Taste of Tuesday Wednesday Fall Fancy!

There's something about stuffing and apples that just reminds me of fall. So, I figured this would be good to link up with The Fall Fancy Follower Fest and Taste of Tuesday this week (even though I'm a day late)!!

I have to tell you I can't take credit for this. Mike actually surprised me with this meal last week. He was super excited about it and wouldn't tell me what he was doing.

Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but Mike is actually an awesome cook. He really does most of the cooking lately. With my work schedule it's just easier for him to start on dinner while I'm driving home so we can get finished and cleaned up and then relax together.

On this night I was super thankful for him cooking such a nice meal. This year is really taxing. There really isn't a day that I feel like goes smoothly. We've had so many changes in our school with administration and then our Assistant Principal had some health problems and has been in the hospital for 2 weeks. Unfortunately he won't be returning this year so we are also getting a new interim Assistant Principal. Not like all of this really affects my particular day but it's just exhausting. Plus we have a really tough schedule this year and I feel like the students are as well behaved as last year.

Anywhooooo...enough of my complaining. Here's the recipe.

Pork Chops with Stuffing and Apples

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. Stove Top Stuffing

1 can (21 oz.) apple pie filling

1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork chops

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375º. Prepare stuffing as directed. Spray 13x9 in baking dish with cooking spray. Spread pie filling onto bottom of dish. Place pork chops on top of apples and then top with stuffing. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and then uncover. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

EAT IT!!

Yum, so good!! Let me know if you try this. I actually liked the leftovers better this time!!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole

So, Mike decided at about 1pm today that he was going to drive to New Jersey in order to get a new tire for his race car, therefore, I needed something easy for tonight. Because he works tonight, he only had 30 minutes home, and that is including the time it took us to drop his car off at the shop. I have been craving this dish for so long, but we never have the items on hand and Velveeta is so expensive at the local grocery store. Luckily, a brand new Wal-Mart has just opened across the street from my school!!! (P.S. Velveeta is WAY cheaper at Wal-Mart.)

Disclaimer: When you eat this, you will want more...and more. It's not exactly healthy for you, but, who cares?!?! It's delicious! And even better re-heated up!!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

     1lb cooked chicken, shredded

     1 can cream of chicken

     1 packet of stuffing

     8 oz Velveeta

     1/5 can corn (optional)

     Enough breadcrumbs to sprinkle (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

     1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 2qt casserole dish with cooking spray.

     2. Prepare stuffing as directed on the package.

     3. Mix together all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.

     4.  Spread mixture into casserole dish.

     5. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

ENJOY!!!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is another one of those recipes where you can really change up what you decide to "stuff" your chicken with. I like this kind of thing because then you can kind of do the same things each week for dinner but it doesn't get as boring so quickly. It still seems different.

Truthfully when I do this it's all guesstimation. There are many different options for stuffed chicken. Originally I did the broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken from Eat Yourself Skinny. I followed it almost exactly only I used American cheese instead of swiss. Tonight I made bacon, stuffing, and cheese stuffed chicken, so I'll use that for the recipe, but please be open about what to stuff with. Mike and I literally just sat on the couch tonight and we were like, "I think I'm going to use bacon. " "You should use bacon AND stuffing!! That would be awesome!!" And so it happened. :)

Stuffed Chicken Breasts
INGREDIENTS:
     2 chicken breasts, cut in half
     1 egg
     1-2 cups bread crumbs
     4 slices american cheese or about 2 cups of shredded cheese
     4 pieces bacon, cooked but not crispy (we used turkey bacon)
     3ish cups of stuffing
     salt and pepper to taste
     toothpicks

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a medium sized baking dish with non stick spray.

Pound out chicken breast halves until it's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

Wisk egg into a bowl and pour bread crumbs into a separate flat dish. I use a small baking dish usually used for making dips. Place to the side until you are ready to dredge.

Now, layer your stuffings on top of each other. I usually break the cheese up into smaller pieces to make it easier to place them where they belong. I break the bacon into two pieces as well. It just seems to make it easier when it comes time to roll. Don't pile on too much stuffing or it will just squeeze out of the sides when you roll.

Now, roll the chicken up so that the ends meet and the stuffings are completely covered. In order to keep in place use toothpicks. I use toothpicks to close up the sides of the chicken as well. It just seems to keep the cheese in better.

You're ready to dredge. Roll the chicken pockets in the egg wash and then place in the dish with bread crumbs. Make sure the entire pocket gets covered in the bread crumbs. Do this with each of the chicken breasts and then place them in the greased baking dish.

Bake about 20-30 minutes or until you see the bread crumbs browning on the top. Enjoy!!