Chicken Casserole

Allene's Casserole 

Allene Brodie worked in the cubicle beside mine in the advertising department of Simpsons department store in downtown Toronto. I was the newest fashion copywriter, Allene had written ads housewares for a long time. Friendly and generous with good advice, Allene typed out her favorite, quick "company's coming after work" recipe for me. She served it with rice, rolls, a lettuce salad with Green Goddess dressing, and a fruit salad for dessert.

• 1 whole chicken
• flour (enough to coat chicken parts)
• 1 can Campbells Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
• 1/2 can water
• 3/4 can sour cream
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut raw chicken into pieces, skin and de-bone.

Lay chicken pieces in a shallow casserole dish.

Put a pat of butter on each chicken piece.

Combine soup, water, sour cream, white wine.

Pour over chicken pieces in casserole dish.

Lift edges of chicken to make sure some sauce goes underneath.

Cook at 350 degrees for total 1-1/2 hours, but set timer for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, turn chicken pieces, spooning sauce over.

Continue cooking for final 45 minutes, adding a little milk if sauce needs it.

Cooked casserole freezes well. Just add a little milk and reheat.

Creamed Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

• 6 chicken breasts
• 1 bunch fresh broccoli
• 2 cans cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (or substitute white sauce)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup breadcrumbs

1. Bone-in chicken: Boil the breasts in a pot of water until tender. Skin and de-bone the chicken and return the bones to the water to make stock for soup.
2. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: bake the chicken in a flat baking dish lined and covered with sheets of water-moistened parchment paper at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes until tender and almost done. Remove the parchment paper and chicken from the baking dish, drain the juices. (Lightly oil the baking dish before returning chicken to the dish.)
3. While chicken is cooking, wash, cut up and steam the broccoli until almost tender.
4. Arrange cooked chicken meat and steamed broccoli in a flat baking dish.
5. Blend the soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry and pour over the chicken and broccoli.
6. Top with the cheese and buttered breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Lime Marinade for Chicken Wraps

• 1/4 cup chilli powder
• juice of  3 limes
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 Tbsp canola oil
• 3 chicken breasts, skinned and de-boned.

Blend ingredients together, add herbs if desired. 

Pour over chicken breast meat, cut into strips, and marinate at least 3 hours before sauteeing in pan with juices.

Serve cooked chicken in a wrap with Greek yogurt.

Chicken Breasts

Chicken Kiev

Adjust quantities depending on how many people you're serving. Make 1-2 pieces of Chicken Kiev per person. Read the recipe through so you can time your dinner preparation.

• Bone-in chicken breasts, split
• stalk of celery
• 1 carrot

OR, to save time:

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups chicken broth

AND

• butter
• beaten egg
• flour
• bread crumbs
• lemon
• oil for frying

For bone-in chicken breasts:

Remove skin and bones, discard skin, cut in two.

Use bones to make broth for the sauce:

Put chicken bones in a pot, cover with water.

Bring to a boil, add diced celery and carrot and a little lemon peel

Reduce to simmer about an hour, adding more water if necessary.

Two cups of broth is needed for the sauce.

Strain to remove bones and peel.

Refrigerate broth so any fat separates.

When cool, skim fat off the top.

Reserve remaining broth to use in the sauce.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and de-boned chicken:

Pound each piece of chicken with a mallet or a hammer covered with plastic wrap.

Chicken pieces should be flat and doubled in size.

Spread on each chicken piece:

• 1 Tbsp softened butter
• Salt and pepper
• Dried thyme (or other herbs)

Roll each piece of chicken up.

Place on a dish, cover and refrigerate till the chicken rolls harden.

About 4 hours before dinner will be served, dredge each roll with:

• flour

Roll in:

• 1 large beaten egg

Coat in:

• bread crumbs

Refrigerate for 3 hours.

In a pot on the stove, prepare the sauce:

• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• 4 tbsp flour, whisked in
• 2 cups chicken broth, added while stirring with a whisk.

Taste and season the sauce.

When sauce thickens, lower heat and stir for 3 more minutes.

Add:

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 4 more tbsp melted butter.

Keep warm till chicken is ready.

Cook Chicken Kiev rolls:

Fry in deep fat (enough vegetable oil to cover) for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Serve chicken with sauce on the side, or drizzle sauce over the chicken rolls before serving.

Spicy Oven-Fried Chicken Breasts

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1/2 pounds total)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp Frank's hot sauce
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 Tbsp olive oil

Marinade chicken:

In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, hot sauce, mustard, garlic, pepper and 1 tsp. salt.

Add chicken and turn to coat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

In another large bowl, combine bread crumbs, parmesan, flour, thyme, paprika, cayenne, 1 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp olive oil. Mix well.

Remove chicken from marinade, place in seasoned bread crumb mixture, turn to coat.

Place chicken on a rack and let sit 20 minutes.

Spread 1 Tbsp oil on a rimmed baking sheet and place in cold oven.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

After oven temperature reaches 400 degrees, wait 5 minutes then place coated chicken on the heated baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until crispy, golden and baked through.

Serve with roasted or mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots.

Southwest Chicken and Vegetables

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1/2 lbs total)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 sweet red pepper, sliced
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 2 cups frozen lima beans, thawed
• 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley or cilantro

1. Mix together, in a small bowl: 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper.
2. Sprinkle chicken breasts with the spice mixture and set aside.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
4. Cook chicken in the skillet 7-8 minutes till browned and cooked through (temperature of chicken reads 160 degrees F.) Remove chicken onto a plate and tent loosely with foil.
5. Add 1 Tbsp of oil to the skillet and sautee garlic over low heat 3-4 minutes until soft.
6. Increase heat to medium, add onions and red pepper, cook 5 minutes.
7. Add 2 cups corn, 2 cups lima beans, 1 tsp chili powder and 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, cook 5 minutes.
8. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth or water and continue to cook until vegetables are heated through.
9. To serve, scrape vegetables and drippings onto a platter and top with sliced or whole chicken breasts.