Salsa Chicken Casserole

This recipe is so easy to make & extremely flavorful!

It is definitely on the repeat list.

Of course I found it via Pinterest but here is a direct link:

Salsa Chicken Casserole. 

I copied the following directly from her site:

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked rice 
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (thawed) 
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans 
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa 
• 1 cup chicken broth 
• ½ Tbsp chili powder 
• ½ tsp oregano 
• 2 large (1.5 lbs.) chicken breasts 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
• 2 whole green onions, sliced  

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drain and briefly rinse the black beans. Add the dry rice, black beans, corn, salsa, chicken broth, chili powder, and oregano to an 8×8 inch casserole dish. Stir until everything is evenly combined.
2. Cut the chicken breasts into three pieces each. Push the chicken pieces down into the rice salsa mixture in the casserole dish. Try to push them down as far into the liquid as they’ll go. Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil. Bake for one hour.
3. Take the casserole dish out of the oven, test the rice with a fork to make sure it is tender. If it is not, recover the dish, return it to the oven, and bake for 10-15 minutes more. When the rice is tender, sprinkle the cheese over top and return the casserole to the oven for a few minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Add the sliced green onions on top after baking and serve hot.

Notes

If your chicken and frozen corn are still partially frozen, the casserole will take longer to cook. So, make sure they’re both thawed before hand.

 

 

 

 Nom Nom Nom!

Paula Deen's Baked Potato Soup!

I found this recipe for Paula Deen's bake potato soup for the crockpot. 

One of my friend's told me she cooked it on the stovetop for 30 minutes instead of 

the crockpot so I decided to do the same thing.

Y'all- this is some GREAT soup!

I could not believe how great it tasted.

What you need:

Ingredients:

1 (30 oz.) bag frozen hash-brown potatoes (squared, southern style)

2 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth

1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

1/2c chopped onion

1/3 tsp. ground black pepper

1 (8oz) package cream cheese (softened)

Extras:

minced green onion

Bacon Bits

Shredded Cheese 

Sour Cream

I poured it all in a big pot except the cream cheese.

Let it cook on high while constantly stirring for about 15 minutes.

Added the cream cheese once the potatoes were no longer frozen.

Cooked & stirred for an additional 15 minutes.

Once done, put it in a bowl, add any extras you like, & voila!

For those who prefer to try the crockpot:

Add all ingredients except cream cheese, cook on low for 5 hours.

Stir in cream cheese & cook for 30 more minutes.

Pinterest Cooking

Raise your hand if you have tried a recipe from Pinterest?

I have pinned so many recipes that I am 

now having to go back and recategorize them into 

different boards for crackpots, casseroles, etc.

2 weeks ago I tried 2 receipes in 1 week.

The first was  Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice.

This was VERY easy to make.

The taste was alright.

It was missing something, but since I'm not a cook 

I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

 My next recipe was Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad.

This was a pain to make but it was tasty.

(I say pain, because it required a lot more than I am used to doing in the kitchen!)

Next time, if there is a next time, I would leave out the cilantro though.

 

 

What are some recipes you've tried & loved?

New Favorite Recipe

I stumbled upon this recipe on Pinterest and it is DIVINE! 

I love anything with corn so of course I had to try it.

It was super easy to follow & YUMMY as hell!

This recipe comes from Budget Savvy Diva.

It's called "Delicious Cream Cheese Corn."

Yes, you must keep delicious in the title.

Ingredients

1 pound of corn ( fresh or thawed)

1 Tablespoon of butter

3 oz of cream cheese (they sell these in 3oz squares!)

Red Pepper Flakes

Pepper

What To Do

In a medium saucepan combine – corn, butter, and cream cheese.

When it is heated through and cream cheese is 

melted, season with pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

That's it!
No baking.
Directly on your stove top!

I will never buy canned corn again!

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Bake

I came across this recipe on Pinterest the other day & tried it immediately!

Source: tastykitchen.com via LC on Pinterest

The recipe is super simple to make...

And it turned out to be so good!

Directions with my modifications:

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (I pre-cooked 3 breasts & cut into bite size chunks)
• 4 cups Cooked Brown Rice (I used white rice)
• ¾ cups Frozen Corn (I used 1 can of corn drained & it was fine)
• 15 ounces, fluid Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)
• 4 ounces, fluid Can Green Chilis
• ½ cups Salsa (I used 1 cup but honestly bc of the amount of chicken, I probably should have used the whole jar)
• 1 cup Low-fat Cheddar Cheese, Plus More For Topping (I used one whole bag of shredded cheddar cheese)
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro For Garnish (I skipped this step)
•  
• Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese are stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
  To make this process easier, I always have cooked chicken on hand, and use Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. If you have those two things, this can be throw together in a matter of minutes! It can also easily be made ahead of time and reheated.
  
  Easy Peasy & Delicious! 
  

Chocolate Banana Parfait

The other day I made chocolate banana parfaits...recipe from Dworianyn Love Nest!

It was SOOOO good...but...

The greedy side of me put this in one large glass versus smaller glasses as seen on her blog.

And it was waaaay too much for one person.

Hubby & I had to share, LOL!

