Most families love chicken and most cooks use a lot of it. After all, chicken can be easily stretched to feed a family economically. If you are looking for some new recipes to prepare chicken, these recipes are for you, and your family will love them! You will notice I use brown rice. If you aren’t already doing so, you should switch your family to brown rice. They probably won’t notice the difference and it is a healthier alternative to white rice. If you start your children eating healthier while they are young, it will become a way of life for them. Don’t have brown rice? Go ahead and use your white. It won’t make any difference to the recipe. In the second recipe, you could use the low-fat cream of mushroom soup and no yolk noodles if you want to make the recipe a little healthier. You could also use low-fat cheese. Your dish will taste the same but you will have made a little healthier dish. These dishes are quick and easy to prepare. Add a bagged salad and you have a meal!

BALSAMIC CHICKEN OVER RICE
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
5 garlic cloves, sliced
4 (1 lb) skinless boneless chicken breasts halves
1 1/2 large bell peppers, sliced
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
2 cans (14 1/2-oz each) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups hot cooked brown rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook 4 minutes per side or until browned. Add the bell peppers, balsamic vinegar, fresh mushrooms, Italian seasoning and tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is done through. Serve over the hot rice.

Yield: 4 servings

QUICK AND EASY CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE
1 can (10 3/4-oz) cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables or California blend
2 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken
2 cups curly egg noodles, cooked and drained
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish, stir together the mushroom soup, milk, pepper, Parmesan cheese, mixed vegetables, chicken, and noodles. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the top.

Enjoy!

You can find more of Linda’s quick and easy recipes at http://grandmasquickfixrecipes.blogspot.com
She shares slow cooker/crockpot recipes at http://grandmasslowcookerrecipes.blogspot.com