Cooking Kids

This recipe is a play I did on a chicken and biscuits recipe that I didn’t think had any flavor the first time I tried it. Everyone really liked this recipe, and my son said it reminds him of chicken and dumplings without having to pick out the vegetables. I don’t know about you, but I love cooking hardy meals in the wintertime, and this one fits the bill.

Chicken and Biscuits:

3 to 4 chicken breasts, cut up and browned in a pan

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 can of biscuits

Garlic powder

Basil

Lemon Pepper seasoning

Milk

Cook the chicken until pretty much cooked through. It’s fine if it’s still a little pink because it will finish cooking in the oven. Pour the chicken into a casserole dish and sprinkle with garlic powder, basil and lemon pepper seasoning. I didn’t measure the seasonings, so just season to taste. Then pour both soups into a bowl and add enough milk so that the soup is slightly creamy. Pour this over the seasoned chicken. Place the biscuits on top and cook for 30 minutes at 375*. If your biscuits don’t cook through on the bottom, increase the heat to 400* and move the casserole dish to your lowest rack. I’ve found that depending on the biscuit, some cook through and some need longer for the bottom. The flaky layer biscuits seem to need longer than regular biscuits. We also liked letting the tops of the biscuits get pretty brown, which gave them a nice crispy texture with soft biscuit underneath. Let this set for 5 minutes and serve with a favorite vegetable.

Here’s a crockpot recipe that we recently tried and my whole family loved. I’m trying to use my crockpot more, especially now that the holidays are approaching. It makes it much easier to just start dinner when I make lunch and not have to worry about cooking a bunch of stuff when both kids are hanging around complaining that they’re starving. Hope you enjoy this. And as as side note - the recipe index will be updated later today with last month’s recipes.

Cheesy Crockpot Chicken

4 chicken breasts or chicken breast filets, or 6-8 chicken tenderloins. ( I used chicken right from the freezer, no thawing.)

2 cans of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cheddar cheese soup

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix garlic powder, soups, salt and pepper in crockpot. Add a little bit of water if the mixture seems too thick. Add chicken and coat with soup mixture. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours depending on make of crockpot. Serve with rice or egg noodles and salad.

I found this recipe in Taste of Home and my family enjoys it. It’s a nice break from the traditional spaghetti or ravioli and sauce. It’s also a great way to use up extra ravioli from dinner. You can cut down on preparation time by substituting the ground beef with a bag of beef ravioli. Just exclude the step about browning the beef.

Ravioli Soup:

1 lb. ground beef

2 C. water

1 (28oz.) can undrained, crushed tomatoes

1 (14.5oz.) can undrained, crushed tomatoes

1 small can of tomato paste

1 1/2 C. chopped onion

1/4 C. minced parsley

2 minced garlic cloves

3/4 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. oregano, onion salt, sugar, salt

1/4 tsp. pepper and thyme

1 pkg. frozen cheese ravioli

1/4 C. grated parmesan

Cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the water, tomatoes, tomato paste, onion, parsley, garlic and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30 min.

Cook ravioli. Drain. Add to soup and heat through. Stir in parmesan and serve with crusty garlic bread. Enjoy!

This soup is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken and rice. If your kids don’t like spicy foods too much, just leave out the green chilies or only put in half. The best part of this meal is that if you keep these ingredients on hand, you can whip this up in no time after a long day.

 2 Cans of chicken broth

3 C. cooked rice

2 C. cooked chicken

2 tbsp. cilantro

1 Can corn

1 Can V8

1 C. salsa

1 can green chilies

1/2 C. green onions

1/2 C. cheddar

Combine all ingredients except cheese in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and serve. This is tasty and quick!

I found this recipe in Fun Food Magazine and the picture looks appetizing. While I haven’t tried this recipe yet, I think it’s something kids and adults will enjoy. I think I might take out the ham and replace it with shredded chicken, because my husband doesn’t care for ham.

Recipe:
1 pkg. deluxe macaroni and cheese
9 cups water, divided
1-2 cups broccoli florets
2 tbsp. onion
1 can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
2 1/2C. milk
1 C. chopped ham or favorite meat

Bring 8 cups of the water to a boil and cook macaroni 8-10 minutes. In another pan, bring remaining water to a boil. Add broccoli and onion, cook 3 minutes. Stir in soup, milk, meat and contents of cheese sauce packet from macaroni and cheese into broccoli and onion. Heat through. Drain macaroni, stir into soup. Serve with crusty bread.

