Category: Chicken

Casseroles · Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Starches

Chicken Florentine Manicotti Alfredo

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Received my new Southern Lady magazine. I have wiped off the drool from the front cover as it displayed a gorgeous pecan-date pie which is just divine and went quickly pass the desserts in search of a new dinner recipe. This one sounded like it was meant for today, since we woke up to 27 degrees and need something that will “stick to our bones”. Of course during the last 2 months we have found lots of recipes that have “stuck to our bones”. That is why we are shopping this week for new clothes…a size larger. Of course we always say that we are just going mall walking, but in reality, all we do is walk into the stores and see what is on sale. But it sounds great when friends call and ask what we have been up to. “oh just got back from our walking the mall.”

Makes 6-8 servings *This recipe also freezes very well

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup firmly chopped green onion

1 teas garlic powder

1 (8 oz) package manicotti, cooked according to package directions

1/4 cup butter

2 tables flour

1/2 teas salt

2 cups whole milk

1/4 teas ground white pepper (I am cheating and using black, do not want to go back to grocery store)

1 1/2 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 tables Italian seasoning

1/2 teas ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13×9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, spinach, cream cheese, green onion, and garlic powder.

Beat at medium speed until well combined with hand mixer. Spoon chicken mixture into manicotti and place in prepared pan; set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add flour, salt and white pepper; cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually add milk, continuing to whisk. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for 4 min, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Spoon sauce over manicotti and sprinkle evenly with Italian seasoning and pepper.

Bake for 35 to 40 min or until bubbly and heated through.

*To make ahead and freeze you can completely make the casserole and just cover and freeze without baking. When ready to serve, thaw completely and bake in preheated 350 degree oven, uncovered for about 40 minutes or until bubbly hot.

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats · Starches

Enchiladas to Die For (well, maybe not die, but they are worth the calories)

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For the past 3 days,  I have been making casseroles that I sell each year. The two best sellers are Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas and Chicken Spaghetti. Having just finished about 30 of them, I had some of the sauce left over from the Chicken Spaghetti. Not enough for me to make a complete casserole but enough to not throw out. I began to think to myself that maybe if I added a can of green chile sauce to the mushroom spaghetti sauce I could whip up another pan of enchiladas. So I did and the results are so good that the next green chile enchiladas will be made with this sauce instead of what I usually use. OH MY GOSH!!!! Seriously good. Since I didn’t count on them being this good, I didn’t count out exact measurements but these measurements will get you the same results…had a few left over to keep for our dinner tonight (which will be in addition to the 2 I scarfed down “testing them” to see if they were good. So here is what I did.

8 corn tortillas

1 cup chopped chicken breast

1 small can of diced green chiles

1 cup of mild green chile enchilada sauce

1 regular size can of cream of mushroom soup

1 small can Rotel Tomatoes with Chiles (mild)

1/2 cup of chopped onions, 1/2 cup of green bell pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

About 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken broth

1 cup diced onion (in addition to the above 1/2 cup)

Garlic to taste

Seasoned Salt and Pepper to taste

Oil

First, in a large skillet, heat about 2 tables oil until hot. Add the chopped onions and bell peppers and cook until tender. Add the chopped chicken, 1/2 can of the diced green chiles, seasoned salt, pepper and garlic. Stir while cooking over medium heat for about 5 min.  Take up and place in a bowl and set aside.

Using the same skillet, heat another 1 tables of oil and add the 1 cup of diced onion, stirring until onion is clear. Add the mushroom soup, the can of Rotel Tomatoes and Chiles,  the rest of the diced green chiles,  can of mild green chile enchilada sauce and slowly add the chicken broth just enough to make it the consistency you like for pouring over the enchiladas. Season with more garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, adding chicken broth as needed to keep a nice thick pouring consistency. Set aside. Hang in there, we are almost done.

*If you like a more spicy flavor, get the hotter Rotel chile-tomatoes and the spicier enchilada sauce.

In another skillet, heat about 2 tables oil until sizzling. take the corn tortillas and fry them on each side in the hot oil for about 2 -3 seconds per side. Place on paper towel to soak up some of the oil. If you skip this step, the enchiladas will be soggy and tough.

Now, grease a baking dish that will hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Place about 1 full Tables of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish.  Take one of the corn tortillas and place about a teaspoon full of the chicken-green chile mixture and place it in the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle about 1 teas of shredded cheddar over the chicken mixture. Roll up the tortilla and place in the baking dish. Repeat until all 8 tortillas have been filled and placed in the dish. Sprinkle the top of the enchiladas with more cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for about 20-25 min.

I did NOT say that these are good for you, I just said they were great tasting. Tomorrow you can go back to your health shake and salads.

