Take a moment to relax while this one cooks.....

Doesn't that sound wonderful?  When I was a young mother back in the early eighties, there was a magazine called "Working Mother", and for a long time it had a section called "Relax While it Cooks".  I tried many of the recipes and loved the concept, especially since I had a job that kept me on my feet the entire shift.  The idea that dinner could be in the oven or sauteing on the stove became as appealing as any crock pot ideas I could come up with.  It meant sitting down and coloring with my daughter and listening to her about her day, versus that mad rush to get dinner to the table.  It's amazing what you can do with 40-50 minutes "free" time while dinner is preparing itself.


This dinner isn't from that series, but it made me think of it, and if you like this idea, I will come up with more.  I got this recipe from a coworker in Spokane, WA many years ago.  She called it "King's Ranch Chicken".

King's Ranch Chicken

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INGREDIENTS

• 6 or more boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 cup water
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 7-8 oz pkg pepperidge farm herb stuffing

METHOD

Place chicken breasts in 9x12 baking dish. Lightly season both sides with salt and pepper. Mix 1 can of undiluted cream of chicken soup with 1 can cream of celery soup. Stir in 1 cup (or can) of water. Pour over chicken, cover with 1 small package of Pepperidge Farm herb stufffing/dressing. (I like the crunch the cubes give, and had to use 1/2 of a 12 oz. package.) Drizzle 1 stick of melted butter or margarine over all. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, uncovered. (internal chicken temperature > 165 degrees.) I was able to relax for 40 minutes, then got up and made the rice with chicken broth.  20 more minutes of relaxing, and while the chicken and rice were cooling down, I made the salad.  Clean-up took hardly any time as well because only 2 pans and one bowl was used.  Nice! Give it a try, it's even good enough for unexpected company, like I had last night. :) Have a wonderful weekend! Nancy :)