chicken andoullie jambalaya

Amazing!

1/4 c bacon drippings, or olive oil or butter

1 lb chicken breasts, chopped

1 pkg andoullie sausage sliced

1 c chopped celery

1/2 c chopped mushrooms

1 c chopped onion

1 c chopped peppers, red and green

1 heaping tbs garlic in oil

1 large box chicken broth

parsley

salt and pepper

1 box wheat noodles, cooked only 3-4 minutes

In a dutch oven or large pot, sautee chicken in oil, add sausage. Remove meat and leave oil, add all veggies to pot and sautee in oil until caramelized. Add broth/stock and meat and simmer 15 minutes... add seasonings and drained pasta and simmer at least 5 more minutes.

chicken in rice... 2 ways

another "old" favorite, BUT it has a cream of chicken or celery base... no longer allowed in our house, adapted it and was a BIG success! All liked! The original recipe was from my sister in law when we got married.

Old way:

4 chicken breasts, salt and peppered

1 cup uncooked rice

1 can cream of celery or chicken soup

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 1/3 can water

1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Mix last 5 ingredients in casserole dish or dutch oven. Lay chicken on top. Cover with foil or lid and bake 1-1 1/2 hours. (until chicken is done)

NEW way: (in dutch oven)

1 onion sauteed in 3 tbs veg based butter,

add 4 tbs flour and stir,

add 1 lg box chicken broth

add 1 c soy milk

1 3/4 c water

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp onion powder

6 chicken breasts, cut (bigger family now!), salt and peppered

2 cup uncooked rice

1 stick melted veg based butter

This will be SOUPY... cook as above. Serve with broccoli or peas and carrots.

taco soup

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 can chili beans

2 cans pinto beans

1 small box beef broth

1 cup corn

1 cup peppers and onions (sliced)

1 lb. cooked ground beef (or chicken)

1 pkg taco seasoning

1-2 c water

cook all in one pot, bring to a boil and then simmer 1 hour. serve over rice or alone with chips on top. Top with cheese and sour cream!

lunch "pockets"

We try to take our lunches to school every day and are fortunate to have microwaves at school...really puts leftovers to good use! These are made and frozen in ziplocs for easy packing! Use the pizza dough recipe that I posted earlier. Separate dough ball into 4 or more smaller ones and roll out pretty thin, using a pastry cutter or knife to cut (each ball) in 6-8 even-ish parts...can roll some more on individual parts. Put a small amount of desired filling and fold and seal edges with the end of a fork. Brush lightly with olive oil and bake at 450 on middle shelf for 8-10 minutes. Cool and place in bags.

We do pizza ones with pepperoni, turkey and cheese, ham and cheese, leftover chicken and veggies, etc!