Chinese Style Steamed Chicken

Chalk this one up as super easy, super quick, and super yummy! 

 I did this in my rice cooker with the steamer basket, but a steamer basket in a pot with boiling water would work as well. 

Chinese Style Steamed Chicken (South Beach Diet Cookbook)
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger (fresh or powdered)
2-3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cups broccoli florets

Fill bottom of steamer bowl with an inch of water and bring to a boil.  Combine chicken with garlic, ginger, soy sauce & red pepper flakes.  If you have time, let marinate for 30 minutes or longer.  Place chicken in steamer basket, pour remaining soy sauce over the chicken, close the lid and let cook for 5-7 minutes (the breasts I used were about 6 oz each and they took closer to 7 mins a side). 

Turn the chicken, add the broccoli, and steam for another 5-7 minutes.  Definitely use a meat thermometer if you can, the chicken is done when it reaches 165 degrees. 

The chicken turned out super moist and yummy, I was amazed at how easy this was!  Maybe next time I'll try steaming some rice at the same time....  as you turn the chicken and add the broccoli, leave the lid closed as much as possible so the heat does not escape.

Chicken Ham & Rice Casserole

Chicken, Ham & Rice Casserole:
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup cubed ham (cooked)
2 cups cubed chicken (cooked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream (can use low fat)
1- 1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tbsp milk
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients except the bread crumbs.  Spread in a 9x13 inch pan.  Top with bread crumbs.  You can either mix the bread crumbs with melted butter, or I just prefer to spray them with cooking spray after I've put them over the casserole.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  Sometimes I mix in peas or broccoli as well.

We love this one!

Devilish Chicken Tenders

You can do these with chicken legs if you prefer (that's the original recipe) but I just cut up chicken breasts into strips.

3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 tbsp hot sauce (like Fred's Hot Sauce, or Louisiana Hot Sauce)
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
1 tsp italian seasoning
salt & pepper

Mix the chicken, sour cream, mustard, and hot sauce in a zip lock bag.  Let sit for 30 minutes (or longer).

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, place the rack in the top third of the oven.   Mix the bread crumbs, italian seasoning, and salt & pepper in a large bowl.  Dredge the chicken pieces in the bread crumb mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet.  FYI - I prefer to use a cookie cooling rack on a cookie sheet (like this), that way the bottom of the chicken isn't mushy from the bread crumbs.  Spray the tops of the chicken pieces with Pam or drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for 20 minutes or until done.  Serve drizzled with ranch dressing if you like.

A few notes - the first time I made this I used regular bread crumbs.  I would HIGHLY recommend using Panko bread crumbs, you can get them in the Asian food section at the grocery store.  The texture was so much better.  Also, do not be nervous about using the entire tablespoon of hot sauce.  It feels like it's going to make the chicken too hot, but it doesn't at all and adds a good flavor.

Easy Chicken Bake with Stove Top Stuffing

 Got this off of the back of the Stove Top Stuffing box.  Definitely a keeper, even my picky eater Chad ate it right up.  It's like an easy twist on Chicken Pot Pie.

Ingredients:
1 box chicken flavored Stove Top Stuffing
3 chicken breasts
1 16 oz package frozen, mixed vegetables, thawed
1 10.5 oz can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup hot water
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 inch casserole pan with nonstick spray.  Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and place on the bottom of the pan.  Season with salt & pepper. Mix the stuffing mix into the cup of hot water until just moist, set aside.  Mix the thawed veggies with the soup, sour cream, and chicken broth.  Spoon over the chicken.  Sprinkle with the cheese (or you could add the cheese to the veggie mixture).  Cover with the stuffing mix.  I sprayed the top with spray butter to give it a little more flavor, but you can skip that step.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until bubbly.

Chicken with Sun-dried Tomatoes

It's very rare that I try a new recipe that totally wows me.  This was definitely an exception.

I cut this out from a magazine, but I can't remember which one.  I think it was in a Campbell's Soup ad.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp oil
4 chicken breasts
1 shallot or onion, finely chopped
1 can (10.5 oz) Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
4 cups egg noodles, cooked

Directions: Cook egg noodles according to package directions.  Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook 5 minutes each side.  Remove chicken from skillet, cover with foil.

Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add shallot and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir soup, water, tomatoes, vinegar and basil into skillet.

Return chicken to skillet and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cook 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve chicken and sauce over noodles.

