Cooking For Engineers

[heyyou]

The following recipe is missing something. It tastes of dried, packaged, store bought ingredients. What would improve it?

In a baking dish, layer chicken breasts, then shredded cheese, then canned mushroom soup, then dry, turkey dressing mix. Bake until done.

This is for a monthly women's card game that my wife will host in May.
Would sour cream and canned mushrooms sub for the canned soup? Use croutons instead of the dressing mix? Use some other cheese than cheddar? The cheese seals the moisture into the meat so it was great. The crunch from the dressing mix was good, it was just the flavors that were lacking. We spice heavily with garlic, chili, cumin, mustard, curry, ginger, soy sauce, and vinegar so the problem may just be our palates' reaction to Betty Crocker food.

Your opinions would be most welcome.
Thanks, Joe

[kgb1001001]

I'd think your problem is the canned cream of mushroom soup -- not a good starting point. Try starting out with a veloute base by starting with some finely chopped mixed mushrooms (maybe button, shiitake and cremini) and finely chopped onions or shallots that you saute in butter. Make a roux with a little additional butter and flour and then add hot chicken broth to the mixture to form a veloute sauce. (Check any cookbook for proportions of the butter, flour and broth). You might enrich the veloute with heavy cream at the end and add some allspice or nutmeg along with some ground pepper and heat it through. Then try pouring THAT in with your casserole!

I think the key here is to try to use good, fresh ingredients and make the sauce taste good on its own -- try for subtle and flavorful instead of overwhelming.

[ldyvic]

Have your own stuffing mix in about 5 minutes.

If you have a day old bread? Cube it into about 1 inch cubes. Take out your trusty food processor. Add fresh herbs like a teaspoon of Dill, Rosemary, and Parlsey. (everything tastes better with Parsley). Dice one celery stick. Dice 1/2 of a small white oninon. Pulse 2 to 3 times.

On the days I am too lazy to make my own soups in my crock pot. I just go down to my local deli and get theirs. :-) That way it is just as fast as using a can but much better in taste. Not to mention healthier.


You now have a much better topping for your chicken. :-)

[Domestic Goddess]

Crockpot Swiss Chicken Casserole

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices Swiss Cheese
1 (10-3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup milk
2 cups dry stuffing mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Lightly grease crock pot, or spray with a cooking spray.
Place chicken breasts in pot.
Top with cheese slices.
Combine soup and milk; stirring well.
Spoon over cheese, and sprinkle on the stuffing mix.
Drizzle melted butter over stuffing mix.
Cover, and cook on low 8 to 10 hours, or on high 4 to 6 hours.

*Note: When I made this recipe, I used 4-(8 oz.) chicken breasts,
and 5 slices of Swiss Cheese. I cooked this casserole for 4 hours
on a HIGH setting, in an oval shaped crockpot, but my hubby informed
me that I should reduce the cooking time to either 3 or 3-1/2 hours,
so the chicken doesn't dry out as much. This was quite delish!!

[Guest]

I have made a similar recipe, although with rice rather than stuffing mix. It is actually one of my favorites - I don't have the recipe in front of me, but as I recall I use 1 cup milk, 1 cup rice, 1 can cream mushroom soup, chicken breasts/pieces (as many as you want to fit in the casserole dish). Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. For a crispy top, turn the oven to broil and sprinkle cheese on top.

You may have to play with the milk/rice combination, since altitude and humidity play a significant role in the final moisture content of the dish. If it comes out dry, add more milk next time. If it comes out soupy or wet, use a little less milk or a little more rice.