Mom always made this when we had company for Sunday lunch.  The dish gets it’s name from the baking time - 1 1/2 hours - stick it in and forget it!

Forgotten Chicken

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice (not quick cooking)
1/2 cups milk
2 cans cream soup (I use cream of mushroom)
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
4-6 chicken breasts
1/2 envelope dry onion soup mix

In a medium saucepan, heat rice, milk, soup and mushrooms.  Pour into a buttered 9×13 pan.  Arrange chicken over rice mixture, sprinkle with dry soup mix.  Cover and bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

Here’s another one I found on AllRecipes.com, and have modified it to suit our taste.

Spinach Parmesan Chicken

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
2 Tbs butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
dash salt
dash pepper
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

Combine cheese, bread crumbs and seasoning in a large ziploc bag.  Moisten chicken with a little water, put chicken in bag (one breast at a time), seal and shake to coat.  Reserve remaining coating for a topping.

Lay chicken in 9×13 baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter, saute garlic until softened.  Add salt, pepper and flour, whisk to make paste.  Slowly add milk and simmer, whisking until thick and bubbly.  Stir in spinach.

Pour mixture over chicken, top with remaining cheese/bread crumb mixture.  Bake at 350 for 20 - 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Serves 4 (or, if the chicken breasts are large, they can be cut in half to serve 8).

I found this in a Weight Watchers cookbook. It’s very easy, you can double or triple this for a crowd, and you’d never know it was “diet!”

Easy chicken BBQ

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken
1 can diet soda
1 cup ketchup
dash garlic powder

Simmer all ingredients until chicken is cooked through. Shred chicken with 2 forks. Simmer a few minutes more until chicken is coated and sauce thickens. Serve on buns (this is even good on whole wheat buns for a “diet” meal).

Serves 4 (makes 4 sandwiches).

Freezing instructions: Freeze leftovers, thaw and reheat!

Another one from my best recipe resource - Mom!

Turkey Apple Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup shredded apple (about 1 med apple)
dash garlic powder
1 cup apple jelly
1/4 cup brown mustard

Combine turkey, apples and garlic powder. Roll into golf ball size balls. Cook in skillet in a little oil until browned on all sides and done in the middle (about 4 min per side). If meatballs are too large, you can bake them in a 400 oven after browning until done in the middle (about 8-10 min). Combine apple jelly and mustard, pour in pan. Simmer a few minutes until thick and bubbly. Serve over hot white rice.

Serves 4 (makes about 24 meatballs).

Another favorite from my mom…

Honey Lemonade Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup honey
6 oz can frozen lemonade (or limeade)

Mix all ingredients together, pour over chicken. Bake for 40 minutes at 325, turning the chicken over halfway through cooking time. Serve with hot white rice.

I usually put everything in the pan and let it sit in the oven while it’s pre-heating. That way the lemonade thaws, and the honey melts, making it easier to mix. Once the oven is ready, I take the pan out, give it a stir, and put the chicken in. I turn the chicken a couple times to coat it, then stick it in the oven to cook.

Serves 4.