Tasty Tuesday - Chicken and Stuffing, Round 2

Several months ago, I posted a crockpot recipe for chicken and stuffing. While it was pretty delicious, it had a few flaws.

1. The recipe called for stuffing crumbs, which didn't exactly turn into stuffing - more like a really thick gravy. Once the recipe had become leftovers the next day, THEN there was stuffing. But you know, I like my recipes to turn out the way they're supposed to before a 24-hr period has passed.

2. (And this isn't really a flaw to most people, but...) it's a crockpot recipe. And while I love crockpot recipes....sometimes, I'm kinda bad at planning ahead. I typically prepare dinner during the afternoon hours when my kids are napping and, well, crockpot recipes don't really work if they aren't started until 2pm.

So last week I tried an oven version of this dinner, using my head knowledge of cooking (which is pretty little) and whatever ingredients I had on hand. I like my recipes to be flexible, so using what I have on hand rather than running to the store all the time is really helpful when it comes to saving money.

Over the past few months, I have become a stalker of two cooking blogs that I absolutely LOVE. One thing that their readers often express appreciation for is their PILE of pictures in each blog post. I admit, it does help to be able to see what the cook is doing. Plus, I really like taking pictures. (I guess that goes with the photographer territory?) So, in an attempt to be as cool as this blog and this blog, I have several pictures for you today!

I know you're jumping for joy on the other side of that screen. Don't even try to deny it.

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Modified Chicken and Stuffing

6 chicken breast halves
4-ish cups bread cubes
2 cans cream of chicken
1 cup chicken broth
thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper (sorry, I don't measure)
4 T. melted butter or margerine

1. Grease 9x13 inch pan.

2. Chop bread into cubes. I used hot dog buns because the "best by" date had already come and gone and I had no hot dogs in the fridge.

3. Spread bread cubes into greased pan.

4. Mix chicken broth, cream of chicken, and seasonings.

5. Melt butter and pour over bread crumbs. (And let me just tell you...taking a picture while pouring is...um....a lot harder than it might appear.)

6. Pour 3/4 of the creamy chicken mixture over bread cubes.

7. Wash and dry chicken. Cut each breast in half. (This is not actually necessary, but since it probably cooks a little faster, I generally do it this way.)

8. Place chicken pieces on top of bread crumbs in pan. Add remaining creamy chicken mixture to the tops of the chicken pieces.

9. Cover and bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hr or until done.

10. Eat. This time around, I wound up with quite a bit of soggy goodness at the bottom and then more "gravy". I'm not sure what it is about this recipe, but apparently it still needs tweaked. I just cut up some more bread cubes and put the gravy on top w/ the chicken. It worked out okay, but I will keep perfecting it. My husband suggested trying it with dried bread cubes and I think that might work better.