Cheli's Chicken Crescents

Another recipe I stole from Loves to Nom. I was alone...surprise...and wanted something fairly simple for dinner. I actually had all the items needed for this, so Cheli's Chicken Crescents it was!

Chicken Crescents
Serves 4

You will need:
Oil, cream cheese, chicken, onion, salt & pepper, garlic, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, parsley, 8 count refrigerated crescent rolls.

1. In a fry pan, add a little oil and heat over medium. Take out a half a block (4 oz.) of cream cheese (reduced fat/fat free is fine) and put it in a medium bowl to soften.

2. Add 1 cup of diced onion (vidalia is my favorite) and about 2/3 pound chicken meat. I used tenders this time. Try not to move the chicken around much. Cook it for about 3-4 minutes on the first side and add salt and pepper. Then flip and repeat. When you flip, add a clove or two of minced garlic. I use the jar stuff because I am too lazy to mince/press it myself.

3. When chicken is done, remove from pan to a cutting board to cool slightly.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, or whatever it says on the crescent roll package.

5. Layout the crescent rolls on a baking sheet. (see picture)

6. Finely dice chicken mixture and add to the cream cheese in the bowl. Mix.

7. Spoon a large scoop of the mixture onto the fattest part of each crescent roll. Then fold up the short corners. Then fold up and wrap around the long corner. Don't worry if the chicken peeks out.

8. Pop in the oven per crescent roll directions (usually 11-13 minutes). They will probably be done in the shorter amount of time.

9. While baking, in a small saucepan over low heat combine the following:
3/4 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Few splashes of milk
Palmful of dried parsley

10. When crescents are done, spoon some of the sour cream sauce onto a plate. Set 2 crescents on top of the sauce (it looks prettiest this way haha). Enjoy!

Notes: I have to admit, I felt this was lacking something. But when I mentioned to Shelly that I thought it needed some spice, she said everything she makes is spicy, and she needs to give Matt's stomach a break once in awhile. But it did make some wonderful lunch leftovers!

Making Meatballs Part II

Today, we are making meatballs sweet and sour style. So as stated in Making Meatballs Part I, I doubled the recipe and froze half of the cooked meatballs. If you have an interest in both these recipes, I HIGHLY recommend doing this. The meatballs take awhile to make, but freeze very nicely. So...make the meatballs, or if you are a smart cookie...defrost them.

1lb hamburger
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Create balls a little smaller than a golf ball. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Ok, so now let's get to the saucy part.

1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 can pineapple chunks
1/3 c vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce

Mix brown sugar and cornstarch in skillet. Stir in pineapple with syrup, vinegar and soy sauce. Heat to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat, add meatballs, cover and simmer stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.

Notes: SUPER YUM! Really, these are awesome. That's coming from the girl that doesn't like balls of meat. And the leftovers are just as good. I served this over a bed of rice...mmmm now I want these again.

Making Meatballs Part I

I made these so long ago, I honestly can't remember when it was. I was procrastinating posting it because well honestly, I didn't think they looked very nice. But gosh darnit...they were tasty! So a blog entry they rightfully deserve! This recipe is from my father-in-law, and while I'm not typically a fan of balls of meat, I do enjoy these.

Traditional Meatballs with Gravy

1lb hamburger
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Create balls a little smaller than a golf ball. Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add about 1 cup of beef broth and 1 tbsp cornstarch. These amounts are approximate- but it is simply to make gravy- so just add until you get a consistency you like.

Notes: Ok- we doubled the recipe and froze half of the meatballs with our food saver...the next post shows what we did with them.

Chicken Cacciatore

I was alone for dinner tonight, but was sick of eating crappy food....so tonight I decided to actually cook for myself. My mom, the full-time worker/full-time house mom sometimes had to cut corners to save time. So her version of Chicken Cacciatore included a jar. I still loved it all the same, but for myself I wanted to try one from scratch. So I browsed Cooks.com and found this recipe. I have to say, it was pretty darn good! I scaled it down a bit since I only wanted enough for me tonight for dinner and tomorrow for leftovers- but I'll just give you the full recipe.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

1 lb. boneless chicken
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp. oil
1 (28 oz.) can tomatoes
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 c. green pepper strips
1 1/2 c. rice

Cut chicken into strips; brown lightly with onion and garlic in oil. Drain off all oil and drippings. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, seasonings and green pepper. Bring to a full boil. Turn down heat. Stir and simmer about 20 minutes. (Can simmer longer.) Make rice. Serve cacciatore over rice, or to side. Serve with vegetable and-or salad. Makes 4 servings.

My Notes: This was really good, although next time I think I'll use more paste than I did. I think I skimped a little too much, and I would have liked the consistency a little better if it were thicker. Otherwise- delicious!