PASTA CHICKEN SALAD--NUTTY, FRUITY AND DELICIOUS!

This is my husbands very favorite PASTA SALAD.    I think what makes it so good is the meaty chicken breast, along with the sweet grapes and the slivered almonds--such a great combination of flavors.  I serve it in croissants, or on a lettuce leaf.  With a dill spear, tomato wedge and a hot roll, it makes a great light meal or brunch item.  I usually make it the night before serving, and it keeps well for several days.  We've served it at many bridal and baby showers, and it is always a hit!  If you haven't tried this salad, I think you'll really enjoy it!

PASTA GRAPE CHICKEN SALAD

1 cup shell macaroni, cooked and drained

2 cups chicken breast, cooked and cubed

1 1/3 cup celery, thinly cut on the bias

2/3 cups seedless green grapes, cut in half

2/3 cups seedless red grapes, cut in half

3 Tablespoons minced green onion

1/8 cup finely chopped green pepper

1 1/3 cups slivered almonds

1 1/3 cups MAYONNAISE (not salad dressing)

1 1/3 cups KRAFT coleslaw dressing

Cook and drain shell macaroni; cool.  Add remaining chopped vegetables, fruits and nuts.  Gently stir together with mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing.  Chill.  Serve on croissants or on a bed of lettuce leaves.  Very good!  NOTE:  I usually add the mayonnaise and coleslaw dressing a little at a time; I don't always use the full amount.

DELICIOUS CHICKEN CASHEW DISH

This is a recipe for CHICKEN CASHEW that I developed over 30 years ago.  It can be made ahead and baked later, or can even be frozen.  To cook a frozen dish, either let it thaw, or increase baking time by approximately 15 minutes.  This is a great way to stretch a chicken, and the rice, seasoning and nuts make it a real people-pleaser!  I always use fresh-made crunchy chow mein noodles from a local Chinese restaurant because they're so good!   I think this recipe is absolutely delicious! 

CHICKEN CASHEW

1 chopped onion

6 ribs celery

2 Tablespoons butter

8 oz. fresh mushrooms

Saute together until tender.

1 large stewing chicken

3 C cooked rice

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup chicken broth

2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 can water chestnuts, sliced

Stew chicken; take meat off the bone.  Set aside.  (I have substituted 4-5 chicken breasts, cubed into chunks about the size of a quarter).  Chop water chestnuts; cook the rice.  Add the vegetable mixture with soup and rice mixture.  Bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven.  Stir in cashews--I use 12 oz. because we like cashews. Cook additional 10 minutes, uncovered.  Serve over a bed of fresh-made Chinese crunchy noodles.  

1 8-12oz. can whole cashews.

Chow mein noodles (I get fresh-made ones from a local Chinese restaurant)

MY FAVORITE CHILI WITH GROUND BEEF

This is a recipe I developed for chili for our family many years ago, when the kids were small.  I'll tell you right up front--it's not hot.  (for the small kids, it was perfect, and, for me, too, since I am very sensitive to heat).  This FAVORITE CHILI WITH GROUND BEEF has chili powder, and a little cayenne, but the heat is minimal--which is great for me.  I like my chili nice and meaty, with stewed tomatoes and plump, dark red kidney beans, or a blend of light and dark, so this recipe if full of those ingredients.   Served plain, or with sour cream, grated cheese, and cheese and crackers, it makes a full meal.  And, of course, you can add additional spices to make this hearty chili have more heat, if desired. 

CHILI WITH GROUND BEEF

2 lbs. ground beef (I use 97-3%)

2 large onions, chopped

3 cans stewed tomatoes, chopped up

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 2 cans (15 1/2 oz.) kidney beans, drained

tomato juice, to desired consistency (opt)

Brown ground beef with chopped onions, until tender.  Drain, if necessary.  Add remaining ingredients except the beans and additional tomato juice.  Heat to boiling.  Stir.  Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Add beans, and, if desired, more tomato juice.  (I like mine chunky and meaty, so I don't add any additional juice).  Heat through.  Serve with cheese and crackers, or, if desired, grated cheese and sour cream.  Yummy!

