MAIN DISHES WORTH CLUCKING ABOUT
When our family was young, I made a lot of casseroles. It's still an economical way to cook. Years ago many one-dish meals included ground chuck. Now it's more likely to be chicken. I never pass up a chance to buy rotisserie chicken when it's on sale. Not only do I find it convenient to eat at the time of purchase but I also strip meat from the bones and freeze in 2 and 3 cup packages. If you like dark meat, take advantage of special prices on chicken leg quarters and cook the meat yourself for casseroles and soup.
Overnight Poultry Casserole, Chicken and Stuffing Bake and Browned Barley Casserole are the right size for family or company meals.
OVERNIGHT POULTRY CASSEROLE
- 10 slices white bread, buttered on both sides
- 2 to 3 cups cut up cooked chicken
- 1 cup diced celery 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 1 4-ounce can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup Hellmann's Light Mayonnaise
- 2 cups milk
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup reduced fat shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Arrange 5 slices of bread in bottom of 9x13-inch glass dish. Mix chicken, celery, onion and mushrooms and sprinkle over bread. Top with remaining 5 bread slices. Mix eggs, mayonnaise and milk until smooth; pour mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Before baking, spread mushroom soup over top and cover with Cheddar cheese. Bake in preheated 325F oven for 1 hour. Recipe makes 8 to 10 servings.
CHICKEN AND STUFFING BAKE
- 1 7-ounce package herb stuffing mix
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups MSG-free chicken broth (or broth from cooking chicken), heated
- 3 cups cooked cubed chicken
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups MSG-free chicken broth (or broth from cooking chicken)
- 6 eggs, beaten
Mushroom Sauce:
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream (can be reduced-fat kind)
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup chopped pimiento
Mix herb stuffing mix with melted butter and 1 1/2 cups hot chicken broth. Spread in 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover with chicken. Heat and blend flour, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Cook until thickened. Add small amount of thickened mixture to beaten eggs, then add remaining amount. Pour over chicken and stuffing layers.
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Bake in preheated 325F oven until mixture is set. To serve cut into squares and serve with Mushroom Sauce. To make sauce, blend and heat together soup, sour cream, milk and chopped pimiento.
BROWNED BARLEY CASSEROLE
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups quick-cooking barley
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 8-ounce package sliced mushrooms
- 2 to 3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups boiling MSG-free chicken broth
Melt butter in large skillet. Add barley. Stir while heating to a golden brown. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon mixture into 3-quart casserole. Cover and bake in 325F oven for 1 1/2 hours. Recipe makes 10 servings.
DID YOU KNOW?
Ounce for ounce, kiwifruit has more vitamin C than an orange and more potassium than a banana. It also supplies some folate, vitamin E and lutein, a carotenoid that may help keep the eyes healthy. This furry fruit, also called a Chinese gooseberry, is actually a large berry and, like all berries, is rich in fiber.
Source: University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter, June 2009.
LETTING THE SUN SHINE
Estimates of exactly how much vitamin D your skin makes when exposed to sunlight vary widely. According to the Vitamin D Council, if you go out in the summer sun in your bathing suit until your skin begins to turn pink, you'll make about 20,000 IU. After that point, the sun begins to break down the D it's made. Tanned or darker skin makes only half as much vitamin D. Areas north of 42 degree latitude (a line roughly between Boston and the California-Oregon border) don't get enough solar ultraviolet-B radiation from November through February for vitamin synthesis. Complete cloud cover reduces UV energy by 50%, shade by 60%.
Source: Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter, June 2009.
EXTRA WEIGHT COULD LEAD TO KNEE, HIP REPLACEMENT
Researchers in Australia confirmed that people who have a large waist size and body mass index (BMI), among other measurements, are more likely to need both knee and hip joint replacement at some point in the future. The study was published in the March 5, 2009 issue of Arthritis Care and Therapy. The team analyzed the results of several measures of body weight and fat composition in more than 32,000 adults, and then matched those findings with the incidence of subsequent knee and hip replacement procedures. Authors concluded that the obesity epidemic is likely to have a significant impact on future demands for knee and hip replacements due to osteoarthritis. Understanding how these body weight and fat distribution problems develop will be important in preventing the disease.
Source: Duke Medicine HeathNews, June, 2009. |
