Chicken, Cheese & a Carter!

Yay! We have our FIRST guest blogger here at the Emerald Gardens! Let me introduce you to 

Mrs. Kelli {Carter} Meyer

 

I know Kelli as a Carter, so its hard for me to remember the Meyer at the end! Kelli and I grew up together and have always been good gal pals. Specifically when I think of Kelli, I think of showing steers. She and I were always county fair buddies and did lots of 4-H/FFA stuff together. The Carter family women are great cooks (who love spicy food!) and Kelli's mom makes the best fudge to be found :) Kelli is now forever away, living in Missouri, doing great things with her life: husband in vet school while wife in nursing school - you guys rock!).

Kelli sent me a few recipes. Today I am sharing a chicken dish. Sadly I couldn't make it for dinner because I don't have Stovetop on hand (...and the grocery store in 80 miles away...). However, I am grocery shopping on Thursday and Stovetop will be at the top of my list! Once I've made it, I'll give my review :)

Bruschetta Chicken Bake 
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg Stovetop stuffing mix
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp dried basil leaves
1 cup cheese
 

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.  
2. Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.
3. Layer chicken, basil, 1/2 of the cheese, stuffing and then rest of cheese in 13 x 9 inch pan or 3-quart baking dish
4. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

 
Kelli's Comments
I like the canned tomatoes with oregano, basil, and garlic mixed in. I like to use a baking dish rather than the 9x13 pan because it keeps the dish more moist. I have also used the canned chicken from the cannery and then baked it for 15-20 minutes = really quick and easy and I think it tasted good.

My Pre-Cooking Thoughts
This seems super quick to throw together! And I don't usually do chicken stuff with tomato stuff, so this will add some variety to my ~boring~ repertoire :)

Try out Kelli's Bruschetta Chicken Bake and leave your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks Kelli!