Creamy chicken, spinach stuffing, and number 100 - Woo Hoo

It's my 100th post, Woo Hoo. Friends and Food are so appropriate for this post, well at least it's appropriate for me. You all know how I feel about both if you read my Uplifted and Inspired post.

Friends and Food

Friends first. Two of my very dear blogger friends passed the Happy 101 Award on to me. Well heck, I'm blushing, thanks to Roz and Gera. Roz authors La Bella Vita, and I can tell you her posts will always make you happy. You'll find some awesome food posts there. As for Gera, he's the mind behind SweetsFoods. He posts some awesome weekly blog round ups I mean to tell you. Not only does he list the weeks best foodie posts from foodie blogs he follows, but also includes some great posts on social media, blogging and health & fitness well. Now this award comes with some terms, which I think is perfect for my 100th post. The rules are as follows: 1. Copy and paste the award on your blog. 2. List who gave the award to you and link to their blog.3. List 10 things that make you happy.4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know.

Ok here goes, ten things that make me happy....uuuummmm...... I'm thinking, do you smell the smoke?
1- Hanging out with my sons
2- Serving up a meal that even I am satisfied with the results.
3- Volunteering to help where children are the beneficiaries
4- Seeing my husband smile
5- Road trips
6- Playing with my grand puppy (no grand kids yet)
7- Talking to old friends from back home.
8- Family gatherings
9- Seeing my Dad laugh
10- Fellowship with bloggers from around the globe

Here are the 10 bloggers who I know will Make you Smile -

1. Mary at Foodo del Mundo
2-Stephanie at Dairy Free Diva
3-Angie at Southern Grace Gourmet
4-Reeni at Cinnamon and Spice
5- Claudia at What's Cookin' Italian Style Cuisine
6-Shelley at Wine at Five
7-Anamaris at Chef it Yourself
8- Mary at Deep South Dish
9-Melissa at Frugal Creativity
10- Pam at A Love for NEW recipes

Wow that was difficult, having to pick just ten bloggers, there are so many more!

And now for the food, yummy! Last weekend I made a really delicious Spinach Stuffing for the first time. My DH, aka 'The Carnivore' wasn't too excited about this. He's cut his carbs to almost nothing and lost about 30 pounds so far! I found the stuffing recipe online, altered it a bit...You know I use what I have on hand most of the time; it finished great.With that I served Creamy Chicken and Mushrooms. This was a recipe that came from mom, with a new twist added. Mom prepared this one in the oven, minus the vino, sometimes it was over potatoes. I did the stove top method, plus the vino! There are no finished pictures because a friend of mine, whom I haven't seen for about a year, stopped by right at dinner time. Knowing about her diet, we waited to eat. By the time I made it back to the kitchen, we were famished! My stomach said, "No time for pictures just dish up that food will ya!" After dinner I popped this photo of the leftover stuffing, to give you an idea of how it finished anyway.


Spinach Stuffing

2-16 ounce bags frozen spinach, thawed/drained (I used one)
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, chopped(I didn't have peppers, none used)
1 onion chopped (small onion)
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press (1 Tbsp minced)
4 Tablespoons butter
Season salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, chopped (Not used)
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 of a 16 ounce bag of Brownberry Herb Stuffing mix-I like the shredded (I used 1/2 package Rothbury Garlic and Cheese Croutons)
  

1. Saute the peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic over medium heat til soft. Season with seasoning salt and pepper.
2. Add the spinach and cook for about 5 minutes more.
3. Place in large bowl and cool to room temperature.
4. Add cilantro, cheese and stuffing mix. Let sit about 10 minutes or so until the bread absorbs the liquid from the veggies. If it's too dry, add chicken stock.(I added 3/4 cup)
5. Stuff into turkey or just place in a greased baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes. (I baked in an 8 X 8 glass dish)

the original - http://www.grouprecipes.com/27782/spinach-stuffing.html

The stuffing was very moist and not in any way mushy.The cheese gave it a sharp flavor yet not overpowering the spinach. In fact, my son Red, who hates spinach, almost polished off the whole dish! Given that my family doesn't really like those slimy or mushy textures that vegetables like spinach have, this one is definitely a keeper!

Creamy Chicken

5 chicken breasts, bone in
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, chopped (I sliced them)
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of celery)
1/2 cup white wine, divided
1/2 can milk


1. Season chicken with salt, pepper to taste.
2. In a large skillet, brown the chicken over medium-high heat.
3. Wisk soup, remaining wine, and milk in a small bowl.
4. Remove chicken, deglaze pan with 1/4 cup of white wine.(Gotta incorporate those yummy brown bits of flavor)
5. Lower the heat, add the mushrooms, and saute for one minute, move to the side.
6. Return the chicken to the pan. Add the onions and scoop the mushrooms on top.
7. Pour cream of mushroom soup mix over chicken. Gently move the chicken pieces and swoosh the soup around to incorporate all ingredients. (a seen in photo)
8. When the soup begins to simmer, cover skillet, cook on medium-low. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes, or until chicken are cooked through. I remove the lid for the last five minutes of cooking in order to allow the sauce to thicken.

