Aunt Kathy's Creamy Chicken & Rice Casserole

At our July 2021 Merrill Family reunion in AF,  my aunt, Kathryne Whitford, served this family favorite to everyone, and others asked her for her recipe, and I have included it here in mostly her own words. She prepared it for the crowd in slow cookers and rice cookers, instead of the her standard one dish casserole recipe. It was fabulous. Find the slow cooker instructions below. Yum!!

1-2 boneless chicken breasts and/or boneless thighs, etc. Cut up chicken to desired size, typically 2” squares. 
2 cans of cream of chicken Campbell’s soup and 1 can of Cream of Celery soup
one packet of dried onion soup
seasoning for chicken as desired. 
1 1/2 cup of rice

( I often soak cut chicken in a kosher salt brine for an hour or 2 but no necessary)

Pour rice into greased 9x11” baking pan. ( I use Pam) 
Heat up soup of 3 cans n add about 2 can fulls of water to mixture. Stir while heating till almost bubbling. 

Pour 1/2 soup mixture over rice n stir in pan.  Place chicken pieces on top of soup. Add remaining soup to cover chicken. Sprinkle dry onion soup mixture over top of casserole. Cover tightly with foil etc. 

Bake at 375 for about 80-90 minutes till chicken is tender. The rice should be very moist.  Let sit for about 15-20 minutes. 

Enjoy n eat.

Slow cooker instructions- combine chicken breats with soup and dry onion soup mix, adding the cream cheese when mostly done. Serve OVER prepared rice. 

Hawaiian Haystacks - A major family FAVORITE!

Click on this image for another blogger's recipe

I'm a dump cook, I'll completely admit. Hawaiian Haystacks is a very flexible recipe, very forgiving even. I make it so many different ways that I didn't realize I wasn't following a recipe. But since it's been the birthday request of my oldest son for most of his life, I should have it documented! So here's my attempt.

Hawaiian Haystacks Gravy

1-2 pcs chicken (breast, thigh, whatever, you'll be removing the bones if there are any)

Boil the chicken in (3-4 cups?) salted water (maybe 3/4 tsp salt?) until cooked through.

Remove the chicken and let it cool so you can chop/shred it up. SAVE the broth!!!

Bring the broth to a boil, and add:

• 1/2-3/4 c cornstarch or flour with 1 1/2-2 C water, mixed well

Allow this to thicken. After it's thickened, you may add any or none of the following - 

• The pineapple juice from the can of tidbits you plan on serving with the Hawaiian Haystacks
• A brick of cream cheese OR some sour cream OR neither
• A can of coconut cream...mmmmm, I love it when I add this!
• The diced or shredded chicken you just cooked - okay, I ALWAYS add this

(Instead of adding the thickener-flour & water-you may add a couple of cans of cream of chicken soup. But I like the freshly made stuff instead. If it needs more flavor, I add extra chicken bullion.)

Serve over hot rice (white or brown or mixed) with:

• Grated cheese
• Pineapple tidbits or mandarin oranges or both
• Chinese noodles
• Anything else you want, like:

• diced tomatoes
• diced peppers
• sliced green onion
• chopped celery
• sliced olives
• raisins/craisins
• chopped nuts
• shredded coconut (esp without added sugar)
• anything else you like

Mmmm! My WHOLE family totally loves this because you eat what you like. They're all salivating as I'm finishing this recipe! Coming up in a couple of days...too bad they all live away from home now!

Deep-Dish Pizza

(From my Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1983 edition, but I've modified it slightly, of course, knowing me...)

1 lb hamburger (sometimes I'll add a little sausage or bacon for flavor)
Pizza Dough (see recipe here)
1 can (16 oz) whole tomatoes (or used diced) drained (I never drain it)
1 Tbsp instant minced onion
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder (or crushed garlic clove)
1 small green pepper
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz) (I usually also add a little shredded cheddar cheese for color & flavor)

Cook and stir hamburger until light brown; drain. Prepare Pizza Dough. Mix tomatoes, onion, oregano, salt, the pepper and garlic powder; break up tomatoes with fork.