BEST-EVER SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN

This recipe for SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN has been a family favorite for many, many years, coming from an old cookbook from the little town of ELWOOD that I got in college. The cookbook had many good recipes from great Asian cooks.  We like it because it reminds us of one used by a local Chinese restaurant--but I like it even better!  It can also be made with pork, which was called for in the original recipe.  NOTE:  I increase the sauce ingredients 1 1/2 x's when making it.  We all love this recipe--it's definitely our favorite sweet and sour recipe!

SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN (or pork) (Elwood cook book)

2 lbs. chicken breasts or lean pork

1 cup water (I 1 1/2 x's this)

1/4 cup brown sugar  (I 1 1/2 x's this)

2 Tablespoons soy sauce (I 1 1/2 x's this) 

2-3 Tablespoons cornstarch (I 1 1/2 x's this)

1/4 cup vinegar (I 1 1/2 x's this)

1/2 teaspoon salt (I 1 1/2 x's this)

1 large onion, sliced

1 green pepper, chopped in large pieces

1 20-oz. can chunk pineapple, drained (I use an additional 6-oz can pineapple juice) 

Cube chicken breasts or pork loin into pieces, about the size of a silver dollar.  Brown in skillet.  Add 1 cup water and simmer until tender.  Drain pineapple, reserving liquid.  Combine sugar and cornstarch.  Add syrup, vinegar, soy sauce and salt.  Add to meat and cook until gravy bubbles and thickens.  Add green pepper and onion and cook until soft, but still crisp, about 3-5 minutes.  Add pineapple chunks and heat through.  Serve with steaming hot rice. 

BEST-EVER CLAM CHOWDER!

This CLAM CHOWDER recipe is thick, mild and delicious!  A family favorite for over 30 years, I like to serve it in my homemade soup bowls (see post of 1/26/11).  DELICIOUS!!

BEST-EVER CLAM CHOWDER
2 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans minced clams, drained (save juice)
1 cup chopped celery

Cover potatoes with enough water + the juice from the clams, with the vegetables and cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.  DON'T DRAIN!  (Reserve the clams to add at the last)

1 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 qt. 1/2 and 1/2

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 Tablespoons sugar

Melt butter and add flour to make a paste. Add the qt. of 1/2 and 1/2 gradually, stirring and cooking over medium high heat until thick.  Add the salt and sugar and stir in.  Add the cooked vegetables to the white sauce.  Fold in drained clams.  Stir and heat through.  NOTE:  If you need to thin the chowder, add milk to thin.  Extra good served in homemade soup bowls with a fresh fruit and simple dessert.  We love this hearty recipe! 

TACO SOUP--EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE

This recipe for TACO SOUP, is probably in every one's recipe file~it has been around for a long time, and it seems like it's just about every one's favorite.  Just in case you haven't had the pleasure of making or tasting it, look no further--here it is--a quick, easy, soup that goes so well with chips and grated cheese!  It's especially good for a quick meal, when time is short.  Umm, good!

TACO SOUP
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped
1 can corn
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 pkg mild taco seasoning mix
grated cheese
Tortilla chips
Brown onion and beef together.  Add all other ingredients except cheese and chips and simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve with grated cheese and chips. 

OH-SO-EASY BEEF PARMESAN -- GREAT!

I got this recipe for BEEF PARMESAN from a friend years ago.  She changed the original a bit to make it even quicker, by eliminating the browning of the cubed steak, which doesn't make a difference at all in taste--yet makes it lower in fat!  It's a great recipe for something good and hearty when you don't have time for baking, and can also be put together and baked later, which makes it so easy!  Throw in some potatoes to bake at the same time, add a colorful vegetable (I like steamed baby carrots), and you have a great meal with little-to-almost no time involved!

