Herman Muenster Chicken

I am indebted to Dan Carroll for the original version of this recipe he posted on the Parts Express Speaker board. Of course, I have “Tweaked” the recipe just a little. The sauce from the Muenster cheese, cream of mushroom soup and white wine is quite good.

4 skinless-boneless chicken breasts, cut into ¾ inch thick strips

3 medium eggs, beaten

One-half of a 6 oz Boxed Chicken stuffing mix, this portion ground into crumbs in food processor (reserve remainder for a side, see below)

Canola Oil for frying chicken. Add a sprinkle of olive oil for additional flavor note

1 small can cream of mushroom soup

1/3 c “stale” white wine from the back of the refrigerator

8-oz thin-sliced Muenster cheese (a possible substitute is Provolone or similar)

Soak cut-up chicken breast in beaten eggs in refrigerator for one hour. Remove from egg wash and roll in bread crumbs made from stuffing mix. Fry chicken until lightly browned using a small amount of canola and olive oil in a heavy skillet. Place in a low casserole dish large enough to hold chicken. Mix cream of mushroom soup with white wine, and spoon over chicken. Cover pieces with thin slices of Muenster cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

The chicken can be fried, the dish prepared early, held in the refrigerator and then baked just before serving.

Here is a photo. Thanks to Kyle and Betsy Debertin for the new casserole.

Sides:

Quick winter squash casserole.

Half and seed a winter squash. Cook in microwave long enough to dig out of shell. Squash can be placed in plastic bags and stored indefinitely in the food freezer.

Thaw squash in microwave and place in baking casserole. Mix in cinnamon, a little nutmeg, salt, pepper, and about a quarter cup of brown sugar. Lightly cover with left over bread crumbs made from stuffing mix for chicken recipe. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees with chicken. Serve with a pad of butter or margarine.

Quick Creamy-Cheesy Vegetables

This recipe works with most bagged frozen vegetables. This time I used an Italian blend with green beans, peppers, cauliflower, carrots and lima beans. Steam these for a couple minutes in a vegetable pan steamer. To a casserole dish add 2/3 c reduced fat sour cream and 1/3 cup bagged shredded cheese. Add vegetables and mix together. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Stir again and serve.

Chicken Stuffing Side

Prepare left-over stuffing on the stove according to package instructions and serve.

--David Debertin