Press dough evenly on bottom and halfway up sides of greased oblong baking dish, 13x9x2 inhes. Sprinkle hamburger over dough. Spoon sauce over hamburger; top with green pepper, mushrooms and cheese. Cook in 425 degree oven until cheese is light brown, 20-25 minutes. 8 servings.

Southwest Pork & Sauce

To use some pork I had for a Sunday dinner, and since we'd had one of the old standby's recently and I wasn't in the mood to hunt up a recipe..I made one up. (I do that periodically - sometimes it works, sometimes not so much!) Since it was such a hit with the family, I had to write this one down.

Pork carnitas or boneless ribs (about 2 lbs?)
1 tbsp cumin
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 C chopped cilantro (I had some in the freezer*)
1 can cream of chicken soup,  (or use some from the mix recipe like I did)
Salt & pepper to taste
(Oh, I did add about 1/2 tsp Knorr's Tomato bouillon

Place in slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high. We served it over brown rice, with veggies & salad on the side, and everybody raved over it...mmmm! Successful Sunday dinner!

*Got that idea from my friend's blog, Frieda Loves Bread.

Salsa Verde Steak in the Slow Cooker

Found this recipe through pinterest...gotta try it! Find the original here.

INGREDIENTS
2-3 lbs. boneless round steak or another cut of beef
1 small can of salsa verde
1/2 cup chicken broth, beef broth or water
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
flour tortillas
cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS
Put the steak and onions in the crockpot. Combine the salsa, broth and seasonings. Pour over the steak. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Shred the meat and serve in the tortillas with the fixings.

Crockpot Pork Roast Dinner

Found online here.

You can use any kind of mustard in this delicious, homey recipe. You can also thicken the juices if you wish after removing the roast and vegetables. Just pour the juice into a saucepan and add 2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water, then bring to a boil.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 6-8 hours (one comment said 6 hours was perfect)

Total Time: You can use any kind of mustard in this delicious, homey recipe. You can also thicken the juices if you wish after removing the roast and vegetables. Just pour the juice into a saucepan and add 2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water, then bring to a boil.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. small red potatoes, cut in half
• 16 oz. pkg. baby cut carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 lb. boneless pork loin roast, trimmed of fat
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. dried tarragon leaves or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped tarragon
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1-1/2 cups beef broth

Preparation:

Place potatoes and baby carrots around bottom edge of 4-6 quart crockpot. Place onion and garlic in bottom of crockpot. In small bowl, combine mustard, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper and spread over pork roast. Place roast in crockpot and pour beef broth over all. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 8-9 hours until pork is 150 degrees F and vegetables are tender.

Remove pork and vegetables to serving platter; cover and let stand 15 minutes. During this time you can thicken the juices by mixing 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add to the juices in the crockpot and cook on high for 10-15 minutes until thickened. 6 servings

If you have a new crockpot, cook on low for 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 hours or until the pork registers 150 degrees F. You might want to check it at 6 hours. The meat temperature will rise to 155 degrees F by the time you serve it.8 hours, 25 minutes

Café Rio Chicken

1 16 oz bottle Italian Dressing

1 T chili powder

1 T cumin

2 t chicken bouillion

3 cloves garlic, minced

5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook an additional hour.

Sour Cream Sloppy Joes/Janes

This recipe came from a good list of camp ideas. Click here to go there. 

Kids and messy foods go together like summer and watermelon eating contests. Sloppy Joes drip a bit around the bun, but that's fun in camp on a hot summer day where a swim in the lake sluices off spilled food and sticky fingers.

1 lb hamburger

1/2 C chopped onions 

2 T oil

2 T flour 

5 T catsup

1 T mustard 

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t salt 

1/4 t pepper

1 C sour cream

In a skillet, heat oil and cook onions until soft. Add hamburger and brown. Reduce heat and mix in other ingredients, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

Serves four adults, three children, two 12 year olds or one teenager. (Ha ha!)

Mom H's Stuffed Pork Chops

Season pork chops with salt & pepper, etc., as desired. 

Prepare Stuffing:

Bread cubes

water

Sage, etc. seasonings

Chopped celery

Raisins

Diced or wedged apples

Put 3 or 4 chops on a large piece of foil. Put stuffing in between and on top of chops. Wrap up foil tightly, place on cookie sheet. Bake at 450̊ for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Low Sugar Quick Orange Chicken

2 tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tbsp no-sugar-added orange marmalade
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
4 boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
1/2 c fresh orange sections
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Microwave Instructions:
1. For sauce, combine juice concentrate, marmalade, mustard and salt in 8-inch shallow round microwavable dish until juice concentrate is thawed.

