Phat Food Friday: Mushroom Swiss Chicken Bake!

 

Mmmmm. You know that ONE recipe that just makes your mouth water? That special dish you can never have too often? Well, this is IT for me. Savory, cheesy, wholesome and filling....delish. To top it off, it is super easy. Just when you cannot think it can get any better, I will tell you it can. This is the #1 dish I make for company too! It is so easy to prep, economical and allows you to entertain (aka not be stuck in the kitchen) when you have company. Make sure you print off extra copies of this too because all of your guests will NEED a copy after you have blown their socks off with this meal!

Are you ready? I am! Lets get started....

 

 

 

Get out your 8"x8" glass dish and gather your ingredients....

 

1. 1/4 cup of dry white wine

*Note: ~ I use Pinot Grigio ~ You can substitute any WHITE wine that is not sweet. The bite here in the wine is what gives the dish its distinct flavor. You may substitute 1/4 cup White Cooking Wine, or 1/4 cup water. DO NOT USE RED WINE...your dish will turn purple : (

2. 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (10 and 3/4 oz. )

*You may substitute Cream of Celery or Cream of Chicken if needed.

3. 6-7 slices of Swiss Cheese Slices

4. 2 T. butter, melted

5. 1/4 cup of bread crumbs

6. One pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts (I prefer to cook with fresh never frozen meat, as the taste and texture is superior. In a pinch you can use frozen chicken breasts, but your cook time will double)

 

~This is excellent served over a bed of Long Grain Wild Rice with your favorite green vegetable or a salad and paired with a dry white wine!~

 

 Preheat your oven to 375⁰ and grease your 8"x8" glass dish.

 

 

 

Whisk together the soup and wine.

 

 

Pour this over your chicken.

 

 

Cover the chicken completely with your soup and wine sauce.

 

 

Cover the dish completely with the Swiss cheese slices.

 

 

Melt your butter.

Mix in the 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs with a fork.

The consistency here should be crumbly, and sound like sand when it is just right.

Add a 1/2 Tablespoon at a time until you reach this consistency.

 

 

Sprinkle your bread crumb & butter crumble over the dish.

 

 

Put into your preheated 375⁰ oven for 30-45 minutes.

Your cook time will vary on the size and thickness of your chicken pieces.

Check the internal temperature of the thickest part of the meat for a temperature of 165⁰.

If you used frozen, unthawed chicken your cook time will be an hour minimum.

 
~Go sit down with your glass of wine.~
 

 

When your dish is golden and bubbly around the edges, you are ready to serve!

 

 

Serve this savory comfort food ASAP!

The sauce is great over bed of Long Grain Wild Rice.

Be careful when plating...do not smother the buttery crunchy breadcrumbs in cheesy sauce...

My #1 request it "Lots of breadcrumbs please."

 

 

 

  I hope you enjoy...Cheers!

DIY: Comfy Shorts into Pants!

The Sewing Geek

 

Every body loves a good pair of comfy shorts...right?

Its just too bad when the weather forces us to bundle up.

I have just the remedy for the chilly weather....

take your favorite shorts pattern and turn them into...comfy pants!

 

 

My good friend Meghan, The Sewing Geek, designed the BEST shorts pattern ever!

They are called the Comfy Shorts, and let me tell you, they are!

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/

The fit is spot on! These shorts are roomy in all the right places.

The pattern is super easy to print and assemble.

Meghan walks you through the directions with fantastic photos and easy to follow directions!

 

 

I just HAD to use the BEST pattern for my little girl's Comfy Fleece Pants for winter.

Here is how YOU can do it!

 

 

First, you need to measure your child for his/her inseam. I used a pair of pants that fit well. Measure from the crotch seam down the leg to the bottom pants hem. My inseam measurement was 9". We will call this "X" below.

 

 

Next, get your Comfy Shorts pattern.

If you do not already own it, hop on over to The Sewing Geek shop now!

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/store

 Read through Meghan's fab tutorial.

When you are ready to cut (Steps 1-3) follow my directions below instead...

 

 

Fold your fabric in half and line up the pattern pieces as shown above.

