I was visiting a friend in the hospital the other day and spent a few minutes browsing the gift shop. I found a darling little cookbook, Recipes from the Heart, that had been created and compiled by the hospital’s Medical-Surgery Health Care Team as a fund raiser for a new hospital wing. Cool idea, huh?

So I bought it and started reading right away. Since I have quite a bit of chicken in my freezer, I thought I’d look especially for some good chicken recipes. I found a couple that I’ll share here. Now you’ll notice in places the instructions are a little vague (some can sizes are missing, for instance), but don’t let that deter you—we’re experienced enough cooks to figure it out. Finally, don’t you just love the idea that you’ll be eating something that is not just yummy, but healthy too?

Chicken Puffs
Serves 8

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked
2 pkg crescent rolls
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1 Tbsp chives
½ med. Onion, sautéed
1 small can mushrooms (or ½ C fresh, sliced)
1 can (10 ¾ oz) cream of mushroom soup
1 C cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can milk
Bread crumbs, optional
Chopped nuts, optional
¼ C butter, melted
½ C sliced olives, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend soups and milk and heat. Keep warm. Shred cooked chicken. Mix with cream cheese, chives, mushrooms, onion, and olives. Wrap heaping spoonfuls of mixture in a rectangle of the crescent dough (do not tear on triangle perforations). Roll in melted butter, then bread crumbs and nuts. Bake for20 min. or until golden. Serve with warm soup mixture poured over them.