
1 tsp ground ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb chicken


Preheat 325*. Combine all ingredients but chicken, mix well. Pour over chicken in a pan. Bake 1 1/2 hrs, turning once.

Hawaiian Haystacks-- Marina

This is to prove that I actually do cook. This is

a super easy meal to throw together. It does take time to cook the chicken, but other than that, it's a breeze.

4 chicken breasts

2 stalks celery, chopped

3 handfuls of baby carrots

1 onion, chopped

1 T. parsley

1 T. basil

salt & pepper to taste

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a large pot. Cook until chicken is tender (usually an hour). Pull chicken and carrots out separately. Reserve three cups of the broth and add with 2-4 cans of cream of chicken soup, depending on thickness you like. Shred the the chicken and add back into the gravy mixture.

Serve over rice and top with any of the following:

cooked carrots

green peppers

green onions

celery

chinese noodles

almonds

cheddar cheese

pineapple

coconut