Enjoy this three-course meal with those you hold closest to your heart.
Ready to set the family table with something different and delicious for Valentine’s Day? How about buffalo wing-inspired wedge salad to begin the evening, a tried-and-true chicken casserole that will knock everyone’s socks off, and over-the-top brownies to finish the meal? Serve sparkling grape juice and eat on your china or best dishes for a feeling of luxury without heading out to an overpriced restaurant.
Buffalo Chicken and Bacon Wedge Salad
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds bone-in chicken thighs
¼ cup hot sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, diced
12 ounces bacon
1 jar bleu cheese dressing
Directions
In a slow cooker, add hot sauce, butter, vinegar, garlic salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken thighs. Place the slow cooker on low for 5 ½ hours. After 1 hour, briefly open up the slow cooker and give the contents a good stir so that the sauce gets coated on the chicken. Return the lid and resume the slow cooking process. Meanwhile, cook bacon and chop it. When the chicken is nearly done cooking, prepare salad wedges by simply cutting the head of lettuce in half and then cutting each half again. Remove chicken from the slow cooker, and take the meat off bones. Shred chicken with two forks. Add ¼ cup of the sauce from the slow cooker to the shredded chicken. Put an iceberg wedge on each salad plate. Drizzle with dressing, then top with bacon, chicken, and chopped tomato.
Contributed by Tiffany Merritt—“I ate this exact meal three times in a row after making it because I loved it so much! I probably would have kept going, but I ran out of wedges!”
Easy Chicken Casserole
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 22.6-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
8 ounces sour cream
1 ½ cups frozen corn
1 ½ cups frozen broccoli cuts (optional)
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 to 1 ½ sleeves buttery round crackers, like Ritz
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cut the uncooked chicken into small cubes or thin slices, whichever you prefer. In a medium-size bowl, combine cut-up chicken with all ingredients except crackers and mix well by hand. Add salt and pepper to taste. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and transfer contents of the bowl to the dish, spreading it out evenly. Cover the entire casserole with crushed crackers. Cover with foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Take the dish out of the oven, and discard foil. Sample the chicken to be sure it’s cooked to your preference, and then bake uncovered casserole for 5 more minutes to brown the crackers.
Contributed by Cari Sherrod—“This is derived from a recipe given to me 14 years ago by a family friend the first month I was married. I was a new and uneasy bride, and its simplicity helped me pull off one of the first homecooked meals in my very own kitchen.”
Chocolate Crunch Brownies
Makes 20 brownies
Ingredients
1 brownie mix for a 9×13 pan, with called-for ingredients for mixing
4 cups miniature marshmallows
12 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
4 cups crisp rice cereal
Directions
Mix brownies according to package directions. Pour into a 9×13 pan and bake as directed. When done, immediately place the miniature marshmallows over the top of the brownies. Bake an additional one minute, then remove pan and press marshmallows down slightly. In a large microwavable bowl, heat until melted chocolate chips and peanut butter in the microwave. Stir until smooth. If needed, heat an additional 30 seconds. Add crisp rice cereal to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Spread this mixture over the top of the marshmallow layer on brownies. Let set until completely cool and chocolate is hardened; then cut into squares.
Contributed by Lucille Johnson—“This favorite recipe of mine is enjoyed everywhere I take it. It also sells well at bake sales!”
Kitchen Tips:
Buffalo Chicken and Bacon Wedge Salad—ff you don’t like bleu cheese, Ranch dressing is a great substitute dressing.
Easy Chicken Casserole—you may substitute any vegetables you like in this easy-to-modify casserole. Frozen carrots or peas — or a mix of the two — would work well if you have them on hand.
Chocolate Crunch Brownies—for nut allergies, substitute another butter, or leave it out completely.
Pantry List:
Buffalo Chicken and Bacon Wedge Salad
butter, garlic salt, hot sauce, pepper, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce
Easy Chicken Casserole
frozen broccoli, frozen corn, pepper, salt, white rice
Chocolate Crunch Brownies
chocolate chips, eggs and oil (for brownie mix), peanut butter
Shopping List:
Buffalo Chicken and Bacon Wedge Salad
bacon, bleu cheese dressing, chicken thighs, iceberg lettuce, tomato
Easy Chicken Casserole
buttery round crackers, condensed cream of chicken soup, chicken breasts, sour cream
Chocolate Crunch Brownies
brownie mix, crisp rice cereal, mini marshmallows
This article originally appeared in HomeLife Magazine. HomeLife is looking for family-friendly, budget-conscious, original recipes from readers like you. Simply email us your recipe, name and contact info to homelife@lifeway.com. We will pay $25 for each recipe that is printed. We regret that mailed submissions cannot be accepted. Recipes become the property of HomeLife and may be edited prior to publication. Share your recipe with HomeLife!