 

 

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats

Chicken Breasts Lombardy

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A friend of mine brought me 2 sacks of cookbooks that she was getting rid of, knowing how I love to look through them, she immediately called me to see if I wanted them…one of those was Five Star Recipes from Southern Living which has a picture with each recipe. This one caught by eye and cannot wait to get back in town to make it.

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

2 tables butter, melted

6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup butter, melted and divided

3/4 cup Marsala or any white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

1/2 cup ( 2 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Cook mushrooms in 2 tables butter in a large skillet, stirring constantly, just until tender. Remove from heat; set aside.

Cut each chicken breast half in half lengthwise. Place each piece of chicken between two sheets of wax paper.; flatten to 1/8″ thickness, using a mat mallet or rolling pin. I prefer to cut each piece into smaller pieces.

Dredge chicken pieces in flour. Place 5-6 pieces of chicken in 1 to 2 tables butter in a large skillet; cook over medium heat 3-4 min on each side or until golden. Place chicken in a lightly greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish or other large casserole dish. repeat procedure with remaining chicken and butter. Reserve pan drippings in skillet. Sprinkle reserved mushrooms over chicken.

Add wine and broth to skillet. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper. pour sauce over chicken. Combine cheese and green onions; sprinkle over chicken.

Bake uncovered at 450 for 12-14 min. Broil 6″ from heat (if you have electric oven, allow door to be partially opened), 1-2 min or until browned.

Serves 6-8

Chicken · Holiday Fare · Meats · Soups

Super-Bowl

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What a great soup for using leftover turkey, or having it for Super-Bowl parties or on those cold weather evenings.

6 tables unsalted butter, plus melted butter for brushing

1 small onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 clove garlic, minced

5 tables flour

1 qt chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup shredded white American cheese (about 4 oz)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (about 6 oz)

1 cup diced deli ham

1 cup diced leftover roast turkey

6 slices baguette

6 slices bacon

1/2 pt grape tomatoes, thinly sliced

3 tables chopped fresh parsley

Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery and garlic; cook, stirring, until softened, abut 4 minutes. Stir in the flour and whisk, about 1 min. Add the broth and cream;, stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the American cheese and 1 cup of the cheddar until melted. Add the ham and turkey and heat through, 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, keeping warm with lid.

Spread the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter. Transfer to the oven and toast until golden, abut 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, turning until crisp. Drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, crumble.

Toss the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Lade the soup into bowls and top with the toasted baguette, the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar, divided between the 6 bowls, and the tomato-parsley mixture and crumbled bacon. YUM!

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Meats · Soups

Suppers On…Come & Get It, Oops, I Mean, Dinner is Served

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I can’t help it, I lived almost 60 of my butter-laden years in the south, where folks come to supper, not dinner. When I found this new recipe last night in the Food Network Magazine, (which I will get to in a minute, but have to get this story out of my system first) I remembered an incident from dining out a few nights ago. First of all, just to begin this story, I am no longer allowed to talk about dinner anymore when in public. Returning home from Texas, home of Whataburger, Dr Pepper and Blue Bell, some of my all time favorite things, Mr. Sourheart, aka, Randy (the closer it gets to holiday time, he quickly changes from sweetheart to sourheart) picked me up from the airport and whisked me away to one of our favorite restaurants. Actually it is one of his favorites, because it is the only place in California where you can get Blue Bell ice cream.  As  we are sitting outside, enjoying the gorgeous weather, just waiting for our food to arrive, we are talking about how he is so glad to have me home so he doesn’t have to eat by himself. It was at this point that I asked, “what did you eat for supper while I was gone last week?” You can’t imagine the stares that came my way. Randy hid behind his napkin. I thought there for a minute we were going to be asked to leave or at least take the table by the kitchen door. People from the tables around us began to look my way and then whisper to their table companions. I felt so ashamed. Fortunately, our food arrived and Randy quickly stuffed a roll in my mouth before I could say anything more. He quietly “encouraged” me to save that kind of talk for when we were alone. Note to self….when not in the South, I eat dinner, not supper! There is just something wrong with ordering chicken fried steak with cream gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner, but sounds so much better when you are ordering it for supper. Tonight, because we are all alone, I am making this new delicious sounding soup for supper. Tomorrow, we are having company and  prime rib for dinner.  Am looking for new friends that don’t mind coming to supper, rather than coming for dinner. Think I will post the recipe in a new post, I got a little carried away thinking about dinner vs supper.

Supper

Chicken Fried Anything

Taters

Collard Greens

Gravy

Cobblers

Hot Biscuits with butter and jelly

Sweet Taters

Macaroni & Cheese

Corn on the Cob

Dinner

Prime Rib

Au Jus

Brussels Sprouts

Green Beans with Proscuitto

Stuffed Mushrooms

Merignues

See the difference?

