Chicken Broccoli Casserole and Chocolate Bar Pie

I recently tried out a new casserole inspired by the classic green bean casserole that my family loves during the holidays. What we really love about green bean casserole are the delicious French's French Fried Onions, so I new these onions would be a tasty addition to a casserole. This Chicken Broccoli Casserole turned out great and everyone loved it.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients-
Roughly 1 pound or so of cooked boneless skinless chicken breast meat chopped into bite size pieces ( I saute or bake about 8-10 frozen boneless skinless chicken tenderloins)
1 regular sized bag frozen broccoli very lightly steamed and drained, just enough to thaw it out, you could also use fresh chopped broccoli
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can's worth of milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
pepper
1 1/2 cups French's French Fried Onions
Prepared steamed rice around 4-6 cups depending on how many you are serving.

Stir together soup and milk, add cooked chicken, broccoli, cheese, and 1 cup of fried onions (we love these onions so my cup was a rounded generous cup), add pepper to taste. Stir casserole thoroughly, add a splash more milk if needed. Bake at 350 F. covered, for about half an hour or until broccoli is tender and casserole is bubbly, remove cover, top with remaining half cup of fried onions, and bake for an additional five minutes until onions are warmed and golden. Serve over hot steamed rice. This is an easy and tasty casserole, definitely in the comfort food category!

This next recipe I came across a few times on Pinterest and it was so easy and looked so yummy I thought it would be fun to try.

Chocolate Bar Pie - This is super easy to make, just melt 6 regular Hershey's Chocolate Bars in a double boiler (I just use a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water) make sure the chocolate is thoroughly melted, it goes quicker if you break the chocolate bars up into smaller pieces, meanwhile empty a whole 8 oz. tub of completely thawed Cool Whip into a mixing bowl, when the chocolate is completely melted pour it over the cool whip and stir to thoroughly combine, then transfer the filling to a graham cracker crust. Chill for around 4-5 hours, I put it in the freezer for the first hour to speed up the setting process, then put it back in the fridge for a couple of hours.

This pie is super rich and dangerously easy to make, it was perfect for summer because it didn't require turning on the oven, but I will also be making this for the holidays because it is so yummy! :)

I am very excited for September, I love the arrival of fall, and the "back to school" season. This last week of August has been very busy, we had a wonderful time at my nephew's wedding, I will share about that a bit in an upcoming post, we have been into town a few times getting school supplies and new school clothes, and I have been busy with multiple home organization projects so we have a smooth start to the new school year. I am looking forward to my favorite time of year!