 

 

Measure the inseam for your shorts size. This is "Y"

Take your pants inseam "X" from above and subtract Comfy Shorts inseam "Y". The resulting number we will call "A."

X-Y=A

For example, I had 9" inseam. Comfy Shorts inseam in the size I was making was about 5"...

9"- 5"= 4"

 

 

Measure down from the edge of the shorts pattern and add on measurement "A"...4" in my case.

 

 

 

Mark in chalk your new pant leg extensions...shown in yellow.

 

 

Cut out along your pattern pieces USING THE NEW LONGER PANT LINES that you added.

You can see this cut line as the purple dashed lines shown above.

 

 

Your newly cut Comfy PANTS should look like this!

Return to the awesome Sewing Geek pattern, step 4 and finish the pants using all of the same steps.

 

 

Oooh! So soft and cozy!

 

 

Baby girl loves to wear them to bed...and outside to play!

 

The Sewing Geek

 

 

The Sewing Geek also has a great blog!

She shows you how to add CARGO pockets to your comfy shorts too!

 http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/blog/tutorial-how-sew-cargo-pocket

 

We have a little Q & A here with Meghan, THE Sewing Geek!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Q: How did you get your start sewing...and what did you do before creating PDF Patterns?

 

A: I went to school for geology and worked as a Geochemist for 4 years. I quit working to stay at home with the kids and picked sewing back up. I learned as a child and sewed off and on up until college. I didn't like following patterns though. I liked the technical aspects of making my own. I liked the math and making the patterns and figuring out n my own how to put it all together.

 

Q: What motivated you to open your shop?

 

A: I sewed blankets and sold them on Etsy for a while but I got bored with sewing the same things over and over.

 

That's when I decided to give pattern making a try. I figured out how to draft patterns on my computer and it was pretty easy for me to put together a tutorial that people could easily follow. I think all of that technical writing while I was first starting as a geochemist helped!

 

Q: What was your first PDF pattern release?

 

The Sewing Geek 

The Sewing Geek

 

A: The first pattern I released was actually just a tutorial...it was the minky blanket tutorial! The first clothing pattern I released was the Moo skirt. By the time I made the Moo skirt I was absolutely in love with pattern making. My first patterns were simple and with each new pattern I make I add something new I have never done to challenge myself.

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/product/minky-blankets-and-ruffled-lovies-digital-sewing-tutorial

 

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/product/moo-skirt-pdf-sewing-pattern-ruffled-trim-option

 

Q: Where does your inspiration for new patterns come from?

 

The Sewing Geek

 

A: I get my inspiration from everywhere. I seam stalk. LOL! My husband makes fun of me because I'll inch closer to people in public- like when we are standing in line- and I try to figure out how their clothes are put together!

 

My kids help too. For example with the Olive dress, I sewed up a muslin to try on my middle daughter. I put it on her and she immediately said, "Where are the pockets mom?" That's how I came about adding in the inseam pockets.

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/product/olive-dress-peasant-dress-blouse-sewing-pattern-inseam-pockets-sizes-3-months-6-years

 

 I keep a notebook full of my ideas too. My problem is that I have a hard time finding the time to put all of my designs into practice. The three kids (5,4, and almost 2) keep me busy.

 

 

Thanks so much for sharing with us today Meghan! I'll be stopping by your blog again soon for more sewing Tips & Tricks : ) I think my favorite part about The Sewing Geek are the fab tutorials! I am an intermediate sewist and I ALWAYS learn something new from her patterns! If you have not already checked out the blog and shop...please do!

 

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/blog

 

http://www.sewinggeekpatterns.com/store

 

https://www.facebook.com/SewingGeekPatterns

 

 

Bye... Thanks for stopping by!

 

Phat Food Friday: BEST EVER Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

When the weather gets chilly...I want to put on my snuggly sweaters and drink a cup of Earl Grey with a good book. I also LOVE the smell of a warm crock pot dinner wafting thru the air! The two just seem to go hand in hand. I found this recipe on Facebook last week and since I love Beef Stroganoff, I had to try it. My family loved it so much, they requested it again this week! With all recipes, I like to follow it to the letter. After I try it once, I go ahead and alter it to my taste. Here is the BEST EVER Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff!