BEEF PARMESAN (Lois)

6-8 pieces cubed steak

6-8 pieces mozzarella cheese

1 bottle chunky Prego sauce

Parmesan cheese, to taste

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Season cubed steak pieces with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle each with Parmesan cheese.  Top with a slice of mozzarella cheese.  Pour the bottle or Prego sauce over meat pieces.  Bake 45 minutes-1 hour at 350 degrees.  NOTE:  You can use veal, chicken breasts, or cubed pork for this recipe as well.  All are very good!

YUMMY TURKEY RICE SOUP

This is the perfect soup to have for your leftover turkey, or I get a small turkey breast, roast it and use the whole thing.  I developed this recipe with some of my favorite ingredients--nice, big turkey chunks, and carrots cut on the bias.  This recipe for TURKEY RICE SOUP is flavorful and tasty.  Easy to put together, it's one that always pleases!  Great with crackers and cheese, or a sandwich on homemade bread.  ENJOY!

TURKEY RICE SOUP

2-3 cups turkey, in chunks

2 lbs. carrots, peeled and sliced thick on the bias

2 large onions, chopped

5-6 ribs celery, chopped fairly thick 

4 cups cooked rice (give or take)

6 chicken bouillon cubes OR turkey broth to measure 6 cups

Cook carrots, onion and celery in about 6 cups water and the bouillon cubes (or turkey broth).  When tender, add about 4 cups cooked rice (more or less according to desired consistency).  Add turkey breast chunks and carefully stir in.  Heat through.  NOTE:  If more liquid is needed, add 1 bouillon cube per 1 cup water).   

BEST-EVER BARBEQUE/SLOPPY JOES

This recipe, for BARBEQUE, shared by a friend, over 30 years ago, has been my very favorite Sloppy Joe, or Barbeque recipe over the years.  Since I love the healthy, great taste that vegetables add to recipes, the chopped vegetables in this, along with it's subtle, sweet, tomato sauce base, is absolutely wonderful!  I  like to serve it on buns, open-faced or closed.  (Homemade buns make this hearty barbeque unbeatable!)  This is one recipe you'll want to try! 

BARBEQUE/SLOPPY JOES (Shirley B)

1 lb. ground beef (I use 93-7%)

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2-3 ribs celery, chopped

1 8-oz. tomato sauce

1/4 cup ketsup

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Brown ground beef.  Cut up vegetables and saute with the browned beef.  Add liquids and the sugar.  Simmer for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.    Serve by spooning barbeque on homemade seeded hamburger buns, or it is very good served open-faced.  YUMMY!

OLD FASHIONED CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

This is my recipe for a chunky, hearty, CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP.  My mother-in-law made one similar, and that's when I developed this recipe.  I've made it for years for my family and we all love it.  Although I've used chicken breasts, I think it's best (and what I usually do), is stew a whole chicken, remove the meat from the bones, and then, using the broth, strain it through some cheesecloth, and use that as the broth for the soup.  I like big, chunky carrots, chopped onions, celery, and add frozen peas at the last.  Sometimes I put in some potatoes, but usually I don't--but you could add anything you desire, that's just what we like.  I've made homemade noodles with this, but I actually like it better just as I'm posting.

CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

1 large whole chicken, boiled and taken off the bones

6 ribs celery, chunky chopped

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced thick on the bias

2 large onions, chopped

1 bay leaf

S&P to taste

chicken bouillon cubes

Cover chicken with water and stew with a bay leaf and any celery tops you might have, until tender and done.  Remove chicken from broth and take meat off bones and set aside.  Take the broth, and  strain through cheesecloth, throwing away the bay leaf and any celery greenery.  Put liquid  in large stock pot.  Add chopped carrots, celery, and onions.  Cook until barely tender.  Add chicken bouillon cubes and 8 oz. water per cube, to desired liquid.  Add frozen peas and chicken pieces last, and heat through.  Serve with cheese and crackers, or homemade rolls.   

SPINACH MANDARIN TOSSED SALAD - AMAZINGLY GOOD!

