Chicken-taco cornbread pie

1 T. oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast-chopped
1 green pepper- chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning
3/4 c. water
1 c. cheddar cheese
1 pkg(8.5 oz.) corn muffin mix

Heat oven to 400°F.

HEAT oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 min. or until done. Stir in peppers, seasoning mix and water. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 10 min., stirring occasionally.

SPOON into 9-inch pie plate; sprinkle with cheese. Prepare muffin mix as directed on package; spoon over cheese, completely covering cheese layer.

BAKE 20 min. or until golden brown. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Quick Chicken A La King

I typically have these basic ingredients in my home. A great recipe when I need a plan B!

Ingredients:

1 T. margarine or butter
half of chopped red or green pepper
1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of milk
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken
4 cups hot cooked long-grain and wild rice or hot cooked rice

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat margarine;

Add pepper and cook until tender;

Add soup, milk and chicken.

Heat through, stirring occasionally;

Serve over rice.

Garnish with fresh parsley (optional)

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Twenty years ago, I thought this was gourmet! This recipe circulated during a time when I could not cook anything without some sort of can of soup in it.

Ingredients:

3 T. cornstarch
1 can (10 oz) condensed chicken broth
1 T. veggie oil
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breates, cut into 1-inch piecees
1 can (8oz) pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 small green and/or red pepper, cut into 2-inch strips
4 cups hot cooked rice

In bowl mix cornstarch and broth until smooth; set aside;

In medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil; add chicken in 2 batches and stir fry until browned; Set chicken aside. Pour off fat.

Reduce heat to medium; add pineapple, sugar, vinegar and pepper; heat to boil;

Stir in cornstarch mixture and add. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly;

Return chicken to pan; Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice.

One -Dish Chicken & Stuffing Bake

Easy. Whip it up and put those feet up.

Preheat oven 400*

Ingredients:


1 1/4 cups boiling water
4 T margarine or butter, melted
4 C Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing
4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halft
Paparika
1 can (10 oz) condensed cream of mushroom shoup
1/3 C milk
1 T chopped freshe parsley or 1 t. dried parley

Mix water and margarine; add stuffing; mix lightly;

Spoon stuffing across center of 3-quart shallow baking dish, leaving space on both sides for chicken; Arrange chicken on each side of stuffing; sprnkle paprika over chicken;

Mix soup, milk and parley; pour over chicken;

Cover and bake 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink;

If desired, garnish with additional fresh parsley.

Easy Parmesan Chicken Fingers

We had these for dinner tonight. They were so easy to make and my kids ate them without asking how many bites they needed to eat to be done :) I think these would be a great "chicken nugget" for lunch. I will be sending these with my daughter to school somedays. Thank you to Martha Stewert Everyday Food for the recipe

1/3 C Panko or plain dried bread crumbs (I used Panko as the texture is always more crunchy)
1/3 C grated Parmesan
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in the upper third. In a small bowl, mix together panko and parmesan. In a 9x13-inch baking dish, toss chicken with 1 tsp oil and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken in a single layer and sprinkle with panko mixture. Drizzle with 1 TBSP oil and bake on upper rack until topping is golden brown and chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Chicken Picante

Haven't had this in a while. Great last minute dinner especially if you always have the 10 pound bag of Foster Farms frozen chicken breasts from Costco in the freezer:

Ingredients:
4 boneless,, skinless frozen chicken breasts
1 cup medium chunky salsa
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 T. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup sour cream
1 lime sliced into 4 segments
Chopped cilantro for garnishing

Preheat oven to 375*. Line a baking dish with foil;

In a bowl, mix salsa, mustard and lime juice;

Place frozen chicken in a pan. Top with salsa mixture;

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Remove foil and continue cooking until center reaches 170*, about 10-15 minutes;

Remove chicken to serving platter;

Place one tablespoon of sour cream on each breast half, top with lime segment, garnish with cilantro.

Waaaalaaaa, dinner on the table!