A few notes: I did this with 2 large chicken breasts, if I were to do 4 breasts, I would have added a cup or so more of water or chicken broth.  I used dry basil and dried onion.  Do not leave out the red wine vinegar, I think this was the ingredient that really brought it all together.  I think this would have been good too had I cubed and browned the chicken instead of serving it whole.

Latin Baked Chicken

From Cooking Light Magazine.

I'll warn you now, this one is HOT.  It was about at the top of my tolerance level (and I like to think I have a pretty high tolerance level).  If you want it to be less spicy, remove the seeds from the chipotle chiles before chopping them.  I wouldn't necessarily consider this a kid-friendly dish.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce (found in the hispanic food section)
3-4 chicken breasts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400*.  Combine lime juice, soy sauce, honey and chipotle in a large bowl.  Add chicken and toss well to coat.  Let stand for 10 minutes at room temperature.  Arrange the chicken in an oven-safe dish coated with cooking spray, reserving marinade.

Bake at 400* for 15 minutes.  Place reserved marinade in a blender and process until smooth.  Place pureed marinade in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes.  Brush chicken with 1/2 of the cooked sauce; return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Brush chicken with remaining sauce; bake an additional 10 minutes or until a meat thermometer registers 165*.

Serve with your choice of rice and a vegetable.

Chicken Tandoori

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chicken-tandoori-recipe/index.html

I have made this a few times and it is SO good and easy! I make the marinade after lunch and let it marinade until dinner.

Chicken Tandoori
Food Network Kitchens

Courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

* 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
* Juice of 1 lemon
* Kosher salt
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, smashed
* 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
* 4 teaspoons tomato paste
* 2 teaspoons ground coriander
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 3/4 teaspoons hot paprika
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* Cooked rice, for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat the broiler. Make shallow cuts in the chicken thighs with a sharp knife. Toss the chicken with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large bowl.

Pulse 2 tablespoons yogurt, the vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin, 11/2 teaspoons paprika and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor to make a paste. Toss the chicken in the mixture and let marinate 15 minutes.

Place the chicken on a foil-lined broiler pan. Broil, turning once, until slightly charred and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 teaspoon paprika, the cilantro and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Top the chicken with the yogurt sauce and serve with rice, if desired.

Per serving: Calories 237; Fat 9 g (Saturated 2 g); Cholesterol 115 mg; Sodium 1,266 mg; Carbohydrate 8 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 30 g

chicken masala

Sorry.  No picture.  This is one of those dishes that if you see a picture, it won't look appetizing.  You know what i mean?  And i forgot.  But i assure you it's good.  So good, we had it 3 times last week!

2-4 chicken breast - cubed
1 can diced tomato
1 small can tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 onion - diced
1 heaping tablespoon curry powder
salt and pepper

Now for the hard part.  Put it in a crock pot and turn it on for a few hours! 
I serve this with white rice and Naan bread that can be found at the grocery store.

Chicken Pot Pie

 I'll warn you right now, the way I did it (below) was pretty labor intensive, but well worth it.  I'm in a very "from scratch" mode right now.  Feel free to use frozen pie crust to make your job a little easier.

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts, skinless
• 2 cups chicken broth (see below)
•  1 potato
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Wash chicken breasts in water and then place in a pot with water just to cover the chicken add some salt and pepper and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, turn off heat and cover. Let cool in the pot. Save the broth.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Wash and cut potatoes into bite size pieces and boil till almost fork tender. Drain and set aside.
4. Wash celery and cut to bite-size pieces. Cut onion to bite-size pieces.
5. In a large heavy skillet, over medium heat, saute celery and onion with 2 tablespoons oil, for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the frozen vegetables and cook another 5 minutes. Add flour and cook about 30 seconds.
6. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. After it has become thick, add the potato.
7. Remove chicken from pot and cut into bite-size pieces and add to vegetable mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan and cover with pie shell. Make sure you crimp the edges of the pie shell to the plate so no juices spill in oven. 
9. Brush both sides of the pie shell with egg whites or butter.
10. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes or until pie shell is cooked and golden brown.

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening, chilled
• 1/2 cup cube butter, chilled
•  1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons ice water

Directions

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl.  Cut in the cold shortening & butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (since the shortening and butter are chilled, you'll have to mix for a few minutes).  Drizzle the ice water ice water over the mixture until the dough comes together in a ball - add more water a few drops at at a time if needed..
2. Gently gather dough particles together into a ball.  Put it between two pieces of wax paper to make it easier to roll out.  At this point you can either divide the dough into two balls and use one crust on bottom and one on top, or leave it as is for one thick crust on top.

 Done this way, the filling doesn't have much juice or moisture.  I've also done this with a can of cream of chicken soup + 1 can milk in lieu of the chicken broth and flour. 

These are the two recipes I used as a basis for this one:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Pot-Pie-II-2/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Basic-Flaky-Pie-Crust/Detail.aspx 

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Chicken

I think the original idea for this recipe came from Mindi. It's so versatile, I love it!

1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
can diced tomatoes
kalamata olives

Squeeze the excess water out of the spinach (good way to do this is wrap it in a dish towel). Mix the spinach, feta and sun dried tomatoes.

Butterfly the chicken breasts and place the spinach mixture inside:


Fold the chicken breast over and secure it with 2-3 toothpicks.

Place the stuffed chicken breasts in a crockpot and season liberally with salt & pepper.


Add a can of diced tomatoes, I usually add s&p again along with dried basil - to give the tomatoes some more flavor. Add the kalamata olives.

Cook on low for 4 hours.

Like I said, this dish is so versatile, I think it would also be good with capers or artichoke hearts. Add as much or as little of the spinach/cheese/sun dried tomatoes as you want. I only put measurements to give you a place to start.

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce

Got this recipe from recipegirl.com at the suggestion of a friend. The chicken turned out so moist and yummy, even the next day as leftovers!

Chicken with Cider and Bacon Sauce

Four skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt & pepper
2-4 slices bacon, finely chopped
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
3/4 cup unsweetened apple cider
1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap (or waxed paper); pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper.

2. Cook bacon (use real bacon, not turkey bacon... trust me!) in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan. Add chicken to drippings in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan and tuck it inside some foil to keep warm.

3. Add onion to pan; saute 2 minutes or until tender, stirring constantly. Add cider and broth; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen any browned bits. Cook until broth mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Stir in cooked bacon; serve sauce over chicken.

Serves 4

Pecan Chicken with Cranraspberry Sauce

Ingredients:
Chicken breast (I pound mine out a little)
Pecans - I put mine in the food processor to make them the consistency of bread crumbs)
Olive Oil
2 eggs



1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4-1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
Splash of white wine


1- Scramble the eggs in a bowl.
2- Dip chicken in the eggs.
3- Coat in crushed pecans.
4- Cook in pan with oil oil.


Sauce:
Put can of whole cranberry sauce, raspberries, and wine in a pan. Bring to a simmer.


Spoon sauce over chicken:

chicken enchiladas and mexican rice

While my husband Mark thinks this picture looks unappetizing - a pile of hud is what he called it - I assure you it is a go to favorite at our house.

For the enchiladas:

In a crock pot combine 2 chicken breasts (beef can also be used), 1 onion chopped, 1 small can green chiles and s/p. Cook on High for 3-4 hours, until chicken shreds and onions are browned.

Add to chicken mixture 1/2 - 1 cup salsa, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 tsp cumin.

Roll mixture into tortillas (this makes enough filling for about 6 tortillas) and place in oven safe dish. Pour 1/2 -3/4 14 oz can enchilada sauce (i use green sauce) on top of tortillas and cover with monterey jack cheese. Keep in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted.

For Mexican rice:

In saute pan, brown 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 chopped onion on high heat. When onions are nearly brown, add 1 cup uncooked white rice. Add 1 tbsp cumin and 1 tsp garlic powder. Add 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.

Both of these recipes feed my family of 4 with enough left to fight for left overs!

Enjoy.

Double Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I got this recipe out Rachael Ray's magazine (October 2009 issue, pg 110)

Serves 4
Prep 30 min
Bake 50

1/2 cup small shell pasta (I only had elbow so that's what I used)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped parsley (I used a bit of dry instead)
Salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
4 eight to ten ounce chicken breasts (I used boneless skinless, so I "stuffed" them differently I cut a pocket in them and stuffed them.)
3 cups store bought marinara sauce (I used homemade that I had frozen.)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I used foil). In a pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 4 minutes; drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a bowl and add the mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup parsley. Season with salt.


2. In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Place the breadcrumbs in another shallow bowl.

3. Stuff the pasta-cheese mixture under the skin of each chicken breast.

Dip the stuffed chicken breast in the eggs, roll in the breadcrumbs, then place skin side down on the prepared pan. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted in the breast reads 165 degrees, about 50 min.


4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the marinara sauce. Serve each breast on a bead of sauce, topped with 1 tablespoon parsley.