2. Add chicken, coating both sides with sauce.  Arrange chicken around edge of dish without overlapping.  Cover with vented plastic wrap.  Microwave at HIGH (100%) 3 minutes; turn chicken over.  Microwave at MEDIUM-HIGH (70% power) 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3.  Remove chicken to serving plate.  Microwave remaining sauce at HIGH (100%) 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened.

4.  To serve, spoon sauce over chicken; top with orange sections and parsley.

Makes 4 servings.

Dietary Exchangees:
3 Lean Meat, 1/2 fruit

Found in "Diabetic Cooking", May/June 2004, p. 18.

I make this when it's just Nels and me - like when we went away for a week in Park City, or the kids are away, and it's just us at home.  Love it, he does too!


Printer friendly version here.

Polish Sausage & Potatoes by Anne

Place the following in a large dutch oven pan in order:

 

6+ potatoes, washed and quartered

3-4 carrot cut into chunks

1 pkg Beef Polish Sausage (I prefer to cut them in chunks too)

1/2-1 head cabbage, cut in larger pieces

 

Steam together 15-20 minutes until potatoes are done and carrots are crispy tender.

 

Serve with sour cream, (and red wide vinegar, if you like).

Mama's Potato Soup

5-6 white potatoes, diced
1 small white onion
3 stalks celery, diced
2-3 quarts milk
Salt, pepper and butter

Dice potatoes, onion and celery.  Cover with water and bring to a boil and cook till tender, yet firm.  Drain.  Bring milk to a boil (or may heat in microwave to speed cooking time) and add vegetables.  After boiling, add by teaspoon, dropping dumplings in.  Cook 10-15 minutes, then salt and pepper to taste.  Add 1/2 cube of butter.

Dumplings:
4 eggs
About 2 cups flour
1-2 tsp salt

The dumplings make the difference.  Beat eggs; sift flour and salt into beaten eggs (continue to add till dull appearance).  You may cut or add to this recipe.  It's great!

(Recipe by Judy Halversen, as found in the Salt Lake Wasatch Stake Relief Society Cookbook, p. 16, which we got from a cousin as a wedding gift in 1989).

Mom Howlett's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a major favorite at our house.  I even use the leftover meaty turkey carcass that I saved in the freezer.

Boil one whole chicken (or cut up pieces, whatever*) in plenty of water, with a couple of bay leaves and 1-2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.  Boil until meat is thoroughly cooked.

Remove the meat, and debone, and dice, return meat to soup.  Add additional water as needed.

(If you want vegetables, add them now, and boil for 15 minutes - we just eat the veges raw on the side.)

Add homemade noodles one at a time to boiling soup.


Homemade Egg Noodles
(Don't cheat on these - they are the most important part of this recipe!)

4-5 whole eggs
2 tsp salt
Flour, 1/2 C at a time

Stir the flour into the eggs and salt, adding as needed so that you can handle it.  Spray counter with cooking spray, then roll out the dough.  Cut into strips (as thin as you can get them) with pizza cutter, and drop one at a time into boiling soup.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until noodles test done.

*Note: Using skinless, boneless breasts will not taste as good since there is less fat on them to make the flavorful broth. Better to discard the skin and other undesirable parts when dicing the meat.  Or use dark meat tenders - they're flavorful!

Favorite Crock Pot Chili

½ lb dry pinto or kidney beans, softened*
2 14 ½ oz cans tomatoes
2 lbs coarsely ground chuck browned and drained
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
Salt to taste


Completely soften beans. Put all ingredients in Crock-Pot in order listed. Stir once. Cover and cook on Low 10-12 hours (High: 5 to 6 hours).


Note: Two 16 oz cans red kidney beans, drained, may be substituted for dry beans.

*See Jane Martin's Bean Softening Recipe for easy overnight instructions.

