CHICKEN BASIL ITALIANO
Bada-bing Bada-boom! (That’s all the Italian I know.)
This chicken was GOOD and it only took about 5 minutes to prepare. Exactly why I loooooove cooking with food storage!
Start with these: 4 frozen, boneless skinless, chicken breasts
Toss them into a slow cooker, drizzle on about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with 1 envelope of Italian dressing mix.
(1 minute)
Then add one can of cream of mushroom soup, cover, and cook on low for about four hours.
(2 minutes)
Right before serving, stir 1 cup of powdered milk into the cooking juices…
(three minutes)
and top with fresh basil leaves!
(four/five minutes!!!)
(Note to self: Next time I’m going to remember to add a few slices of tomato to the garnish, maybe broiled.)
(Or or or! It might be fun to spoon on just a little bit of hot, from the jar, marinara. You can never have too much sauce! Words to live by.)
K. Quick question.
Does anyone else think that the fresh chopped basil leaves…look like a frog?
(I may need to be tested.)
They’re not. Try to block that image. Probably ruined it for you.
Sometimes I get very lucky when I’m experimenting/drive-by-cooking. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, may be our newest favorite food storage recipe! I couldn’t believe how great-totally creamy-don’t you dare eat it-put that fork down this instant! the sauce tasted AND IT WAS MADE FROM JUNK YOU CAN STORE IN THE CUPBOARD, FOR YEARS!
MAMA MIA, MAMA MIA, YES YOU CAN!!!
So the rice was of course from my long-term supply. The powdered milk was from my not-quite-as-long-but-10-years-is-pretty-long-supply. The olive oil, Italian dressing mix, and can of soup were from my three-month supply, even though we all know that those three ingredients will store longer than three months. And finally, the fresh basil, butternut squash, and broccoli were from my fresh or immediate supply…in my garden…theoretically. (Crossies count.)
I could weep! Can you imagine a whole platter of those steaming little…nuggies…lovingly layered with broiled tomatoes, or a delicate red sauce, and lots of fresh basil? (carefully placed so as to NOT look like amphibians) I swear I’m going to serve this for the next 100 family parties, wedding showers, meals for neighbors, Sunday dinners, and Relief Society “additional meetings.” It was awesome! Do you know how big this is??? This almost never happens to me! Oh how I wish there were some grapes that I could stomp!
Tags: happy-wappy, must have more sleep, perfect chicken that was perfectly easy
April 16th, 2010 at 8:56 am
It took me a minute, but yes, I see it. The basil IS arranged in a rather amphibian-ish pattern. (Thanks for a recipe I think I could actually make. We’ll be having it for dinner tonight.)
April 16th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Heh. It does have a ‘Kermit’ look to it. Maybe add some capers for eyes?
Seriously, I will do this because I have EVERYTHING you used!
Even the p*****d m**k.
April 17th, 2010 at 9:35 am
It was a very yummy dinner! I needed something easy and that would be quick and I had everything on hand so I put it in the pot about noon and it was ready when I walked in the door that night, just in time to feed my starving 17 year old son.
Thanks Liesa once again for saving the day!!
April 17th, 2010 at 11:15 am
So glad to hear that you liked it Kris! It’s a great recipe for those extra busy days. I can’t wait to try preparing a huge quantity and then really dolling up the presentation. Scam artist.
Carolyn, you’re bad. Still struggling with your powdered milk issues? I know, I know. Did you get the counseliing I suggested? Love you!
(capers would taste good…)
I hope you enjoyed it, Marilee!!! I’m ALL ABOUT the easy recipe.
April 17th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Definitely a basil frog.
April 17th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Hello, Dearie!
Would this also be good over pasta, do you think? I hit a really good sale a while back and I have a lot of pasta in storage now, so I’m looking for some new ways to use it in the rotation.
Wishing you well,
-Laura at TenThingsFarm
April 17th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Hey Laura! You are my coupon shopping hero! I think this would work great over pasta.
I bet you’re a busy girl with Spring coming up everywhere. Thanks for stopping by!
April 19th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I don’t have Morning Moo. Should I use instant or non-instant powdered milk?
April 19th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Hi Linda. I think that Morming Moo would be considered non-instant because you’re supposed to mix the powder with hot water first and then add cold water. Really, I bet either type of powdered milk would work just fine. Hope you enjoy it!
April 21st, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Liesa,
This sounds wonderful! I am going to cook this in my sun oven tomorrow. Thank you for all your recipes!!
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:45 am
Kathleen that’s so cool! Please tell us how it turns out for you.
I want a sun oven when I grow up.
April 22nd, 2010 at 8:52 am
Do you mix the milk up first or just add the powder?
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:04 pm
No Jeni. Don’t mix the milk up first. Just add the dry milk powder to the pan drippings and you’ll have a nice rich creamy sauce.
April 23rd, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Sun Oven Cooking Update:
This recipe was delicious! Although my original intent was to cook this on Thursday – life got in the way and I didn’t get to cook it until today. So the chicken was completely thawed when I put it in the sun oven. It took 2 hours to cook but I was cleaning the garage and forgot about it so it stayed in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. (Not a problem when using a sun oven.) What I liked best about this recipe is the italian dressing blends well with the cream of mushroom soup. Personally, I find cream of mushroom soup a bit overwelming when used in a recipe – but not in this one! I am going to replace my chicken and rice food storage recipe with this one.
Also, for the first time, I cooked the rice in a canning jar in the sun oven right along with the chicken. I saw Wendy Dewitt explain how to do on BYU TV a while back but never tried it. The rice went in 1 hour after the chicken so the rice was in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. This was a completely delicious recipe and completely easy to make! Thank you again Liesa for all the recipes you provide for us on your blog!
April 23rd, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Last night for dinner I made baked potatoes and topped them with beef chunk and mushroom gravy, very yummy but I ended up with way to much of the mushroom gravy.
Tonight I needed something fast and easy so I was planning on serving the rest of the gravy over wide egg noodles with a dollop of sour cream. To make a long story short, I didn’t have sour cream to go with the noodles and gravy, so instead I heated the gravy and added about 1/2 cup of powdered milk to give it a creamy consistency…YUM!!
We all like it better with the powdered milk added, sorry Liesa. It makes it a very yummy stroganoff and I will definitely make it that way again and serve it over noodles or rice.
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Congratulations Kathleen! I wish I knew half of what you know. Very glad to hear that you thought the recipe was delish. Thanks for sharing your experience!
April 23rd, 2010 at 11:31 pm
Kris, I love the art of recycling leftovers. My own mother was a master. So happy for your success with powdered milk disguise!
April 26th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Yes, Liesa, I got the counseling. It was suggested I use po*dered m*lk whenever I got the chance. I will be telling my story on Oprah soon…heh.
April 26th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Me too Carolyn! Me too.