Salad and bread are great side dishes for a meal of soup. One recipe that’s easy for kids to help make is seasoned breadsticks. By using a can of breadstick dough, you cut the preparation time and make it easy for kids to help. The next time you plan on making soup, don’t forget to grab a can of breadsticks.

Recipe:

1 or 2 cans of breadstick dough

Melted butter

Favorite seasonings such as garlic powder/salt, onion powder/salt, basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, seasoned salt, and salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven according to package directions. Open the can of breadsticks and unroll them. Have your kids help twist each breadstick into a spiral and place on a greased baking sheet. Let them brush melted butter over each breadstick. Sprinkle your favorite seasonings over the breadsticks and bake. For a real assortment, use a variety of seasonings. Serve the breadsticks standing up in a round container for visual appeal.

Chicken soup is the most requested recipe in this house when someone gets sick. In fact, my son just had a stomach flu and really wanted some. I didn’t have any. I had made a batch the week before with plans to freeze it, but we ate it all. He had to settle for chicken broth out of a box with some ramen noodles. It reminded me why it’s so important to have frozen chicken soup on hand. So here’s our recipe for getting a batch of chicken soup ready for freezing.

1 cooked whole chicken (I cook a 4-5lb smaller roasting chicken, we eat it for dinner, then I save what’s left on a plate)

Chopped onion

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Poultry seasoning

Parsley

Ground cayenne

Black pepper

Chicken bouillon cubes

1 box of chicken broth

Fill a dutch oven a little more than half full with water. Put it on the stove to boil. Take all the skin off the chicken and put the chicken in the pot. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 hours. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Remove the chicken and pull all the chicken off the bones, pull it apart with your fingers and put it back into the pot of water. Put this in the fridge over night. In the morning, skim all the fat off the top with a mesh strainer. Put the mixture on the stove to boil. While heating up the chicken and water, chop onions and parsley (or use dried parsley). Add it to the water. Put a small amount of garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning and black pepper into the water. I average about 1tsp. to a 1/2 tsp., depending on the spice. Pour in the chicken broth and about 6-8 bouillon cubes. Stir a minute or so once mixture boils. Let the broth simmer 30 minutes or so until the onions are tender and the flavors have blended. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Pour into a container and freeze. You can freeze in portions or in a large container. When ready to serve for dinner, or to a sick child, thaw slightly and put in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil while adding your favorite vegetables. I cook any noodles or rice separate from the broth so that it doesn’t soak up all the broth. You don’t even have to add anything if you don’t want to, or you can bring it to a boil and top with dumplings. No matter what you do, having frozen chicken soup on hand means you can have a hearty homemade supper, or cold remedy, in 30 minutes during the winter.

Here’s another recipe for soup month. Although the titles says chili, this has more of a soup texture than a chili texture. I’ve made this once, and I remember we all liked it except for my daughter who thought it was too spicy. So you may want to cut down on the amount of chilies, if your family doesn’t like spice.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb. cubed chicken breast

1 chopped onion

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. oil

2 cans of navy beans

1 can chicken broth

2 (or less) cans of chopped green chilies

1 tsp. salt, cumin, and oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1 C. sour cream

1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

Saute the chicken, onion, and garlic powder in the oil. Add the beans, chicken broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and whipping cream. Heat through and serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!

Today starts the first day of soup month. I’m gonna start the month with a family favorite - potato soup. This morning I woke up to temperatures in the 40’s, so I’m raring to get something warm and yummy cooked up for dinner.

Potato Soup:

6 larger potatoes

1 large yellow onion - chopped

1 16oz. container of chicken broth

1 qt. of half and half

1 stick of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Cube the potatoes and cover the potatoes and onion with broth. Add enough water just to cover the potatoes and add salt and pepper to taste. . Bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes are soft. Remove the potatoes from the heat and use a masher or the back of a spoon to mash. (How much you mash is up to you. We prefer to have some chunks of potato, but my in-laws mash them a lot and have a thick, creamy potato soup.) Add the butter and stir until melted (the recipe calls for a stick, but I only use 1/2 stick) and then stir in the half and half until heated through. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy your soup!

Here’s a recipe for one of our favorite side dishes. This has replaced our regular corn for the holidays. We like it best with chicken, but we like chicken with everything.

1/2 C. sugar

1 C. milk

1/4 C. melted butter

3 tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper

3 eggs

1 can kernel corn

1 can creamed corn

Combine the sugar and flour. Whisk the eggs, milk, butter, salt and pepper. Add to flour mixture and whisk well. Stir in the corns. Pour into a glass baking dish and bake for 45-50 minutes at 350* or until set. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!