Chicken Cornbread Casserole

Dinners have been crazy this school year.  Blockette has a later start time for school, which means a later end time.  Most days we don't walk in the door until 4:00.  We used to eat dinner at 5, but unless we're eating leftovers that just doesn't happen.  It works out though.  Because of the later start time, Blockette doesn't eat lunch until 1:45!  She's not really hungry again until a little before 6. 

I'm glad I don't have to wait until 1:45 to eat lunch!  I'm starving at 11AM!  At least they have a snack time so all the rumbling tummies don't disrupt class.

Blockette may not be hungry by 6, but I sure am.  By the time dinner is on the table I'm gobbling it up, not snapping a photo...so no photo.  I'm working on remedying this!  I promise!

Anyhow, Monday I said I'd write about what I made with the Maple Chili chicken leftovers.  I shredded them up and put them in this Chicken Cornbread Casserole from Betty Crocker.  I adapted the recipe a bit by adding some more veggies.

I'd make this again with leftover chicken.  The leftovers heated up nicely and made for an easy second day meal.

Southern Chicken-Cornbread Casserole  adapted from Betty Crocker
3 cups cubed (1 inch) cooked chicken breast (I used 2 large chicken breasts and shredded them)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I omitted since my chicken was already seasoned)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 c low fat sour cream
1 c milk
Salt and pepper to taste
3 green onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1c corn fresh or frozen
1c peas fresh or frozen

1.5 c shredded Cheddar cheese (I used mexican blend with jalapenos)

Cornbread Topping 
1 box cornbread mix
1 can (14.75 oz) cream corn
1 egg
2 T butter, melted

Heat oven to 400ºF. Spray 13x9-inch dish w spray. In lg bowl, mix chicken, garlic powder, sour cream and milk. Season well with salt and pepper. Fold green onions and veggies. Spoon mixture evenly into dish.  In medium bowl, combine cornbread mix, corn, egg and butter. Spread evenly over chicken mix. Top w shred cheese. Bake 30-40 min til toothpick comes out clean. Let set up 15 min before serving.

 

Chili Maple Crockpot Chicken

This crockpot recipe for chili maple chicken hails from the blog When The Dinner Bell Rings.  It doesn't look like much, but it was amazing.  I loved the spicy and the sweet together!

I didn't have any real maple syrup on hand so I used homemade pancake syrup instead.  I got some chipotle chile powder for my birthday and I thought the smokey element of the chipotle would add another flavor dimension.  Not having used chipotle powder before, I was concerned it might be too spicy for Blockette.  I used half regular chili powder and half chipotle.  The chicken was just spicy enough to prevent the chicken from tasting bland, perfect for tender tastebuds.

The lack of water in this recipe really surprised me.  I'm so used to cooking chicken that is completely submerged in some sort of sauce or broth while baking in the crockpot.  Rest assured, the chicken turns out just fine and is in no way dry!

We ate our chicken in a cold salad.  Since there was no real sauce, I thought it would be too bland or dry served with pasta or rice. The salad turned out to be perfect as we were having unseasonably hot temps when I made it back in late September. We wound up having leftovers.  I'll write about what I did with the remaining chicken later this week!

Chili Maple Glazed Chicken from When the Dinner Bell Rings
2 Tablespoons Water
1 Teaspoon Salt
1.5 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
4 chicken breasts

Toss all ingredients in slow cooker on high. Bake covered 4-6 hrs. 

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

This is the last recipe I made from the zucchini harvested from my little garden.  I had to remove the plant the first week in October.  The zucchinis were only growing to half as large as a normal sized zucchini before they began rotting on the plant.  If I brought them inside, they would start to get fuzzy after 24 hours.  The one plant gave us lots of veggies, but it was time to say good bye.

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The minestrone soup was really awesome the first day.  It made a lot so I froze the leftovers.  The zucchini got a bit more mushy upon defrosting and reheating that I'd have liked, but was met with zero complaints from the peanut gallery.  Well, at least no complaints about the zucchini.

After eating the soup for the second time my husband told me he does not like cooked kale, or spinach, or any leafy green.  They do get a bit slimy so I can't really blame him.  We've come to a compromise to leave the greens out of the soup and serve them in a side salad instead.

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Cooked greens or no, this is the perfect dish to make with the last of your zucchini harvest as the weather makes the transition from summer to fall.  It's a nice healthy hearty soup that makes your insides all toasty and warm after a crisp autumn afternoon!

Crockpot Minestrone Soup from Skinny Taste
1 small onion, chopped
2 large  carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained, rinsed (i used 1 1/2c cooked cannellini beans)
3 c chicken broth (I used homemade)
1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese rind (I omitted because I didn't have it)
1 fresh rosemary sprig (I used a t of dried rosemary)
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I used 2 t dried)
1/4 c chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (I used 2 T dried)
salt and fresh pepper
1 med zucchini, chopped
2 c chopped fresh or frozen (defrosted) spinach or kale (I used kale)
2 cups cooked small pasta  (al dente) (I used ditalini)

Rinse and drain beans. Puree beans with 1 c broth. In crockpot, toss broth, tomatoes, beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese rind, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.40 min before soup done, add zucchini and spinach. Cover and cook 30 min. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 min more. Remove bay leaves, rosemary sprig, parmesan rind and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra parm if desired.

Morning Glory Oatmeal Cookies

So I don't have a photo for today's recipe, but I do have one of this enormous zucchini from our garden. The zucchini plant overwhelmed the raised garden bed, and this little squash got half hidden in the grass.  When I picked it, I thought it was going to be normal zucchini sized.  Boy was I wrong.

