Catalina Chicken - My Mom

Ingredients

Chicken Breast
Catalina Dressing (whole bottle)
Dry Onion Soup (one package)
Canned Jelled Cranberries
Salt and peper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Place the chicken in a baking dish, season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, mix together the dressing, soup mix, and jelled cranberries. Pour over the chicken. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. Serve with white rice and a bread to soak up the sauce like a crescent.

This is literally the first thing my mom ever taught me to make.  I was pretty young, but it is so simple and inexpensive. I have passed this recipe along to friends who always seem to enjoy it. Brad and Nick also seemed to really like it, the chicken comes out really juicy and who can say no to crescent rolls! I also usually serve this with a veggie but I got a little lazy :) Enjoy this super easy dish!!

Chicken Pot Pie - Everyday Food

 Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, diced medium
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups diced cooked chicken
• Salt and pepper
• 1 sheet thawed puff pastry
• 1 beaten egg

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in green beans and chicken and season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Divide filling among four 8-ounce ramekins. Roll out 1 sheet puff pastry and cut 4 rounds to fit ramekins. Cut a small X in center of each to vent, then place on top of filling. Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 375 degrees until filling is bubbling and crust is golden, 30 to 40 minutes.

I made this last night because I really wanted to feel full after dinner so as to not eat snacks later. It worked :) Brad was also super excited, comfort food at 275 calories a bowl is always a plus.
I pretty much followed the recipe all the way through. I would make this again with the following changes:
First, I didn't need a whole onion. It was really strong and almost overwhelming. I would use half a small onion next time. I think onions are important for flavor but not when the over take the dish.
Secondly, since I plan to cut the onions in half I would add more celery, carrots and green beans. I bought a frozen package of green beans (12oz), next time I'll use the whole thing. I'd an extra celery stalk and carrot.
I also have no idea how much weight 2 cups of chicken is. I bought a pound and used 2 of the 3 pieces. I might go ahead and use all 3 next time - if you feel there is too much you could always add it to a lunch size salad the next day. I also didn't roll the pastry sheet out, I had plenty. It didn't take any longer to cook - it took about 20 minutes and then they started boiling over (which reminds me there's an oven to clean). Next time I'll cook them on a pan to catch the overflow.

Happy Comfort Food Season :)

Steakhouse Chili Pot - Rachael Ray

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 4 slices lean, smoky bacon, finely chopped
• 2 pounds ground sirloin, ask your butcher for coarse ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons chili powder, such as Gerhardt's brand
• Salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• One can tomato sauce (14 ounces)
• 2 cups beef stock
• Sour cream, for topping
• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, for topping

Preparation

In a large chili pot or Dutch oven, heat the EVOO, one turn of the pan, over medium-high to high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder, a little salt and lots of pepper.
In a bowl, stir together the Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, hot sauce and tomato sauce. Stir into the chili. Stir in the beef stock and bring to boil, then lower the heat and cook until thickened, 6-7 minutes.
Serve shallow bowls of chili with lots of sour cream and parsley on top.

I keep wishing it was fall here in San Diego. After being home for my friend's wedding (Congratulations Lili and Dan!!), I missed the brisk and rainy weather. While I'm glad it didn't rain for the wedding, I did miss the 50 degree weather. I've decided the only way to make it feel like fall is turn on the AC and make cozy food.
This chili came out better than I expected. I say that because I've never had chili that didn't have beans in and I really like beans, so I was a little skeptical. I did fail to get enough ground sirloin- the market I went to didn't sell it. I had the butcher ground some for me; I grabbed two pounds but it only ended up being one pound ground up. I decided at that point to just buy 80/20 ground beef. I also didn't have lean smoky bacon, I cut off some of the fat and it was fine. I should have put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes because it was a little hard to cut. I kept everything else the same.
I served this with a salad on the side. Balancing is always good! I also think keeping some more traditional toppings are good - we only had cheddar cheese and sour cream but chips, corn bread, jalapenos, etc. would've been good too.