Cucumber Salsa

I must really love you gals to share my secret recipes.
My favorite topping for salmon, halibut and chicken:

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/3 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
3 T. rice vinegar (I like the garlic version too)
2 T. veggie oil
1/4 t. sugar just a dash
1/8 t. salt, just a dash

Chop and combine all ingredients;

Let it marinate in the fridge.

Top on your favorite fish or white meat.

Have some Listerine for afterwards or just embrace the party that's going on in your mouth!

Fish or White Meat Marinade

Inspired by a Pampered Chef recipe and I added a few ingredients.

Ingredients

1 T. peeled fresh ginger root, finely chopped
2 T. sesame oil
1 T. snipped fresh cilantro (I use a bunch)
1 lime or lemon (sliced)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 1/2 lbs salmon filets.

Mix the first five ingredients in bowl;

Place salmon in resealable plastic bag;

Add marinade and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. I try for 4-6 hours.

Remove salmon and it's ready for baking, broiling, or bbq!

Easy, Dangerously Creamy Italian Chicken

This is a WINNER at our house! We all love it.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each)
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (4 oz) mushroom stems and pieces, drained (we leave those out at our home)
Hot cooked pasta (I like egg noodles) or rice

1) Place the chicken in a 3-qt slow cooker. Combine salad dressing mix and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
2) In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and soup until blended. Stir in mushrooms. Pour over chicken. Cook 1 hour longer or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over pasta or rice.

Easy,Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

3 whole chicken breasts,boiled and chopped
(2) 10.5 oz cans of cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup of sour cream
4 oz can of mild, chopped green chiles
tortillas
3 cups of cheddar/monterey jack
Olives for garnish
Enchilada sauce (For this recipe I use Old El Paso or La Victoria)

Instructions:
Preheat oven 350*.
Mix chicken, sour cream, cr. of chicken soups, and chiles together. Spread mixture into tortillas. Put in a greased 13x9 pan.
Cheese it evenly.
Pour the enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Garnish with olives on top, if desired.
Bake for 35 min or until heated through.

Enchiladas

2 cups cubed (or shredded) cooked chicken (or leftover crockpot roast beef)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can sliced olives
8 oz bad shredded cheese
1 jar (12 oz) salsa
1 pkg corn tortillas
Canola oil, - sour cream to taste.

Combine chicken, onion, garlic, olives, and half of the cheese and salsa together. Mix well.
In pan, heat 3/4 in oil over low/med heat. Once oil is warm ,place single tortilla in oil, covering with oil, removing after approx 10-20 sec. Place 1-2 T of chicken mixture on tortilla lengthwise, roll, place in baking dish seam side down. Repeat until ingredients are gone. (Place enchiladas close together in baking dish).
Pour remaining salsa over enchiladas. Cover with remaining cheese evenly.
Bake at 375* for 20-30 min or until cheese is melted, bubbling, and starting to brown. Serve with sour cream and rice.

White Chili

Here's a favorite meal in our home, especially when it's cold outside! It warms you from the inside out.

1/4 C butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1+ clove garlic
4C 1/2 in cubes cooked chicken or turkey
3C chicken broth
2T+ chopped fresh cilantro
1T dried basil leaves
2t chili powder
2 cans (15-16oz each)Great Northern Beans, undrained

Melt margarine/butter in dutch oven/large pot over medium heat. Cook onion & garlic in butter, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.
Stir in remaining ingredients; heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to low.
Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally

Buffalo Chicken Dip

More football food!!

This is a very raved about recipe. I think I originally got it from Lisa Storaci, but have tweaked it just a little.


Buffalo Chicken Dip
1 C. cooked chicken, diced
1 C. Franks Red Hot sauce
1-8 oz pkg cream cheese (s0ftened)
1 C. Ranch dressing
1 C. Bleu Cheese crunbles

Mix together the cream cheese and ranch dressing in a mixing bowl. Carefully stir in the bleu cheese and set aside.

In an oven safe bowl mix together the chicken and the Franks Red Hot sauce. Pour the cheese mixture over the top.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes (until hot and bubbly).

Serve with celery sticks and Stacy's Pita Chips.

YUMM!

