The Extent of My Cooking Skillz

Okay, Mom (and others)... I promised I would put these recipes up for you in case you wanted to try a few new things. Thanks to MJM for the Dinner Doctor cookbook! It's my new best friend in the kitchen. The recipes are easy and tasty, so definitely worth a shot. These four are from the "Comfort Foods" section (which, of course, is the first section I turned to). I decided, when I could only answer Chicken Casserole or Chicken & Noodles to the question "What's for dinner?" that I needed a few more recipes under my belt. Plus, Jon said recently that he was surprised that 85% of Georgians surveyed said they did not get their recommended daily allowance of veggies. Um... why surprised, Jon? WE DON'T! So, we're trying to incorporate more veggies into dinner. We found that these helped. Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Laredo (a.k.a. Just as Good as Red Hot & Blue Nachos)
Ingredients
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion (1 med)
1 cup chopped green bell pepper 1 can (15 ounces) chili with beans
1 can (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained
1/4 cup diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
8 ounces (half of a 16-ounce package) Mexican-flavor Velveeta
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Scatter the chicken evenly over the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a 7-inch skillet over medium heat and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Scatter the onion and bell pepper mixture evenly over the chicken. Top with the chili, then the pinto beans, and the tomatoes, spreading each evenly into a layer before adding the next. Cut the Velveeta into thick slices and arrange them over the tomatoes. For extra heat, add sliced jalapeno peppers on top.
4. Bake the casserole until it bubbles around the edges and the Velveeta has melted, 28 to 32 minutes.

We ate it plain the first night we had it, but found (during leftovers) that is was even better over tortilla chips (thus the "Just as Good as Red Hot & Blue" renaming).

Kentucky Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Ingredients
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 package (6 ounces) Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice Original Recipe
1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of celery soup
2/3 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained (*optional... who likes water chestnuts anyway?! Yuck!)
1 jar (2 ounces) sliced pimiento peppers, drained
1 package (9 ounces) frozen French-cut green beans, thawed and drained
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (from on 14- to 14.5-ounce can) or water
2 tablespoons pre-grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Combine the chicken, rice with its seasonings, celery soup, salad dressing, water chestnuts, pimientos, green beans, and chicken broth in a large bowl. Transfer the mixture to a 13x9 baking dish and top with the Parmesan cheese. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.
3. Bake the casserole until it is bubbling and the rice has cooked, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serves 8.

Parmesan Chicken and Biscuit Pie
Ingredients
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 can (10.75 ounces) cream of chicken soup
Half a soup can (about 5 1/2 ounces) of heavy cream or half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 unbaked frozen biscuits (each 2 inches in diameter)
3 tablespoons pre-grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Combine the chicken, frozen veggies, chicken soup, and cream in a large mixing bowl. Season with black pepper. Transfer the filling to an 11x7 baking dish and smooth the top. Arrange the frozen biscuits on top of the filling in 2 rows of
3. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with the Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake the pie until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Serves 6.

Chicken Potpie
Ingredients
1 package (12 ounces) frozen deep-dish pie crusts (2 crusts), or 1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pastry rounds (2 rounds)
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups cooked veggies of your choice
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and black pepper
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450.
2. Remove the packaging from the frozen crusts or pastry rounds and set one crust aside. Place a crust or refrigerated pastry round in a 9 inch pie pan that is 2 inches deep. If using pastry rounds, press 1 into the pie pan and crimp the edge with a fork. Prick the bottom of the crust a few times with a fork. Bake the crust until it is well browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the pie pan from the oven and set it aside. Reduce the oven temp to 350.
3. While the pie crust bakes, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the veggies and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook, stirring for 1 minute longer. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and chicken, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the flour is incorporated, 1 minute longer. Add the broth to the skillet, increase the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Pour the chicken mixture into the baked pie crust. Cover the top with the remaining pie crust. (If you are using a frozen deep-dish crust, it will have thawed by now and will be easy to lay over the top of your pie.) Turn the edge of the top crust under the crimped edge of the bottom crust with your fingertips. Press around the edge with a fork to seal the two crusts together. Make several vents in the top crust with a sharp knife.
5. Bake the pie on top of a baking sheet until the pie crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, then slice & serve. Serves 6.

** Even if you use a square dish and completely mess up the pie crusts, this still tastes pretty good. :-)

Okay, that's it for the new recipes we've tried in the last few weeks. We did all four of them while Haley was here... and I must say, cooking is much more fun with a buddy than by your lonesome! I still miss her. Come back, Haley, come back.

Hope y'all are having a great weekend! It's back to cleaning for me...