Chicken Pie

Easy, peasy!  That's what this Trisha Yearwood Chicken Pie is.  And it taste good, so I'm told.  I didn't try it, I gave it away.  The recipe would make a good dish for family reunions, potlucks, or when kids turn up their noses if they see veges in the pot pie!

Speaking of veges, I plan to make this again and have all these yummy garden veges that are coming in for sides.  Like fried okra, purple hull peas, green beans, tomatoes, vidalia onions......

Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

I like chicken salad.  My favorite is the one we made at the sub shop where I used to work...chicken, egg, celery, mayo....a very basic recipe.   So I was happy to see a chicken salad recipe selection on the Sweet As Pie Cooking Club menu.  

My stepson and his wife came over to help trim shrubs and clean out flower beds.   Those two accomplished more in one afternoon than I could do in a week!  I'm so grateful for their help, and I watched our little "happy face" grandson, while they knocked out the jungle that had grown in my flower bed.  

We had this chicken salad with wheat thins for lunch.  Actually we ate about half the bowl and it does make a BIG bowl full!   With what seems like random tasty ingredients...grapes, celery, almonds, poppy seeds...I was surprised that none of the flavors really stand out so it kind of all just blends together.  

Linking with Sweet As Pie Cooking Club

Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup

Oh yum, this is good!  According to the Pioneer Woman, her Sausage, Potato and Kale Soup is based on a soup from the Olive Garden.  I've never tried the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, but I shared this dish with an Italian friend and the feedback was positive.   Definitely fits in the "comfort food" category with all that cream and potatoes, yet it has a healthy dose of kale.  Next time, I'll cut the kale into smaller pieces.  Yep, I'll likely make this again.

Chicken Cacciatore

A friend of mine has a Pampered Chef party every year.  I look forward to going, even though I never win the door prize!  Sometimes I can't make up my mind what to get, but this time I splurged on the deep covered baker.  This was quite an investment in a container so I need to use it often!  The party lady demonstrated how to use it to make chicken fajita filling (minus browning) in the microwave.   Chicken in the microwave?  Yes, it was not tough and tasted good.  As I recall, it took 18 minutes.  I thought it would be perfect for one- dish recipes that I never seemed to have the right container with a lid to go in the oven.  Like this Chicken Cacciatore Pioneer Woman recipe in the Sweet As Pie cooking club.  

After browning the chicken and sauteing the veges, I put all the veges in the baker and placed the chicken thighs on top.  Oops, the baker wasn't quite big enough and the juices spilled over into the oven, ugh!  Other than that, it worked well and the dish is delish!

I served it over egg noodles.  Everyone loved it and it makes great leftovers.

Chocolate Pound Cake

Bake Sale time!

I prepared Trisha Yearwood's chocolate pound cake hoping it would sell, and it did.  Instead of using the bundt pan, I baked it in 2 loaf pans.  As I recall, it took the same amount of baking time in the loaf pans as it stated on the recipe.

One cake sold as a whole cake and the other we sliced and sold by the slice.  The feedback from others that tried it said it was very good.   It's an ok cake, not real chocolate-y though.  Some strawberries and whipped cream would have really topped it off!  

Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

Before my daughters were big seafood fans, they were first "beach" chicken fans.   Beach chicken is chicken tenderloins browned in a little butter.   That's what they ate while we were at the beach, so we call it "beach chicken"!

I've lost count of the times I've picked up boneless skinless chicken breasts to cook for dinner.  They're quick and easy but often not a lot of flavor!  So adding something different to the boneless chicken breasts became my search for my next selection for the Sweet As Pie Cooking Club.  I discovered the Pioneer Woman's Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce.

The mustard cream sauce was simple to make.  I used white wine instead of brandy and I should have let it reduce so the sauce would be thicker.  It was good for a change of taste, even if this photo is not so appetizing!

But we'll always love the "beach" chicken!