Other than that it was great and very easy to make.

You must check out her recipes section of the blog!

Lots of amazing recipes!

 

Gettin My Cookin On!

The last 2 days I tried some new recipes I found on pinterest. Let me just say I am not a great cook. So if I try a recipe it has to be easy! 

The first one I tried on Sunday was Cowboy Casserole aka Tater Tot Casserole.

Source: thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com via LC on Pinterest

I will say, you MUST let the tater tots thaw. Even though they got cooked while in the oven, they still had a a frozen taste. I thought this recipe was bland. Hubby added hot sauce & ketchup to his, but I still didn't care for this one too much.

Monday I made Corn, Tomatoe, & Cheddar pie.

Source: clockworklemon.com via LC on Pinterest

I loved this! But I am huge fan of tomatoes & corn. I accidentally forgot the chives which I think was a big mistake. It probably would have made it even better.

I'm being lazy & dont feel like posting the pics I took of the step-by-step process. But you can click on the pin to get the idea!

Paula Deen's Smother Porchops

The hubby & I were watching Paul Deen yesterday and that woman KNOWS she can cook! She doesn't skimp on the butter at all! lol! Gotta love that woman!

So yesterday she was making smothered porkchops and decided that's what we wanted for dinner. So we hopped in the car and went right to Piggly Wiggly. Does anyone else have a Piggly Wiggly? They were actually America's first self service grocery store! back in the day, you would give your grocery list to a store clerk and they would gather the items for you. In 1916, the first Piggly Wiggly opened and they had baskets available for customers to shop themselves. They actually have quote an interesting story. 

Anyways, I digress...

So here are the ingredients:

• 4 center-cut pork chops, 1-inch thick
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Ground cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spread on a plate
• 2 medium green bell peppers, stemmed, cored, and membranes removed, cut into strips
• 2 yellow onions, trimmed, cut lengthwise
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 to 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Trim the excess fat from the chops and season well with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Lightly roll the chops in flour, shake off the excess, and slip them into the pan. Brown well, about 3 minutes per side, and remove them to a plate.

Add the bell peppers and onions, to the skillet, and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about half a minute longer. Push the vegetables to the side of the skillet. Add chops to pan and place vegetables on top of pork chops. 

Pour in the broth and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce. Cover pan with foil and allow to simmer for 45 minutes or until chops are tender.

And then voila... SO GOOD y'all! You must try this recipe!

Don't judge me for using paper plates! I didn't feel like washing dishes. 

So what are everyone's plans for Labor Day weekend? My sister-in-law is turning 30 so we are having a dinner tonight, a party tomorrow, & a bbq Sunday. And I have a photoshoot Saturday morning. I am SO sleeping in Monday. Everyone have fun & be safe!

Paula Deen's fried biscuits

OMG. HEAVEN.

I was watching Paula Deen yesterday and she was making fried chicken and fried biscuits! I have never had fried biscuits or even heard of them. I had the pleasure of dining at her restaurant in 2008 but there were no fried biscuits on the menu. There was fried chicken, fried porkchops, fried corn, fried mac & cheese, fried...you get the picture.

That woman knows she's gonna kill me one day with all that butter & frying! lol!

Well the biscuit recipe was SO very simple and the outcome was FABULOUS!! They tasted so so good & we will be cooking them this way from now on. I can't even think about eating regular biscuits now!

So here' s the recipe:

1 can of biscuits ( I used Pillsbury honey biscuits)

Vegetable oil

Honey Butter (I purchased honey & butter separately)

Fry the biscuits of 2-3 minutes on each side

For the honey butter- I just poured some honey & butter in a bowl and put in the microwave for 2 minutes.

No particular measurements since I brushed it on anyways and just poured out the extra.

(make sure to brush on the honeybutter inside & out!)

*Or if you have a baster, squeeze the honey butter into the center of the biscuit like Paula did!

They look burnt- but believe me they weren't!

Enjoy Y'all!

Recipe- Macaroni Salad

Macaroni Salad

*image from google- not Julie's mac salad.

Here is the recipe to the BEST macaroni salad I've ever had! My friend Julie brought this to our bbq this past weekend, and everyone loved it! She doesn't cook with measuring cups and I know this can be annoying for people like me who have to measure everything! I'm just no Paula Dean y'all, so I haven't mastered that skill yet! Here we go....

Ingredients:

Box of Elbows (boiled of course)

5-6 hard boiled eggs

1 can of pea & carrots ( can that's already mixed together)-drained

1 can of corn-drained

1 RED onion

Mayonnaise

Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt

What to do:

In your dish mix the pasta, corn, peas & carrots.

Grind in 1/4 of the red onion.

Grind in the eggs.

Add mayo, apple cider vinegar, & salt until the taste is to your liking.

Put in the fridge to chill.

Seems simple enough but WE WILL SEE! And if any of you don't like eggs, onions, or vinegar, please believe me when I say you can't even taste it...AT ALL. She said she "folds" in the mayo, vinegar & salt in intervals until she gets the desired taste & consistency.

The way she made it, it was soooo creamy and yummy!

Let me know if any of you try it.

I'm scared to try it myself without actual measurements!