Mushroom Chicken with Rice

Most families know this dish, easy easy...

• 2/3 C condensed cream of mushroom soup (from a 10.75 oz can)
• 1/2 C water
• 1/3 C uncooked regular long-grain white rice
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• dash ground black pepper
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1. Mix soup, water, rice, paprika, and black pepper in shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Sprinkle with additional paprika and pepper.
2. Cover and bake at 375°F for 28-33 min. or until juices are clear and chicken shows no pink in the center.

Robyn's notes: This will never be the most exciting dish you eat in a given week (at least, it really shouldn't be), but it is a good way to deal with the second half of a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (see "Using Up Ingredients" at the top of the blog).  This is a reduction of an old Campbell's recipe, and it works perfectly well for my somewhat lazy nights.  When I made this June 23, 2012, my chicken hadn't completely thawed, so it needed a full 33 minutes.  The real problem with this dish is that the rice tends to cook unevenly.  Some of the rice that's been fully covered in sauce will cook through to perfect tenderness, some will have a bit of a bite to it, some will be mushy.  I don't know if Campbell's ever found a solution for that, but since I only make this when I'm not feeling great and need something simple and edible, I'm not willing to put a lot of effort into resolving it myself.  As Campbell's COM soup contains wheat flour, this is not a G-F recipe.  

*** 3 Stars: Good. At least one of us liked this enough for me to make it again, but not often

Nutritional Information: Calories 312, Total Fat 5g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 75mg, Sodium 583mg, Carbohydrates 33g, Fiber 1g, Protein 30g

Cheddar Artichoke Red Onion Pizza

• 1 tsp butter or margarine
• 1 small red onion, sliced (1 C)
• small pre-baked pizza crust (see notes below)
• 1/4 C marinated artichoke hearts (from 6oz jar) drained, sliced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sliced drained roasted red bell peppers (from a jar)
• 1/2 C shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese

1. Heat oven to 400°F. In 8-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender.
2. Spread onion over pizza crust. Top with artichokes, roasted peppers and cheese.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges to serve.

Robyn's notes: since I can't have most of the ingredients, I was making a second small pizza for myself. I wasn't able to find small pre-baked crusts, so I got Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough, and after rolling it out, cut it into two rectangles. Follow directions on the container, prebaking first, then applying toppings and baking further. I had a "mexican pizza", bean dip spread on the crust, topped with red enchilada sauce and mexican cheese blend.

Salsa Rice Enchiladas

• 1 1/2 C chunky style salsa
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 C uncooked instant rice
• 1 can (7 or 8oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 can (5oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, undrained
• 1 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 flour tortillas
• additional salsa, if desired

1. In 10-inch skillet, heat 1 1/2 C salsa and the chili powder to boiling. Stir in rice. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in beans, corn and cheese.
2. Spoon about 1/2 C rice mixture onto center of each tortilla. Fold up bottom of each tortilla; fold over sides. Secure with toothpick if necessary. Serve with salsa if desired.

Robyn's notes: I can't have salsa, black beans, or corn, so I made the above for him and for myself I stuffed my tortillas with rice, enchilada sauce, and cheese.