Thursdays Are For Cooking….

As always, when cold weather sets in, some kind of hearty, filling dish is what you want when you sit down for lunch or dinner. This is one I’d call a fall-back, because you can make it very quickly with leftover chicken, including the chicken from that bucket you got at KFC. Just peel the skin off, cut the meat off the bones and toss it into the mix.

The ingredients are simple, as follows:

1 can condensed cream of celery soup

1 can condensded cream of potato soup

1 cup of milk – I’m labeling this optional, as I never used the milk portion after I made this the first time.

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/8 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Baking pan 2″ X 9″ X 13″ – I would line this with foil for an easy clean-up.

4 cups of cooked cut vegetables – Here, let me say that frozen mixed vegetables are a fine and quicker substitute and don’t cost very much in your budget. Also, the water they produce as they thaw in the baking process dilutes the cream soups enough to not need the milk.

2 (or more) cups of cooked (leftover) turkey or chicken.

Stuffing goes on top. I use the boxed stuffing, which takes about 2 minutes to fix. Just follow the package directions.

–  Stir the soups, milk, thyme, pepper, vegetables and chicken/turkey together. The original recipe from Campbell’s says ‘in the baking dish’. I mix them in a bowl and pour the mix into the baking pan. Also, it’s okay to leave out the celery soup and use thin-sliced celery instead.

–  Cover the chicken/veggie mix with the stuffing mix. Use ALL of the stuffing.

–  Bake at 375F for about 25 minutes. When it’s ready, you’ll smell the thyme.

This gives you 4 to 6 servings. To make more than that, just double the recipe. It can easily be reheated in the microwave for about 2 1/2 minutes on a microwave safe plate.

Add a platter of cutup veggies, cornbread or fresh Italian bread or biscuits w/butter, and it hits the right note for a cold winter’s day (or night).

And for afters: you can still find pumpkin pie in the freezer section at the grocery store, or maybe some nice, cold, chocolate ice cream with sprinkles.

Above all else, stay warm and dry and heed the cold weather warnings!

Category: Economy