Most of this zucchini was shredded and put into muffins, but I did use some to bake these delicious zucchini carrot oatmeal cookies from Mom on Time Out.  They made a wonderfully moist, but not too moist cookie.  I think they taste just like these morning glory muffins I made back in July of last year, except the muffins have apples instead of zucchini!

I'd definitely make these cookies again next zucchini season.  The dough froze very well uncooked.  I love doing this for baking in the summer.  That way you only have to have the oven on for 15-20 min (including preheating) and there aren't a bunch of left over cookies calling your name throughout the week.

Morning Glory Cookies from Mom on Time Out
1 c old fashioned oats
1 c flour
1/2 c wheat flour
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla
3/4 c butter, softened
1 c grated zucchini
1/2 c shredded carrot
1/2 c shredded, sweetened, coconut
1/2 c Craisins
2 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Grate zucchini and squeeze out excess water, then grate carrot, let both sit in strainer until ready to use. Beat butter and sugars til fluffy in stand mixer. Add eggs and vanilla til combined. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in med bowl. Gradually add flour mix to butter/sug mix. Beat on low til well combined. Add oats, zucchini, carrot, coconut, and Craisins. I used a small cookie scoop, about 1 T, to portion out dough.  Place 2" apart on sheet. Bake 10-12 min til just start to turn color. Cool on sheets 5 min before moving to a cooling rack.  To freeze: portion out dough and place on plate or cookie sheet that will fit in your freezer.  They can be close, but not touching.  Leave in freezer until they harden, about 1-2 hrs, then transfer to zip top bag for storage.  Cookies can be baked right from the freezer, but you will need to add an additional 3 min to their bake time.

Dairy Free Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Here's a different version of Zucchini muffins. These Zucchini muffins from We Made That are made with whole wheat, oil and almond milk.  While they still contain quite a bit of sugar, it is less than a traditional muffin.

I put 1/2 c raisins in half the batch and 1/2 c chocolate chips in the other half of the batch.  If you add either one of these things, the cinnamon sugar sprinkle topping is not necessary as the chocolate and/or the raisins add their own sweetness.

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of these muffins.  At least, I don't think I did.  Truth be told I couldn't tell if the pictures of the muffins were for the Loaded Zucchini muffins, or these!

They are both great recipes!  I made this version for a friend who can't eat dairy.  They got a double thumbs up from him.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins from We Made That 2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/3 c Flour
1 C Sugar
2 t Cinnamon
2 1/2 t Baking Powder
1 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt 2 2/3 C Shredded Zucchini(I used shredded yellow squash and zucchini) 1 C almond Milk 1/4c Oil 1/4c Honey 2 eggs optional topping: 2 T sugar 1/2 t cinnamon Preheat oven to 400F.  in lg bowl mix flours, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and soda. In sm bowl mix squash, milk, oil, honey and eggs. Add wet to dry. (Fold in any add ins at this point.)  Scoop into sprayed or paper cup lined muffin tins.  Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of batter, if using.  Bake 15 min.  Remove muffins from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

Zucchini Brownies

These zucchini brownies from Crazy for Crust were so rich and chocolaty.  A slice this small was almost too much!   

We had some of these brownies for dessert when Blockette had a friend over.  She was so amazed that they contained zucchini.  Cause zucchini is super gross and who would put a vegetable in a brownie. 

Me, of course!

I liked that these brownies were vegan.  I mean the frosting isn't, but the base is.  It would be very easy to swap out a different frosting, like this one, if needed.

Zucchini Brownies from Crazy for Crust
1/2 c oil
1 1/2 c sugar
2 t vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 c cocoa
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 c shredded zucchini (1 lg or 2 sm)
1 T water
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Frosting:
3 T cocoa powder
1/4 c butter, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1/4 c milk
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 9x13 pan w foil and spray with Pam. Set aside. In med bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Using electric mixer with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Fold in zucchini. If mixture very powdery, add up to 1/4 c hot water, adding 1 T at a time, stirring after each addition.  The batter will be crumbly, but NOT powdery.Fold in Walnuts. Bake 25-30 min til brownies spring back when gently touched.
For frosting: Mix soft butter, cocoa, and powdered sugar with hand mixer. Add milk and vanilla. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut into squares.

Zucchini Waffles

Zucchini in waffles? Why not!

I'd like to say that you can't taste the zucchini in these waffles, but that would only be a half truth.

Fresh off the waffle iron there is not even a hint of zucchini, but when the leftovers were reheated on a skillet, I could taste a hint of zucchini.  This was probably because I eat waffles with little to no syrup.  I'm sure normal people who drown their waffles in butter and syrup couldn't taste anything but waffley goodness.

Zucchini tasting leftovers or not, I'll be making these again next year at zucchini harvest time.

Zucchini waffles from The Perfect Pantry
2 med zucchini, shredded
1-1/2 c unbleached flour
1 T baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1 t cinnamon
1/3 c sugar
1-1/2 cu skim milk
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla

Place shredded zucchini in a strainer, and sprinkle with 1 t kosher salt and let drain for 30 min. Rinse under cold water, shake off excess liquid, and squeeze out as much moisture as you can from  zucchini, and set aside.  Preheat waffle iron to high.  In lg bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar.  In another bowl, mix milk, eggs, and vanilla . Add dry ingredients, then zucchini. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray (top and bottom plates). Add batter and cook per your waffle iron directions.