This salad has been one of my all-time favorite salads since a good friend shared it with me many years ago.  What's neat about the salad in recent years is that you can buy packaged sugared pecans in packages at the grocery store, and so the time and effort taken to sugar the pecans has been eliminated.  I assemble all the ingredients before and store in the refrigerator until I'm ready to toss and serve.  The prepared dressing is great, with just the right sweet/sour mixture.  This salad is good as a main dish, or served as an accompaniment with a good steak and baked potato.  I love all the flavors and textures--Great!

SPINACH MANDARIN SALAD - Diana

1 bag Spring Mix Salad

1 bag Baby Spinach Salad

1 head Iceberg lettuce

1/2 bunch green onions, chopped

2 pkg (8-oz. each) glazed pecans

1 pkg craisins

8 oz. mushrooms, marinated

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 8-oz. cans mandarin oranges

Several hours before serving the salad:  Make dressing by combining all ingredients and mixing or shaking well, so all of the sugar is dissolved.  Take a little of the dressing and marinate thinly sliced mushrooms for several hours. Fry or cook bacon, cool and crumble.  Drain cans of mandarin oranges well.  Just before serving:  Combine all lettuces with the other vegetables, marinated mushrooms, nuts, bacon and mandarin oranges.  Toss with the dressing.  Serve immediately.  NOTE:  The recipe for dressing makes a lot--you may not need it all--use your own judgement.   

DRESSING

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup olive or canola oil

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup red wine vinegar

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Chill several hours before using.  NOTE:  I dissolve the sugar with the red wine vinegar first-

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD-SO EASY AND GOOD!

This ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD is fast, easy and very good!  We've had it in our area for many years now, and it's been served for many occasions.  With some unlikely ingredients, the flavors blend so nicely.  It has all the elements that make a great salad so good--crunch--with nuts, seeds and veggies, and tender chicken breasts.  The salad can be made ahead; in fact, it's better if made the night before, or at least chilled for several hours if possible. 

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD

2 cups chicken breast, cooked and cubed

4 cups shredded cabbage (I use bagged coleslaw)

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 cups slivered almonds

2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

1 pkg Chicken Ramen noodles, uncooked and broken up

1 small package frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup vinegar

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 flavor packet from the Ramen noodles

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Cook breasts; cube.  Set aside.  Combine cabbage, chopped green onions, sesame seeds, peas, slivered almonds and broken Ramen noodles.  Add cubed chicken and toss together.  FOR DRESSING, combine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper, and contents of the flavor packet.  Shake well, making sure the sugar and packet are dissolved.  Pour over cabbage and chicken mixture.  Toss well.  Chill over night, or for several hours at least. 

MY FAVORITE CHICKEN BOW TIE PASTA SALAD

This favorite BOW TIE PASTA SALAD, full of chicken, and an wide assortment of veggies, is great!  It has been a family favorite for years.  This salad can be made ahead.  Don't add the yummy, homemade dressing or the grated cheese until just before serving, though.  You can use your imagination with this recipe--I just make it with our favorites!  It makes alot--for a crowd at a family reunion, church or civic group.  I think it's best eaten up, though after the dressing and cheese are added, as it tends to get a little 'soggy' the next day. 

CHICKEN BOW TIE PASTA SALAD

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

1 pkg bow tie pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

1 zucchini, cut up

1 container cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 cucumber, peeled, and cut up

1 bunch fresh broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 head cauliflower, cut up in small flowers

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 can olives, sliced

1 mozzarella ball, grated

Marinate chicken breasts in teriyaki sauce and cook.  Cut in cubes.  Set aside.  Cook pasta according to directions on package.  Drain.  Add cubed chicken breast and vegetables.  At this point, salad can be stored in the refrigerator.  When ready to serve, toss with the salad dressing and grated cheese.

DRESSING 

1 cup sugar

1 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup vinegar

4 teaspoons accent (I have cut this in half or even deleted it)

1 teaspoon pepper

To make dressing, mix all ingredients and mix until sugar is dissolved.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight is best.  When ready to serve salad, shake the dressing well, and pour entire dressing over the salad and toss.  Add grated cheese and toss again.  Serve immediately.  I think this salad is best used same-day.