Corn Cakes with Tomato Avocado Relish

Ingredients:
For the corn cakes:
3 large ears of corn, shucked
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp. buttermilk
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying


For the relish:
1 large tomato, cored and chopped
1 scallion, minced
1 tbsp. minced fresh basil
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of half a lime
1½ tsp. olive oil
1½ tsp. white wine vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 ripe avocado, pitted and diced
Ranch dressing, for serving (optional)


Directions:  
Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and place in a large bowl.  Place 2 cups of the corn kernels in the food processor and pulse several times, until the corn is slightly pureed but still chunky.  Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the remaining corn kernels.  Add the flour, cornmeal, onion, basil, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to mix well.  Add the eggs, buttermilk, and butter, and stir just to combine.  


To make the salsa, combine all of the ingredients except the avocado in a medium bowl and mix well to combine.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days.  Just before serving, mix in the avocado.


Place a large skillet over medium heat.  Add just enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan and heat until sizzling hot.  Scoop the batter into the skillet a heaping tablespoon at a time, cooking the cakes in batches of 4 or 5 so that they are not touching.  Fry 1-2 minutes per side, until golden brown.  Transfer the cooked cakes to a wire rack and repeat with the remaining batter. 

Serve immediately topped with the relish and drizzled with ranch dressing, if desired.


Yield: 12 cakes

Recipe and pictures at Annie’s Eats.

Classic Tuna Casserole

1 pkg 8 oz pasta, cooked according to instructions.
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 11-oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 c milk
2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup broken potato chips

In a saucepan, cook celery and onion in butter till tender but not brown.  Stir in the flour; stir in condensed soup.  Gradually stir in milk.  Cook and stir til mixture is thickened and bubbly.Carefully stir in the tuna and the cooked and drained pasta.

Turn noodle mixture into a 9X13 pan.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, and the broken potato chips over that. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Makes 12 servings.

Karen Lenore's Chicken and Mushrooms

Cynthia Klein/Karen Lenore Felt

3-5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (pref breasts)

1 shallot diced

½ lb mushrooms, sliced

flour to coat chicken

BUTTER

Cut chicken to double-bite-size pieces (finger thickness). Sauté mushrooms and shallots in butter till tender. Add more butter to fry chicken. Coat chicken with flour and fry and stir in shallot mixture till white all through chicken. Serve with rice. (A great side dish is salad with Karen Lenore’s Garlic Buttermilk dressing!)

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

This easy chicken recipe only uses four ingredients but is packed with taste. Boneless chicken breasts are coated in a flavorful blend of cheese and spices for a wonderful main dish that goes with anything from spaghetti to baked beans.

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

1 package Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix*
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Mix cheese, dressing mix and garlic powder.

3. Moisten chicken breasts with water; coat with cheese mixture. Place in shallow baking dish.

4. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

 * See homemade Italian dressing mix.

Original recipe & picture from: http://www.momswhothink.com/chicken-recipes/baked-parmesan-garlic-chicken.html

Baked chicken with rosemary & soup

Sometimes I end up throwing something together really quickly when I'm in a hurry, but in the mood for something tasty. This was one of those meals. Everybody said, "Mom, write this one down!" So here it is:

Four chicken breasts, thawed, and each sliced into three pieces, laid in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.

Salt & pepper to taste

Sprinkle some rosemary over the top (maybe a tsp?)

Smear one can cream of mushroom soup over the top

Drain and spread on can green beans around

Put some tinfoil over it, and bake at 375 while you go pick up your daughter from her after school activities on the other side of town. Come back, prepare a box of pasta to put the chicken and gravy over, and these veges on the side, and serve!  Mmmm! That was effective. And I'm going to enjoy the leftovers for lunch today!

Navajo Tacos - Indian Frybread

3 c flour
1½ c warm water
1¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add warm water and knead until dough is soft but not sticky. Stretch and pat dough until thin. Tear off one piece at a time, poke hole through the middle and drop into kettle of sizzling hot shortening or oil. Brown on both sides. Serve hot, with toppings: heated chili beans with meat, cut tomatoes, shredded lettuce, grated cheese and sliced onion, etc., OR serve frybread with honey, as scones.

Quantities for my bigger family:
4 1/2 C flour
2 1/4 C warm water
<2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

I got this recipe from my mom who got it from a Navajo friend when we lived on the reservation in Arizona. Authentic!