Pan Seared Chicken Breasts

Sometimes even I, Molly 'Crocker', am not confident in a basic cooking methods and go looking for a tutorial so I don't mess up a meal!  After thinking about this recently, I thought I would share one of my favorite cooking "basics" with you all over here.  If you are ever in need of a yummy, tender, chicken breast for a salad, pasta, sandwich, etc; here's how you can get it!

Enjoy!

Pan Seared Chicken Breasts

1.  Dry off chicken breasts with paper towel.
2.  Rub both sides of the chicken breasts with approximately 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Season both sides with your desired seasonings or pre-mixed seasoning. (seasoning suggestions: salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, basil, rosemary)
3.  Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
4.  Place chicken breasts in skillet and cook for 8 minutes (resist the urge to flip or mess with the chicken much) - chicken will start to easily move in pan and edges will be opaque.
5. Flip chicken over, cover pan, and lower heat to medium/low.  Cook for another 10 minutes.
6.  Turn heat off and let chicken rest in pan or covered dish for 5-10 minutes (or until the rest of your food is ready).
7. Serve and enjoy!

Ham and Swiss Rice Casserole with Broccoli

Our family really liked this casserole or as we call it in these parts, hot dish!  A great way to use up leftover ham.  The star ingredients, veggies, protein, cheese, rice etc, can easily be substituted for what you have on hand/prefer.  The recipe can also easily be made ahead in the morning to throw in the oven for supper or frozen for another day!

Enjoy!

Ham and Swiss Rice Casserole

2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup Onion, chopped
2 1/4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 1/4 Cup Long Grain White Rice
2 Heads Broccoli, cut into chunks
2 Cups Cooked Ham, diced
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
3/4 Cup Milk
1 - 8oz Pkg Swiss and Gruyére Shredded Cheese (Found at Aldi)
Pepper

Topping:
1 Cup Ritz Crackers, crushed
2 Tbsp Butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add diced onions and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until softened.  Add broth and rice to pan; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pan, and cook for 8 minutes.  Remove lid, stir rice up from the bottom with a spatula, add broccoli, replace lid, and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes.  Turn off heat on pan.  Stir in ham, soup, sour cream, milk, half (1 cup) of the cheese, and season to taste.  Spread into lightly greased 9x13 pan and top with remaining cheese.  Cover and bake for 20 minutes.  Combine cracker crumbs with melted butter; spread over the top of casserole and bake an additional 10 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven, let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes: If using frozen broccoli, allow it to thaw and drain ahead of time (or pat dry).  Some prepackaged ham comes in water, you will want to let it dry a little on a paper towel or pan fry quick before adding to recipe (this step is not necessary if using leftover baked ham).