Jalepeno Popper Chicken

Here's what you'll need for this tasty dish:

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• For the jalapeno popper topping:
• 3 slices bacon, diced
• 2 jalapenos, deveined, deseeded and diced
• ¼ cup diced onion
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• For the topping:
• ½ cup crushed butter crackers (1/2 sleeve)
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

And here's the instructions on how to prepare them:

1. Preheat oven to 425º F. Place chicken breasts in a small casserole dish and bake until juices run clear when pricked, about 45 minutes.
2. While chicken is baking, prepare jalapeno popper topping for chicken. Add bacon, jalapenos, and onions to a small skillet and fry until bacon is crispy and jalapenos and onions are tender. Remove from heat and add to a small mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, mayonnaise or yogurt, and cheeses to mixing bowl and cream together with bacon mixture until well-combined.
3. Remove chicken from oven and reduce oven heat to 350º F. Spread jalapeno popper topping on top of chicken until well-covered.
4. For the topping, mix together crushed crackers, cheese, and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of jalapeno popper topped chicken. Bake until crackers are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
5. Serve warm.

This would be a great make-ahead recipe.  You could precook the chicken the night before and then save yourself some time on the day you make it.  It really is not a difficult recipe to make and the whole family would love it!  You also could adjust the heat by leaving in some of the seeds from the jalepenos.  

Chicken and Dumplings Casserole

I have tried to make homemade chicken and dumplings several time, but to no avail. We had several disasters along the way. My go-to chicken and dumpling recipe is a crock pot recipe using canned biscuits. It's really good, and I'll keep using it, but this recipe is even better!

As you make it, you might think you are messing it up or it looks weird, but that's okay! It will turn out fine!

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 ribs celery, chopped

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 cup Self-Rising Flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

2 cups chicken broth

1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup

salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a small skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add chopped onion and celery. Cook for about 8-10 minutes (until soft). I seasoned my onions and celery with a little bit of salt and pepper as they cooked..

Pour the butter and veggie mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Add the chicken in a layer on top of the vegetables.

In a small bowl, combine self-rising flour with milk. The original recipe called for 1 cup of milk, I ended up thinning it out just a little. You may not need the full extra 1/2 cup.

Pour this mixture over chicken (do not stir mixture). Mine was a little thick, so I spread it out, trying not to disturb the "layers" as I did.

In another small bowl combine the chicken broth with the cream of chicken soup.

Season this with more salt & pepper.

Pour this mixture over the chicken. Do not mix the layers. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until set.

When mine came out of the oven, I broke apart my dumplings a little and gently stirred them in with the rest of the casserole and let it set on the stove to cool for a few minutes. These were good the next day, too!