A Simple Meal

I'm in the mood to do a few recipe posts.

Today I have a simple chicken with salad meal that I'd like to share, and my next post will be a beef with vegetables meal.

I love meals that are nourishing and comforting for my family but also quick and easy for me!

I originally got this recipe from one of my Southern Living cookbooks, but over the years it's changed a little and I only lightly adhere to the recipe, so I'll just show you what I do.

                

I really don't spend time on complicated, gourmet meals. The times that I have gotten inspired to try something fancy, nobody cares! 

This past winter I spent an afternoon meticulously searing porkchops, slicing and then stuffing them with a homemade pear and sweet potato mixture, then baking them for 3 hours, etc, etc... you get the picture... THEN, after all that, my kids and husband turned their noses up to it!!! 

Oh for the love!!! I was fuming! 

(Have you ever tried slicing and stuffing a thin, half-cooked pork-chop?! It's no walk in the park!!!)

Well.... That cured me. I'm all about easy-peasy now!

This, my friends, is a simple, kid-approved, weeknight meal:

Start with cooked chicken.

               

I've told you before that I love to slow cook chicken tenders in cream of chicken soup and Italian seasoning for all of my chicken recipes. So easy!

After a few hours of cooking on low, chop it up and put it in a bowl:

             

You'll need an 8oz carton of sour cream:

           

I don't normally buy reduced fat! I would prefer and would suggest using regular sour cream. (The store was out of it in this size, though.) Oh well....

Use the whole carton. Scoop it out and plop it in the bowl:

         

The last thing you'll need for the chicken mixture is about a teaspoon of poppy seeds. Except... I didn't happen to have them on hand so I used Chia seeds instead:

        

And... I didn't measure. I just dumped...

I do what I want!

        

I'm a maniac livin' on the edge! 

(For some reason I don't have a picture of this, but I scooped out a few spoonfuls of the drippings from the crockpot and added it to the mixture.)

Mix it up:

        

And spread it out into a greased baking dish:

(A 9x13 is too big for this, so use something smaller like an 11x7. I just use my oval Corning Ware dish.)

       

Now, for the topping!

It's only 2 ingredients.

1 1/2 C. crushed crackers:

      

And 1/4 C. melted butter:

     

Mix it together:

     

And spread it out over the chicken:

     

This goes into a 350* oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes:

     

While it was baking, I put the salad together. I used a bagged salad, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, and cashews:

   

I drained the oranges and put it all together in the bowl:

   

Earlier in the day I baked a cake for our dessert:

  

(It was just a box mix... Calm down! ;)

I got a little wild with the frosting and sprinkles, haha! The kids loved it, though!

  

Chicken casserole, fresh salad, and a vanilla cake...

This is a good supper in my opinion. 

  

I try to think about visual comfort when I set items and food on the table. Micah works in sterile hospitals all day long, so when he comes home I want him to see the table set with a warm supper waiting. It sends a powerful, positive message. We cannot underestimate the comforting power of home! And if we don't do it, who will?! It's up to us, girlfriends!

  

(There was a little bit of the chicken leftover so I put it on a piece of bread the next day for my lunch. It was perfectly good just cold, straight from the fridge. Kind of like a chicken salad sandwich! :)

I'll be back in a day or two with another simple recipe!

Take care, friends!

~ Courtney