This recipe produces a nice creamy gravy sauce. The wine adds just the right flavor, turning that cream soup into a gourmet type sauce. The chicken pieces were nice and juicy inside, and remained nicely browned when the dish was cooked through.

Thanks for stopping by to celebrate my 100th, hope you enjoyed my Friends and Food.

Are you hungry?


Comments

Angie said…
Thanks so much for thinking of me! WOW, your hubby already lost 30 lbs, didn't he just start that diet, tell him congrats! Love this recipe, I love spinach.
Reeni said…
Congrats on your well-deserved awards! Thanks so much for passing it on to me. The stuffing with spinach sounds really delicious, especially served alongside that creamy chicken! XO
Oh Kathy - what an HONOR! Thank you - I'm blushing too and terribly flattered! ~Mary
Melissa said…
Congratulations on your well-deserved award. And thanks so much, Kathy, for passing it on to me! I'm honored!
Catherine said…
Congratulations on the award Kathy! I am so happy for you!
That spinach stuffing looks delicious!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Congrats and Happy 100th! Thanks for thinking of me my friend. I think you're pretty sweet too! :)
Dewi said…
Hi Kathy, thank you so much for visiting my blog that lead me to yours. What a gorgeous blog you have here. Happy 100th!
Congrats on 100!
And isn't everything better with vino?
I'll give this a try on my kids.
Nicole said…
Congrats on your 100th post! What an accomplishment :) and your stuffing looks amazing!
averagebetty said…
Congrats on 100 posts! Congrats to your husband, too! And as for me, I'll have a second helping of that Spinach stuffing :)
Cookin' Canuck said…
Congratulations on your 100th post! The mushrooms in the spinach stuffing sounds fantastic.
Wow Congrats on your 100th post!! It was a pleasure to give you the award and well deserved :)
Flattered about the description of my blog, thanks so much Kathy!
The creamy chicken is delicious, yum!

Happy weekend,

Gera
Jen said…
Congratulations on your 100th! Both of those recipes look delicious and fairly easy. I can't wait to try the chicken.
Anonymous said…
Spinach stuffing - wow. It looks good and I bet it tastes better.
Pam said…
Kathy, Congrats to ya girl on both of your achievements!

I am truly honored on my award that you are giving me! Bless you!

xoxo
looks great congrats on 100th posts and the awards isn't blogging fun lol Rebecca
Stephanie said…
Congratulations on the award!!
Thanks for thinking of me when passing it along too.
That spinach stuffing looks interesting. I think I might be able to make that work for me in a gluten and dairy free version :)
figtree said…
Wow..I just read your 'uplifted' piece. I am in tears.I was so moved by what you wrote about you mom. I too had a very inspiring mom who made me who I am today. She loved entertaining and feeding her family. I guess we are both lucky to have had the moms that we had. Just wish we had a little more time..Congrats on 100th post!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Sara said…
congrats to your 100th post and your award! I love your 10 things that make you happy
Congrats once again and I am so glad that we can be bloggy buddies!!
The appropriate response to this post is Woo Hoo.

Can two hundred be far behind?
AudreyO said…
Wow, that stuffing looks amazing. I love cooking with both spinach and zucchini. I made a zucchini casserole for dinner last night. Umm it's gone LOL.
Kim said…
Congrats! Congrats!!! You have an awesome blog and your posts and tweets always leave me drooling.

When should I show up for dinner? :)
Oh wow this stuffing looks so awesome could eat a whole plate of this right now so delicious! Thanks for the wonderful post and adding me...your a wonderful foodie friend an have a fabulous collection am so glad we have met through this common bond! thank you so much!
Unknown said…
Dear Redkathy, I loved this post. I know exactly what it is like when you are with others who are too hungry to wait to eat and dont have time to take a photo of your masterpiece, but I like the idea of taking a photo of what is left, not only because it shows how fast it was gone, but this dish looked good either way. Your site was such a pleasure to visit. Well presented, clean, clear and beautiful photos. I shall be returning for another delicious bite. Thank you for sharing,
Cheers, Gaby
You can visit me at http://ptsaldari.posterous.com
Cajun Chef Ryan said…
Congratulations on your 100th post and to all the wonderful foodie blog winners of this great award!

Regards,
CCR
=:~)
I am so glad that someone else agrees with me on your award-worthiness! How cool! Also, congrats on the 100th post. What a wonderful milestone! So glad that you're staying warm in FL! I'm ready to move further south! Roz
Anonymous said…
I am sooooo terribly embarrassed! I keep meaning to get over here and hi-5 you and also say thanks for the nod and I just haven't found the time. My day job is getting in the way of my blogging.

Thanks SO much for thinking of me. I will do my best to do you proud. And I will have somethng for you too...
chefityourself said…
There, look over there! there's something waiting for you.

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