by Ra'Chell Britton Drew
I got the idea for this recipe from those "all-in-one-box" dinners they sell, variations like cheesy rice chicken and chicken and stuffing, I find absurd that they even exist. For one, you either have to add your own chicken, or you get not so healthy (or flavorful) canned meat and they charge anywhere from $3-5 for this. Now I have absolutely perfected the Stuffing dinner in box meal so I will give that one to you, ENJOY!
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Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts, about 3 large 4 small breasts (you can get a bag of skinless boneless chicken breasts for a reasonable price, but it's not really that hard to skin and debone breasts which will save you a good bit of money)
1 small can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken, any variety of creamy soup works but make sure the flavor is one you enjoy because it will be a main taste in this meal--my family likes chicken, mushroom, and celery, but cheese and broccoli struck out)
1/2 cup milk
1 box stuffing mix (any brand, any variety)
1 T. butter or margarine
1/4 c. boiled water (microwaving the water and butter is convenient; more water for softer stuffing)
Shredded cheese, optional, for appearance
Directions:
Prepare a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Mix milk and soup thoroughly in bottom of dish, place uncooked, cleaned, deboned and skin removed chicken breast in soup mixture which should cover chicken just slightly.
In a separate bowl mix water and butter gradually with stuffing mix, stir until moist, put stuffing on top of chicken.
Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is done (use a meat thermometer to be sure). Remove foil. Add cheese if desired, and wait until melted, or place back in oven until crispy.
Goes well with any veggie you associate with Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter dinner, it has a way of making the house smell like the holidays. (My brother went a step further and used fresh cranberries on top for its holiday-meal feel.)