Fried Chicken

I have NEVER made fried chicken. Ever. But drumsticks were on sale this week (and by on sale I mean $2.59/lb as opposed to $3.59/lb normally.....crazy, huh!) and up here we eat what's on sale. Dave was getting together w/ some guys to watch some big game, I dunno, something about Ducks and Tigers I think, and requested some guy food, so fried chicken it was. I pulled out my trusty Pioneer Woman cookbook, knowing for sure she would have a fried chicken recipe in there. And she does. But it required soaking the chicken in buttermilk overnight. Hahaha, I had an hour and a half before the games started, so there would be no overnight soaking for my chicken. Instead I took what I knew from making Pioneer Woman's Chicken Fried steak (which, on a side note, I stood in line for 5 hours last Spring for her to autograph my cookbook! She signed the inside cover page and then I asked her to sign my "greasy page", which happened to be the chicken fried steak page. She laughed so hard, then signed a big heart around my grease spots!)

Now, back to the fried chicken. What I knew was I needed dry, wet, then dry again to make a good coating. Here is what I came up with:

Trish's Fried Chicken
12-15 drumsticks (or other chicken parts), skin on
2 1/2 C flour (divided)
4 eggs
3/4 C Franks red hot sauce
2 T. Garlic powder
2-3 T Onion Powder
2 T Lawry's seasoning salt
Oil for frying

You'll also need three shallow bowls, two plates and a foil lined cookie sheet (Did I mention this is messy?)

rinse your chicken parts, pat them dry and place them on one of the plates.
preheat your oil. some people (like the Pioneer Woman) swear by frying in a cast iron skillet, others really like those fry daddy fryers. I've got neither, so I just used my electric skillet and put about an inch and a half of oil in it. It worked just fine!
place 1/2 cup of the flour in a shallow bowl.
beat the egg in another shallow bowl and add the franks red hot sauce.
in another shallow bowl, mix the remaining 2 cups flour with the seasonings (garlic, onion and seasoning salt) in the third shallow bowl.

Now you'll have three bowls and a plate of raw chicken in front of you.
Dredge the chicken in the plain flour and shake off the excess (you just want a light dusting), then the egg mixture, then the seasoned flour mixture. Continue with each piece of chicken until they are all coated, stacking them on the other plate.

check your oil to see if it is hot enough (I just dropped a little piece of the coating off my fingers into the oil, if it sizzles good then it's ready!) Be careful not to let your oil get to hot. I had my electric skillet set on 350 for the whole time.

Oh, and preheat your oven to 350 also.

Now, carefully place your chicken into the heated oil to fry. It will take about 6 minutes per side (give or take). Pay close attention to it!

Once it is well browned on all sides, transfer it to the cookie sheet and put it in the oven. (this will finish off the cooking and keep it warm while you fry more).

Allow to cool just a few minutes before serving because no one enjoys hot grease running down their chin.

Serve to the guys watching football in the other room!

Do It Yourself Spring Rolls

This is my daughter's favorite meal. They both love helping make it and assembling their own spring roll. Enjoy. I got it out of a Sunset magazine.


Cook 4 oz of thin rice noodles as package directs. On a large platter, set out leaves from 1 head butter lettuce; 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken; 2 peeled, seeded, and sliced papayas; 1 cup fresh mint leaves; 1/2 cup store bought spicy peanut sauce; 1/2 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts; 3 green onions, sliced into thin strips; and lime wedges. Put 12 large sheets rice paper on a separte plate. Set out a large bowl of boiling water so diners can dip their rice papers (allow 1 minute to soften), then assemble spring roll.

I have had better luck with the rice paper if the water is not boiling, other wise, it is hard to keep from sticking to itself.

Teriyaki Chicken

I tried a new Teriyaki chicken recipe tonight - out of an old Everyday food magazine. We all really liked it! I think next time I may use a bit less honey, but it sure was yummy!

2 T soy sauce
1 T rice vinegar
1/2 cup honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp grated, peeled fresh ginger (Winco was out so I used about 1 tsp dry)
1 whole chicken

1. preheat oven to 450. Mix everything in a bowl (except the chicken :). Divide the sauce into two bowls. One for basting, one to use as a sauce at the end.

2. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut chicken into pieces and place on sheet. (I cooked mine with the skin on - like the picture - and just removed it for eating.) Baste with sauce. Place in oven for 20 minutes basting twice with pan juices. Place chicken on lower rack of oven, basting again, for 10 minutes.

3. It didn't say to heat the extra sauce, but I did. Serve with rice and steamed veggie. Yummo!

Chicken spezzatino ( italian soup-stew)

This is a healthy favorite at our house. It's from Giada Delaurantis's Everyday Italian cookbook.

2 Tbs. olive Oil
2 celery stalks, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 (14 1/2 oz)can chopped tomatoes with their juices
1 (14 oz)can chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 Tbs tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 chicken breasts with ribs ( about 1 1/2 pounds total)
1 (15 oz)can kidney beans ( I like to use the little white canelinni beans)

In a heavy 5 quart sauce pan, heat the oil over a meduim flame. Add the celery, carrot, and onion, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken and press to submerge. Bring the liquid to a simmer gently, uncovered , turning the breasts over and stirring occasionally, until the chicken isalmost cooked through, about 20 minutes. add the beans and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid has reduced to a stew consistancy, about 10 minutes. Discard teh bay leaf. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. Discard the skin and bones and cut the meat into bite size pieces. Return it to the stew and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed. I like to top it with parmesean cheese!

* I just use boneless chicken breasts. I also double the batch while I'm at it and freeze the rest

Kid's Favorite Cornflake Chicken

Sometimes we make things and forget about them, even if they are great. Seems to be happening to me a lot lately! Benjamin reminded me of a recipe I used to make. Cornflake Chicken! All the kids, and adults gobbled it up. I used chicken tenderloins bc it was easy to defrost and they were already in small pieces, but you could use breasts cut up or any cut of meat, really.

Cornflake Chicken
2 Tbsp butter + 1/4-1/2 c butter
1/2 c crushed corn flakes cereal, maybe a little more
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1.5 lbs cut up chicken in strips or tenderloins

Heat oven to 400. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in 9 x 13 pan. Take out when melted to make sure it doesn't burn. Crush corn flakes. I put enough to fill a ziplock sandwich bag. Zip the bag, with air pushed out , crush with rolling pin. Mix flakes, paprika, salt and pepper. Melt 1/4 c butter in bowl, melt more as needed. Dip chicken in butter, then roll in corn flake mixture. Place in 9 x 13 pan. Bake on 400 for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken. Test frequently so they don't dry out. Don't turn, otherwise the corn flakes fall off. Serve with BBQ, ranch, ketchup, etc.

Cream Cheese Chicken

This is an easy and really delicious crock pot meal a friend gave me. You're gonna love it! I was told it freezes well too.

4 frozen chicken breasts
2 T melted butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 T dry zesty Italian salad dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. cream cheese cut into 1" cubes
1 T onion, chopped

Place chicken in bottom of crock pot, pout butter and seasonings over chicken. Cook on low 6 hours. 1 hour prior to serving, heat soup, cream cheese and onion in saucepan until smooth. Pour over chicken and continue cooking for 45 min-1 hour. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

It is kind of a Mexican tortilla casserole. A great freezer recipe. I thought I saw one similar to this on here before but now I can't find it, so I hope this isn't a repeat of one someone else has posted. We really like this though and it is great to make and split and put 1/2 in the freezer and 1/2 for dinner that night.

1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz.)
3/4 c pace picante sauce
3/4 c sour cream
1 Tble chili powder
2 med. tomatoes, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 c cubed cooked chicken or turkey
12 corn tortillas (6 inches), cut or torn into 1 inch pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Mix soup, picante sauce, sour cream, chili powder, tomatoes and chicken.

2. In 2 qt. shallow baking dish arrange half the tortilla pieces. Top with half the chicken mixture. Repeat layers.

3. Sprinkle with cheese.

4. Freeze uncooked. Defrost and bake for 40 minutes at 350.