 

 

 

Get out your Crock Pot and gather your ingredients....

 

1. 2 cans condensed Golden cream of mushroom soup (10 and 3/4 oz. each)
2. 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
3. 1/2 cup of water
4. 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Salt
5. a dash of Paprika
6. 1 yellow onion, chopped (~ 1 cup)
7. 2 pounds cubed stew meat
8. 8 oz. 1/3 less fat "Cream" Cheese, also labeled as Neufchatel Cheese (Regular cream cheese can be substituted)
9. ~Optional~ 8 oz. fresh mushrooms (two 4oz cans of drained sliced mushrooms are a good substitute)
10. 12 oz. bag of Egg Noodles

We will start with the first 5 ingredients listed.

The last 3 ingredients we do not need until the 20 minutes before serving.

Go ahead and put the cream cheese and mushrooms back in the fridge, and set aside the noodles till later.

 

 

Here we go!

 

 

I think fresh unfrozen meats yield the best crock pot dishes.

 

 

The mushrooms are optional...but I think they make the dish more hearty & love them!

 

 

In your cold crock pot, stir the first 5 ingredients.

 

 

Chop your cup of yellow onions...don't cry too much.

I know you will miss cooking over a hot stove tonight...NOT!

 

 

Add the onion to your pot.

 

 

Stir well.

 

 

Add the cubed stew meat to your pot.

 

 

Stir well.

 

 

Set your crock pot to low for 8-10 hours. I set mine longer because my hubbie comes home from work pretty late.

 

 

 

*********************************

 

We interrupt this fab tutorial to bring you the following real time blog announcement....

 

I LOVE this girl! THIS is why I like to use my crock pot sooooo much....

wouldn't' you rather watch ducks than cook!? I would!

Especially on this unseasonably unexpected golden afternoon....

 

 

Let's go see  the ducks!

 

 

 The ducks were not sure if they wanted to get too close...or not.

 

 

 

We now return you from this "double dose of cuteness" break to your regularly scheduled blog post : )

 

*********************************

 

20 minutes before serving...

 

 

Take a large sturdy spoon and break up the cubed stew meat. It should be tender and break up easily. Stir the mixture well to coat the meat in the sauce. 

 

 

Rinse your mushrooms...

 

 

... and chop them into uniform slices.

 

 

 

Stir them into the crock pot...

 

 

and cover.

 

 

Cube your block of Neufchatel Cheese.

 

 

Stir that into the crock pot...

 

 

 and cover.

 

 

 Let the cheese melt and the mushrooms cook to tender in your crock pot while you boil

a pot of water and cook, following the directions on the package of egg noodles.

It should take less than 10 minutes to boil the whole bag.

Drain the noodles.

 

 

Mix the BEST EVER Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff well.

 

 

...and serve over the noodles.

 

This is such a great dish. I think it is even better as leftovers!

I mix the extra noodles into what is left in the pot and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Place leftover Beef Stroganoff Mixture on a glass plate in a ring around the outside edge.

Spray with water.

Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring once and you are all set for an easy lunch!

 

 

Mmmmm! I think she loves it!

 

 

I stumbled across the recipe in my Facebook newsfeed a few weeks ago.

It comes from the Facebook page: It's a Lifestyle...Not a Fad

The group Admin, Barb Miller, shared with me what the group is all about...

"This will be a place where you are no longer alone in your battle with weight loss. We're here to motivate, encourage & support each other as well as share stories, frustrations, and triumphs!

My goal is to support and motivate our members! That's what we are here for. I want people to be able to come here and talk about what is bothering them, vent if needed and get advice from others who are going through the same thing."

 

Thanks for sharing with us Barb!

That sounds good to me.

 I am always searching for healthy, tasty recipes for my family.

I know I will visit this page often!

 

The original recipe can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ItsaLifestyleNotaFad/permalink/245150432300064/

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I hope you give this classic comfort food a try!