HOT CHICKEN SALAD -OUR FAVORITE!

This recipe is one of the first ones I got when I got married.  I tasted it at a church meeting, and although I'm not too big on casserole-type dishes, this HOT CHICKEN SALAD has always been a favorite of mine and my family.  I have used either a whole stewed chicken or 4-5 chicken breasts, cubed.  It is simply scrumptious!  I hope you give it a try!

HOT CHICKEN SALAD

2 1/2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed

2 cups celery, steamed

1 1/2 cup rice, cooked

2 eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped

1 4-oz. pkg slivered almonds

1 can cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup MAYONNAISE (not salad dressing)

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon onion salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients together.  Bake at 350 degrees in a casserole dish for 35-40 minutes.

BEST BREAKFAST BAKE

This recipe, for an EASY BREAKFAST BAKE, is especially good for brunches, special occasion breakfasts, or for outings at the cabin or summer home.  You make it up to two nights before you need it, then just bake it for 45 minutes before you need to serve it.  I change the meat around, using not only the sausage that it calls for, but have substituted cubed ham or crumbled, cooked bacon, (or sometimes have made it without the meat).  It's great with fresh fruit, homemade muffins and juice for a fun Easter brunch. 

BEST BREAKFAST BAKE 

1 lb. sausage, cooked and crumbled (or ham or bacon)

6 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

2 cups milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

bread to cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan

Cook sausage.  Drain well and  crumble.  Set aside.  Beat eggs and milk together.  Add salt and pepper. Set aside.  Cut crusts off the bread and place to fit in the bottom of the 9x13 baking pan.  Layer next with the meat, then cheese.  Pour the egg mixture over cheese, meat and bread.  Cover and let sit over night.  Uncover the next morning and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting into squares. 

MY FAVORITE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

This recipe for MY FAVORITE SPAGHETTI SAUCE, has been a family favorite for about 35 years, after I adapted it from an old recipe my husband had.  It is even better the second day, after it's had a chance for the flavors to blend.  The ground beef adds a meatiness to the sauce, and the vegetables make it unbeatable!  I know you'll enjoy this spaghetti sauce!

MY FAVORITE SPAGHETTI SAUCE
2 lbs. extra lean ground beef (I use 97-3%)
1 green pepper, chopped
2 lg. onions, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cans stewed tomatoes, crushed (15-oz. cans)
3 cans tomato paste (6 oz. cans)
3 Tablespoons sugar
Brown ground beef.  Cut up vegetables.  Add the chopped green pepper, celery, minced garlic, and onions to the browned beef and saute together until tender.  Add the stewed tomatoes.  Reconstitute the tomato paste with equal amount of water.  Add to the meat/vegetable mixture.  Add the sugar.  Simmer for about an hour, then add mushrooms and continue cooking until tender.  Serve over 1 package of cooked spaghetti.  (I use angel hair occasionally).  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.   

OLD-FASHIONED MACARONI AND CHEESE

This is an old family recipe for our favorite old-fashioned MACARONI AND CHEESE.  It's a great 'comfort food' and the whole family enjoys it--creamy and tasty!  This is also good re-warmed the next day.

OLD-FASHIONED MACARONI AND CHEESE

2 1/4 cup elbow macaroni

4 1/2 Tablespoons butter

1/8 cup finely minced onion

3 Tablespoons flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 cups milk

12 oz. cheddar or sharp cheese, cubed

Cook macaroni as directed until barely done.  In another pan, melt butter.  Add finely minced onion.  Blend in flour, salt and pepper.  Slowly add milk, and cook until bubbly and thick.  Stir in cooked elbow macaroni.  Add cubed cheese and stir until melted.  Pour into a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish, that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray, and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  Serves 6. 

CHICKEN ROLL UPS--OUT OF THIS WORLD!

