Asparagus and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Breast

4 chicken breasts
12 trimmed asparagus spears
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
lemon pepper seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to flatten. Place 3 trimmed asparagus spears in the center of each breast and top each with 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese. Bring in sides of chicken and tie in 1 or 2 places with kitchen string. Season to taste with lemon pepper seasoning and place in a baking dish. Add 1/4-inch of water to dish; cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove cover and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 4 servings

Spinach Enchiladas

Make without chicken for a great vegetarian dish.
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
½ cup sliced green onions
1 (9 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain (I used the Green Giant spinach that is in a cream sauce, just thawed, no draining)
1½ cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup low-fat small curd cottage cheese
½ cup light sour cream
6 ounces (1½ cups) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas (heated)
1 (10 ounce) can mild red enchilada sauce
sliced green onions for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 375. Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ½ cup green onions; cook and stir 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add spinach and chicken; cook 1 minute or until warm, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cottage cheese, sour cream and 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon ¼ cup filling down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place, seam side down, in ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with remaining cheese.Bake at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly and thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with sliced green onions if desired.

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound round steak (cut into strips)
½ cup sliced onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 small can sliced mushrooms
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
½ cup sour cream
up to ⅓ cup water (optional)

Brown meat and onion in butter. Add mushrooms and soup. Cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add water depending on consistency, then add sour cream last. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve over egg noodles.

Quick and Easy Brownies

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
½ cup cocoa powder (or more to make them more chocolatey)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour (or 1½ cups for more cakey)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup walnut halves

Melt butter and mix all ingredients in the order given.

Bake at 350⁰ for 20 to 30 minutes in a 9x13 inch greased pan.

Spanish Rice

2 cups rice
4 cups water
1 large can diced tomatoes
3 cubes chicken bouillon
1 8-ounces tomato sauce
1 large onion, in wedges
1 can diced green chiles (optional)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
Lime wedges (optional)

Heat olive oil (use a large pan with a lid). Add rice and onion, cook until onion is tender. Add water and bouillon until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Cover, simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until water is absorbed. Serve with lime wedges.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

from the Lion House Cookbook

½ cup butter or margarine
1 cup flour
3 teaspoons chicken soup base (or about 5 bouillon cubes, omit salt)
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery (include leaves)
¾ cup chopped onion
2 cans cream of chicken soup
¼ cup evaporated milk or ½ cup whole milk
2 cups cooked diced chicken
4 cups cooked noodles
salt and pepper to taste

Make roux by melting butter in saucepan. Add flour. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Set aside.

Heat soup base and broth together in large saucepan. Add carrots, celery and onions and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add cream of chicken soup and milk. Thicken with roux as desired. Add cooked chicken and cooked noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 2½ quarts.

Ugly Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed
½ envelope Ranch dressing mix (or more, depending on preference)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese, cubed

Cook chicken on high setting of slow cooker with small amount of butter and Ranch powder for about an hour, just until chicken is cooked through.

Add soup and cream cheese, cook for 1 to 2 hours on low. Stir to combine once or twice.

Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings