Chicken Pie

Chicken Pie is a yummy, quick fix for a weeknight meal! Pair it with a salad or some mashed potatoes and green beans, and you've provided a full-out meal!

You'll need:

1. About 1 lb of chicken, cooked and cubed
2. 8 oz sour cream
3. 1 can cream of mushroom soup
4. 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. Ritz crackers, about 1/2 tube
7. 2 tablespoons butter, melted

You'll:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix soup and sour cream together in bowl.
3. Add chicken, salt and pepper to cream mixture.
4. Pour mixture into oven-safe 9" pie dish
5. Crumble ritz crackers in small bowl. Add melted butter, and mix to coat.
6. Spread cracker mixture over the top of the prepared chicken mixture.
7. Bake at 350 until the cracker topping is golden brown, probably about 20 minutes.

Nom! Nom!

Roasted Lemon Chicken

Roasted Lemon Chicken

This is one of those dishes that takes a long time to cook, but with only about a 5 minute prep time, you can put it in the oven and then get busy doing something else. Works great for busy weekends! But, it’s a nice dish that’s a great centerpiece to any meal. So, if you have 4-6 people over for dinner, it would also be ideal because while it’s in the oven, you can be doing other things, like last minute cleaning! Haha.

You need:
1. 1 whole chicken (about 5-6 lbs)
2. 2 lemons
3. 1 medium yellow onion
4. 1 tspn salt
5. 1 tspn black pepper
6. 2 tspn lemon pepper

You do:
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Empty cavity of chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out, and pat dry.
3. Place chicken in baking dish.
4. Cut lemons into 8 pieces each—cut into 4 wedges, and then cut each wedge in half.
5. Squeeze lemon pieces so that juice runs over chicken.
6. Cut onion into wedges as well.
7. Stuff chicken with lemon and onion—any pieces that won’t fit, you can place around the chicken.
8. Mix salt, pepper and lemon pepper together in small ramekin.
9. Sprinkle seasoning over chicken. Rub the seasoning with your hands to get under the drumsticks and wings.
10. Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 400F for 75-90 min (this time varies based on the size of your chicken, so make sure it’s done all the way to the bone).

Nom! Nom!

Chicken Fajitas

These are easy, quick, and relatively cheap--the three things I look for most in weeknight dinners!! And, you can top them with any number of condiments and veggies. Serve them with black beans and corn for a dinner party.

You'll need:

1. 1 lb chicken breasts (or chicken breast tenders)
2. 1 tspn oil
3. 1 green bell pepper
4. 1 red bell pepper
5. 1 small red onion
6. 1 packet taco seasoning
7. 1/2 cup water

Toppings:

1. lettuce, shredded
2. tomatoes, diced
3. cheddar cheese, shredded
4. salsa
5. guacamole
6. sour cream

You'll do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Line a cookie sheet (with sides) with aluminum foil.
3. Place chicken tenders on the foil and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until done (but don't overcook).
4. While chicken is cooking, heat 1 tspn oil over medium heat in large skillet.
5. Slice peppers and onions thinly and place in preheated skillet. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. When done, remove chicken from oven and let rest on pan for about 5 minutes.
7. After resting period, slice chicken vertically to make thin strips.
8. Add chicken, water and taco seasoning packet to pan. Stir thoroughly to coat chicken with seasoning.
9. Reduce heat to low and cover pan.
10. Allow meat and veggies to simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Serve fajita mix with tortillas and toppings. For sides, try grilled corn on the cob or seasoned black beans.

Nam! Nam!

Rosemary Marmalade Chicken

This is an excellent one-dish dinner...and it's great for leftovers if you're only feeding one or two people. The best part: it only has a few ingredients, and those aren't very expensive!

You'll need:

1. 5 lb. whole chicken
2. 4 medium russet potatoes
3. 1 large purple onion
4. 2 cups orange marmalade (I used sugar-free to save the calories)
5. 1/4 cup olive oil
6. 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
7. salt and pepper

You'll:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. First, remove the inner bag from the chicken and discard (don't look--it's pretty gross to me!). Then, wash the chicken with tap water inside and out. Set aside.
3. Wash and cut potatoes into cubes, bite-size or slightly larger. Place potatoes in the bottom of a large roasting pan, or 9x13 deep baking dish.
4. Cut onion into wedges. Spread onion over potatoes, and gently toss with your hands to mix them together.
5. Sprinkle potatoes and onions with about 1 tspn of salt and 1 tspn of pepper, or until your little heart is content.
6. Strip the leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary and sprinkle them over the potatoes and onion.
7. Place the chicken, with wings tucked under, on top of the potato/onion mixture in the dish.
8. In a bowl, mix orange marmalade, leaves from 2 sprigs of rosemary, oil, 1/4 tspn salt, and 1/4 tspn pepper.
9. Spoon marmalade mixture on top of chicken, and put about a tablespoonful inside the chicken (just for good measure).
10. Cover dish with lid, if available, or securely with aluminum foil.
11. Place in a 400F oven, and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until completely done. Cooking time is altered depending on the size of your chicken. For a shorter cooking time, about 1 hour, you can use 2 2-lb chickens. To check for done-ness, cut all the way to the bone after resting period.
12. After removing pan from oven, uncover and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
13. With a large serving spoon, spoon some of the juices onto the chicken. Transfer to a serving dish, or serve it in the same one you cooked it in (I certainly did!). Face it--there is nothing prettier than a centerpiece of a whole bird! HaHa! Enjoy. You can serve it with another side dish if you would like. I recommend something green, perhaps a salad.

Nam! Nam!

Chicken Stir-fry

I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any easier than this homemade dish that easily serves 4! Serve it with an eggroll (found in your grocer's freezer case) and you have a complete Asian-inspired meal. And, hey--there are so many good-for-you ingredients in this one, too! The vegetable mix I used includes broccoli and pea pods, and something else that I'm not sure about!

You need:

1. 1 tbsp vegetable oil
2. 12 oz. package fresh stir-fry veggies (produce section)
3. 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
4. 1/2 cup sliced purple onion
5. 1 lb. chicken, cut into small pieces
6. 4 cups cooked whole-grain or white rice
7. 1/2 cup orange juice
8. 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
9. 1 tspn soy sauce
10. 2 squirts of ketchup
11. 1 tspn corn starch

You do:

1. Heat oil in large skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add vegetables to pan (bell pepper, onion, and stir-fry mix). Cook for 5 minutes, or until veggies are slightly tender. (If you so desire, you can add a can of mini corn, or carrot matchsticks at this point as well.)
3. Add chicken to pan with veggies. Stir frequently and cook about 8 minutes, or until all chicken is cooked.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together orange juice, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch.
5. Once chicken is cooked, add juice mixture to pan.
6. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
7. Allow mixture to simmer, tossing from time to time, for about 5 minutes.
8. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Nam! Nam!

Cran-Orange Chicken

I'm not sure what to say about this...I was surprised at how good it turned out! It has a sweet fruit, an acidic fruit, and aromatic onion. It's just good!

You need:

1. 4 chicken breasts (or 8 tenders)
2. 4 green onion stalks
3. 15 oz can whole cranberry sauce
4. 10 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
5. 1 tspn garlic salt
6. 1/4 tspn salt
7. 1/2 tspn black pepper

You do:

1. Preheat to 350F.
2. If using chicken breasts, cut them as if forming a butterfly, but continue the cut. If using tenders, no cutting is necessary since there are already 8 pieces.
3. Place the chicken between two pieces of saran wrap and beat with a mallet until each piece is about 1/4 inch thick and the thickness is even throughout.
4. Once thinned, sprinkle each piece of chicken with the garlic salt and pepper on both sides.
5. Cut 2 of the green onion stalks into 2 to 3 inch sections so that you get at least sections from each stalk.
6. Place a 2-inch section of the onion on the edge of a chicken piece and roll the chicken up (mush like a crescent roll) around the onion. Place the chicken roll on a lined cookie sheet or glass dish. Repeat this for all 8 pieces of chicken.
7. Place dish with chicken in oven for 15-18 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
8. While chicken is cooking, put oranges in medium bowl. Using a fork, break up the oranges into small pieces.
9. Add the cranberry sauce to the bowl with oranges. And, break up the cranberry sauce with the fork, mixing the oranges in.
10. Add about 1/8 cup of diced green onions to the cranberry-orange sauce if desired.
11. Mix in 1/4 tspn of salt with cran-orange sauce. Cover bowl and refrigerate until serving.
12. Cut the last green onion stalk into 1-2 inch pieces.
13. For the last 3 minutes of cooking the chicken, place the green onion pieces on the dish also so that they can get crispy.
14. When finished cooking, place chicken rolls side by side on a dish (preferrably rectangle). Remove cran-orange sauce from refrigerator and spoon onto the top of chicken. Serve immediately.

Nam! Nam!

Caribbean Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

This dish is yummy and full of flavor. And, well...it's colorful to boot!

You'll need:

1. 1/4 cup Caribbean Jerk sauce or marinade
2. 1/4 cup cider vinegar
3. 1-1/2 cups orange juice
4. 10-12 chicken tenders or 4 chicken breasts
5. 1 package saffron rice
6. 15 oz. can of black beans
7. small can of pineapple tidbits (I think it's 8 or 10 oz)
8. 1/4 cup scallions, chopped

You'll do:

1. Coat a large teflon coated pan with cooking spray.
2. Heat pan to medium heat.
3. Place chicken in pan and cook on each side for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, bring 2-1/4 cups of water to a boil in a boiler and add rice. Cover and cook for 20 minutues.
5. In a small bowl, mix jerk sauce, vinegar, and orange juice.
6. Once chicken is cooked through, reduce heat to low-simmer. Add juice mixture to the pan with chicken. Cover pan and allow to simmer 20 minutes, turning once.
7. Meanwhile, drain juice from pineapples.
8. Mix pineapples with scallions in a small bowl and refrigerate until serving.
9. Drain black beans and rinse with cold water.
10. Once rice is cooked, mix rice with beans in a large bowl.
11. Serve chicken on top of rice and beans. Spoon a couple tablespoons of juice from pan on top of chicken. Add pineapple salsa to the top and serve.

MaMaw's Chicken Salad Sandwiches

This recipe can be adapted for simplicity and health!

What you'll need:

1. 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2. 1/4 cup dill pickles, chopped
3. 2 boiled eggs, diced
4. 2 tbsp mayonnaise
5. 8 slices wheat toast

What you'll do:

1. Mix the chicken, pickles, eggs, and mayonnaise in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Spread the mixture equally on 4 pieces of toast. Top with remaining pieces of toast.

For speed/simplicity: Use boiled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or canned shredded chicken. Instead of diced pickles, use dill relish, and buy the eggs already boiled in the produce department of upscale grocery stores. These pre-made ingredients make this a very quick meal!

For lower fat: Omit the egg yolks, and use light mayonnaise or miracle whip.

Serve with chips and fruit.

Nam! Nam!

Tangy Baked Chicken Tenders

I love chicken fingers, but the deep-fried version keeps my thighs looking way to healthy! So, these are a much lighter version, still full of flavor!

You'll need:

1. 6 chicken breast tenders (I used tyson)
2. 1 tbsp marinade (dale's low sodium for me)
3. 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
4. Lemon pepper (use as much of this as you would like--I probably sprinkle in about a teaspoon or so)

You'll do:

1. Defrost chicken tenders in large ziploc bag.
2. Add marinade, sauce, and lemon pepper to bag with chicken. Allow to sit in refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours, if you want to marinade it in the morning before work).
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Arrange tenders in pyrex dish or on lined cookie sheet.
5. Pierce each tender 2-3 times with fork so that the marinade can infuse while cooking.
6. Cook at 350 for approximately 8-10 minutes on each side (cooking times vary based on your oven. check chicken for doneness by inserting a fork or knife, if the utensil goes in smooth with no resistance, chicken is done.)
7. Serve as finger food or with forks!

Nam! Nam!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This needs no introduction...

You'll need:

1. 2 tbsp extra vigin olive oil
2. 1 cup onion, chopped
3. 1 cup carrots, sliced
4. 1 cup celery, sliced
5. 3 tspn minced garlic, from a jar (if fresh, use 5-6 tspn)
6. 2 tbsp flour
7. 1/2 tspn oregano
8. 1 tspn thyme
9. 1/4 tspn poultry seasoning
10. 64 oz chicken broth
11. 1/2 a rotisserie chicken (portion of dark and portion of light meat), diced or shredded
12. 6 oz egg noodles
13. Salt, optional (I don't use salt because the poultry seasoning and chicken usually have enough salt for my liking)

You'll do:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in large pot.
2. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and sautee for about 5 minutes.
3. Add flour and seasonings, mix well.
4. Just after stirring in spices and flour, add chicken broth (and salt if desired).
5. Allow soup to reach a boil and then reduce heat to low.
6. Cook for 15 minutes, cover and cook 15 more minutes.
7. Add chicken and egg noodles, and cook another 15 minutes (or until noodles are tender).

Serve with cheese toast or grilled cheese and gobble it up!

Enjoy!

Taco Soup

This makes a huge pot of soup. You can serve it to a lot of guests, or store it frozen for up to a month! Also, great for tailgating on a cool fall day. Serve alone, or with cheese quesadillas for a more filling meal.

You'll need:

1. 1 pound of ground chuck (or substitute shredded chicken)
2. 2 cans whole kernel corn, drain
3. 14.5 oz can pinto beans, NOT drained
4. 14.5 oz can light red kidney beans, drained
5. 1 can original rotel
6. 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes or tomato sauce
7. half a yellow onion, chopped
8. 2 packets taco seasoning
9. water

You'll do:

1. Brown ground chuck in large pot. (if using chicken, skip this step)
2. Drain meat, wipe out pot with paper towel, and return meat to pot.
3. Add taco seasoning packets.
4. Add corn, pinto beans, kidney beans, rotel, tomato sauce, and onion to pot.
5. Fill tomato can with water and empty into pot. Repeat.
6. Mix in pot.
7. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat, for at least an hour.

Enjoy!

Artichoke Chicken Pesto

A quick, easy blend of yummy flavors! Artichokes and spices make this chicken and pasta dish spunky! Add some grilled garlic bread for a complete meal.

What you need:

1. 2 chicken breasts

2. 1/2 box of whole wheat thin spaghetti

3. 14 oz can artichoke hearts, quartered

4. 1 tspn lemon juice

5. 1/2 tspn olive oil

6. 1/2 tspn lemon pepper seasoning

7. 1 envelope pesto mix

8. 1/4 cup olive oil

9. 3/4 cup water

What you do:

1. Bring medium-size pot of water to boil on stove. Add chicken to boiling water. Allow to cook through. About 5-8 minutes, depending on thickness.

2. Meanwhile, boil pasta in separate pot according to package directions.

3. Place chicken on cutting board. Discard water.

4. Dice or shred chicken into bite-size pieces (I like my shredded.)

5. Add chicken pieces back to pot.

6. Drain artichokes. Roughly chop artichoke hearts. They should be already quartered, so you'll only want to make them slightly smaller. Add artichokes to pot with chicken.

7. Mix lemon pepper, 1/2 tspn olive oil, and lemon juice to pot. Simmer on low, stirring occasionally.

8. Add pesto mix, 3/4 cup water, and 1/4 cup olive oil to small pot. Whisk constantly. Once ingredients come to a boil (about 2-3 min), remove from heat and place to side.

9. Drain pasta and place in large mixing bowl or serving dish.

10. Add chicken/artichoke mix to pasta.

11. Carefully pour pesto sauce over pasta and chicken.

12. Toss so that everything gets coated with pesto. Serve immediately.

This pairs great with bread. Just spread some butter on slices of french bread. Add garlic salt to each slice, and sprinkle with dry or freshly chopped parsley for color. Put in oven on hi broil until butter is melted and bread edges are brown.

Don't forget the wine!

Hot Wing Dip

I love hot wings... but unfortunately, they're deep fried and not very good for you. Becky introduced me to this nice substitution, and I've been in love ever since.

Grocery List:
1.) 2 or 3 Chicken Breasts
2.) Hot Wing Sauce (this can be found in the Marinade section)
3.) Fat Free Cream Cheese
4.) Fat Free Sour Cream
5.) Ranch mix (it's next to the salad dressing... I go with Hidden Valley. Look for the blue box.)
6.) Blue Cheese Crumbles.
7.) Frito's

Cut up your raw chicken into bite-sized pieces. Put it in a big zip-lock, and marinade in the hot wing sauce for about half an hour.

While you're waiting, mix together the whole block of cream cheese, the Ranch, and enough sour cream to make it smooth. I actually whip out the hand-held beaters for this, but if you're up for doing it by hand, then more power to you.

When the chicken is well soaked, spray a skillet with Pam, and cook it until it is white throughout, and there's no chance of you getting salmonella. Put the cooked chicken in an oven-safe container and top with the ranch mixture. Sprinkle the blue cheese on top, and throw it in the oven on 350 until it's warm throughout. Serve with Frito's... nomnomnom