Weekend dinner – Baked “stuffing” chicken

Baked “stuffing” chicken served with creamed corn and baked potatoes

Recently one evening when I showed up as usual, unannounced, at my sister’s place, I proceeded to raid her awesome pantry on arrival, only to be stopped by the interesting assortment of ingredients she had out on the kitchen counter. A meal was in the process of being prepared. Some 60 minutes later, what my sister had on the table was the most delicious, comforting meal one could ask for in this Wintry Spring a.k.a. Winter Part II here in Minneapolis a.k.a Siberia.

All I could think of when I ate dinner was YUM. If you have friends coming over this weekend and want to make them an easy, comforting meal, serve this up. The meal pictured above consists of baked chicken and creamed corn, served with a side of baked, crispy potatoes.

I will be sharing the recipe for the baked “stuffing” chicken in this post. It’ll go really well served with a simple salad and a nice cocktail.

Baked “stuffing” chicken (Recipe adapted from Campbell soup)

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• 4 boneless skinless Chicken breasts, washed, dried and cut in 3-4 pieces each
• 2 cans of low-sodium cream of mushroom soup + 2% or Skim milk, or equivalent quantity of Bechamel sauce
• Pepperidge Farms herb seasoned stuffing – 3 cups
• Finely Chopped vegetables –  Celery (4-5 stalks), Green pepper (1/2), Red pepper (1/2), Leeks (1/2 of 1 stalk)
• Finely chopped Garlic – 3-4 cloves (Increase if you love Garlic like moi!)
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf Parsley + some for garnishing
• 2 cups low-sodium Chicken stock
• Butter – Two 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• Large cooking pan and large baking pan (at least 9″ x 11″)

Method:

• Prepare the veggies: In a large pan, heat Olive oil and lightly cook all the vegetables and chopped garlic. After they get soft, add the stuffing. Mix well and then add the chicken stock. Turn off the heat and keep aside. The stock will get absorbed in the stuffing. Taste, and add salt only if needed.

• Prepare the sauce: Prepare Bechamel / white sauce per your own recipe or you can use my recipe here. Alternatively, you can use condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
  • Remove contents of both cans of soup in a bowl. Dilute with 1/2 cup of skim or 2% milk. Mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

• Prep a large baking pan with cooking spray. Place the stuffing mixture at the bottom, and place the raw chicken pieces on top. Then pour over the sauce and spread evenly. Add a splash of chicken stock on the top, place the 2 cubes of chicken, cover with foil, and bake in a 375F oven for 15 minutes
  • After 15 minutes, remove the foil, and cook for another 10 minutes. Check if the chicken is done, and serve!