This yummy recipe for CHICKEN ROLL UPS, is my all-time, very favorite for an alternative to chicken cordon bleu.  Shared by a dear friend, these roll ups are absolutely,  deliciously wonderful!  These work up so quickly--and when you serve them with rice and the sauce that they are cooked in, it's another to-die-for chicken recipe!  It has long been a favorite of not only our family, but anyone who has tasted them and incorporated them into their "Family Favorites!"  You won't believe how easy they are--and how impressive they are to serve!  Enjoy!

CHICKEN ROLL UPS (JoAnn)

1 3 1/2-4lb. bag frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1/2 lengthwise

Deli ham, 1 piece for each 1/2 breast

Sliced Swiss cheese, 1 slice for each 1/2 chicken breast

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup YOSHIDA'S gourmet sauce

Partially unthaw chicken breasts.  Cut in 1/2 lengthwise while still partially unthawed.  (This makes it easier to cut).  Place a piece of sliced ham on each piece of chicken.  Place a strip of cheese on the ham.  Fold in sides of ham, then roll up the breast to enclose the ham and cheese.  Place a toothpick to hold together.  Place as many as you have in a 9x13 baking dish.  Combine Yoshida's and cream of chicken soup together and mix well.  Pour over chicken rolls.  Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 1 hour.  Serve over rice.  NOTE:  I usually pour the sauce into a gravy boat to have for people to drizzle over the tops of the chicken roll ups and rice. 

MY FAVORITE BRUNCH QUICHE

This recipe is a favorite of my neighborhood.  When we all get together for brunches or morning get-togethers, this recipe for FAVORITE BRUNCH QUICHE is always on the menu!  I can't remember where it originally came from, just that we've had it around for years, and that we all love it!  It has it all--the potatoes, the eggs, cheese and meat!  I usually make it up in two pie dishes--and freeze one and bake one. But if you want, you can just make it in a 9x13 casserole dish.  You can also add any meat you want--bacon, ham or sausage are great.  It's even good without meat!  They freeze great, or, you can just store them in the refrigerator and bake it the next day or two.  We love this quiche with hot, homemade cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit.

 

MY FAVORITE BRUNCH QUICHE

24 oz. shredded has browns, thawed

1 cube butter

1 cup 1/2 and 1/2

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese

1 1/2 cups cooked crumbled bacon, or cubed ham, or pre-cooked, drained sausage

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

Butter or spray two 9-inch pie plates.  Press thawed hash brown into pie plates, packing well, evenly on the bottom and up the sides. (If needed, you may have to lightly press out all moisture in the hash browns with paper toweling first).  Melt butter and pour equally over the potatoes in the two pie plates.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  When finished, add meat, then grated cheeses that have been combined together, into the shells.  In another bowl,  beat eggs and 1/2 and 1/2 together; add seasoned salt.  Pour over the tops of the two pie shells, evenly dividing.  (At this point they can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen).  Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes before  cutting.  DELICIOUS!

PERFECT POPPY SEED CHICKEN

My daughter's friend shared this recipe for POPPY SEED CHICKEN several years ago.  We have chicken quite a bit, and it's nice to occasionally have a different way of preparing it.  The recipe makes a lot, so we often divide it in half.  It can be frozen, so half of it can be frozen for later and the other half can be baked to enjoy now.  If you're watching your weight, I have tried it with reduced and lite versions of the ingredients, and it was still yummy. 

POPPY SEED CHICKEN

8-10 chicken breasts, cooked & cut into pieces

2 cups sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

2 cups crushed Ritz Crackers

5 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese

Cook chicken until tender and cut into pieces about the size of a silver dollar.   Set aside.  In a large bowl, combine sour cream, soup, chopped green onions, and shredded cheese.  Turn into a casserole dish and sprinkle with a crumb mixture of crushed Ritz Crackers, melted butter and poppy seeds.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly.  A good chicken dish alternative served with steamed broccoli and fresh fruit.  Enjoy!