Monday, January 24, 2011

I'm Feeling Better!




Yes, I am feeling better. My back is not hurting as much and I am able to move about a lot easier now. The sun is shining and it is 53 degrees outside! It's a great day!

I've already accomplished quite a few things today. I showered and dressed and washed my daughter's hair. She still doesn't do a very good job of this and her hair is thick, thick, thick! I dried a load of sheets that I washed last night and washed and dried two more loads of laundry today. I rebooted the dishwasher and am hand washing a sink full of dishes. I cooked three packs of boneless chicken breasts and shredded them. At $1.69 a pound, hubby picked up several of those bargains.

Here is what I am doing with all that chicken. I'm going to marinate three breasts for cranberry dump chicken and the rest is going in various casseroles to feed the freezer. I am making Chicken Tater Bake and freezing one and putting the other in the fridge to cook tomorrow evening. I am making a tried and true recipe called Chicken-Taco Bake. I need to check my archives and see if I have posted this recipe before. If not, I will add it to the bottom of this post. I am cooking up huge egg noodles in some seasoned broth to make chicken noodle soup for the daughter. It's her fave and she eats way too much of the canned stuff. But it is so convenient. I may also make Easy Chicken Vegetable Soup for the hub and I and put several containers in the freezer and two to three cups of chicken for use later in the week in the Ritzy Chicken Casserole. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but I have my laptop here at the kitchen table and I am taking lots of breaks.

Hubby inventoried my freezers again last night. I haven't been keeping up the inventory as I have been replenishing them and needed an up-to-date list. While incarcerated in the bedroom with the bad back, I made up some menus to use up my freezer meals and other items in the freezer so that I can make more room. I will try to find room for those freezer meals I am making today, but it won't be easy. I have quite a full pantry too. Bought lots of canned beans in the last month because of such wonderful sales. But those too will be going into various bean and chili dishes in the future. It makes me feel good to cook for my family. They are very appreciative too.


Chicken - Taco bake

2 cups cooked rice -- (2 to 3)
2 cups cooked shredded turkey or chicken -- (2 to 3)
1 can tomato sauce -- 8 oz.
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can refried beans -- (1 to 2)
1 cup grated cheese. -- (1 to 2)

we like brown rice, but you can use white
instead....I have even used ham and
crumbled ground beef if you happen to have it on hand.
Layer in a 9x13 baking dish the cooked rice. In another bowl, mix taco
seasoning and tomato sauce. Add shredded chicken and coat it well with
tomato mixture. Layer this chicken mixture on the rice in pan. "Frost"
the chicken layer with the refried beans. It may take up to 2 cans for
that, especially if you want a good thick layer. Top off with grated
cheese.
Wrap for freezing and pop it into the freezer. When ready to bake, thaw
and bake uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes or until hot all the way through
and the cheese is nice and bubbly. Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Vegetable Soup

3 cans (14 ½ oz. each) fat free chicken broth
½ t. dried thyme leaves, crushed
¼ t. garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. frozen whole kernel corn
2 c. frozen cut green beans
1 cup cut-up canned tomatoes
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
In large saucepan mix broth, thyme, garlic powder, corn, beans, tomatoes and celery. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add chicken and heat through.
Makes 6 servings. 166 calories each, 2 g. fat, 27 protein, 3 fiber, 575 sodium, 19 carbs, 3 ww points

Ritzy Chicken Casserole

2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 (8 oz.) sour cream
½ to 1 c. chicken broth
4-6 boneless chicken breasts, cooked (I don't use this much chicken, more like 3)
4 oz. butter, melted

Crumble one sleeve of Ritz crackers in bottom of 2-2 ½ qt. casserole dish. Drizzle ½ of the melted butter over the crackers. Mix chicken with soup, sour cream and broth. Pour over crackers. Crush the remaining sleeve of crackers over the chicken mixture. Drizzle the remaining melted butter over the crackers. Bake 300 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Serves 6.

1 comment:

Becky said...

So glad you are feeling better Pam! Yeah...praise God! :-D