 

Casseroles · Chicken · Meats

Butter Baked Chicken & Gravy

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If the first word in the title doesn’t hook you, I bet the last one will. Butter and gravy…two of the best things ever! This dish is such a comfort food it will warm your hearts and satisfy the most fussy eater.

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup flour

11/4 teas salt

1/2 teas black pepper

1/2 teas garlic powder

1/2 teas onion powder

1 (15 oz) can evaporated milk, divided

1 (4 1/2 lb) chicken, cut into pieces

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken or celery or mushroom soup (your preference, I prefer the celery or mushroom, as it is not such a over powering chicken flavor)

1/4 cup water

Hot cooked rice

Asparagus or Fresh Green Beans

Preheat oven to 350.

Pour melted butter into a 13×9″ lightly greased baking dish

In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt

In another separate shallow dish, pour 1/2 cup evaporated milk. Coat chicken pieces with evaporated milk; dredge each in flour mixture. Place chicken, skin side up, in prepared baking dish. Bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn chicken.

In a small bowl, combine soup, water and remaining evaporated milk; pour oven chicken. Return to oven for 35 minutes longer. Remove chicken from baking dish; whisk gravy in baking dish until smooth. Serve chicken and gravy with rice or mashed potatoes and green veggie.

Chicken · Holiday Fare · Meats

Dressed Up Chicken

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In an old SLM, Oct 2003, there was a recipe that has caught my eye, 10 years later. Using canned biscuits as the bread bowl that holds the chicken mixture that makes a very simple dinner, the individual little bowls make dinner personal and elegant. Substitute turkey for the chicken to use leftover turkey in November.
To make the bread bowls:
1 (16.3 oz) can refrigerated jumbo flaky biscuits
Vegetable cooking spray
Roll each biscuit to a 5″ circle.
Invert 8 custard cups or ramekins, several inches apart on a lightly greased baking dish. Coat the outside of the cups/ramekins with cooking spray.
Mold flattened biscuits around outside of custard cups and bake at 350 for 14 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool slightly and remove biscuits bowls from the ramekins/cups.
Note: frozen biscuits may be substituted. Let thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes or overnight in fridge.
Biscuits may be slightly sticky; lightly flour before rolling out. Bake at 350 for 16-19 minutes.

Fill with Dressy Chicken
2 tables butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teas dried tarragon
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 package (16 oz package) frozen peas and carrots, thawed
1 (2 oz) jar diced pimiento, drained
1/4 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and mushrooms. Saute 2-3 minutes or until tender.
Whisk soup, 1/2 cup milk, sour cream, and tarragon together. Cook over medium heat 3-5 minutes. Add 1 cup Cheddar Cheese, stirring constantly until cheese melts. Stir in cooked chicken, carrots and peas, pimiento, salt and pepper.
Cook over low heat, stirring often for about 10 minutes.
Spoon hot mixture into biscuit bowls. Serve immediately.

Chicken · Meats

#785 Way to Cook Chicken

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They just keep coming. Just when you think that no one can invent another way to bake chicken, but here it is folks, a new recipe that really is a great recipe. Our daughter, Christi, who lives in Orlando texted this to me a few days ago. I went to the store, have bought the chicken and am making it tonight. She assured me that it is just so moist and yummy. She is a teacher and a mom of our sweet little Kenley (of course you knew that we would finally be given a granddaughter, but lives on the other side of the world, I mean Florida)  After our 4 grandsons, I guess you don’t have to wonder about how many pink dresses are flying over your heads right now, being sent to her from California. Anyway, sorry, I got carried away. Will update you tomorrow as to how amazing this recipe is after we indulge tonight on this new treasure.

1 lb of chicken (I am using chicken breasts)

1/2 cup mayo

1/4 cup parmesan

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Spray a baking dish with Pam. Mix mayo and parmesan cheese. Place chicken in baking dish and spread the mayo mixture on top of chicken. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes, (depending on which chicken pieces you use, breasts always take a little longer) Christi assures us that this is the BEST and moist chicken.

She also said that you could use plain Greek yogurt, adding a little lemon juice to it before adding the parmesan cheese, to save calories and fat content.

Chicken · Daily Thoughts · Meats · Starches

Security Guards & Smouthered Chicken

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While living in CA we went onto watch the Ranger vs Angels play. We were excited to be going out to an evening of eating junk food without guilt. Why is it, when you are enjoying sports events or carnivals, car shows or festivals, we eat as though none of the calories will turn to fat? We pigged out on two tubs of popcorn, peanuts and foot long hot dogs. But we did have the sense to wash it all down with a diet Pepsi, after all, we do have to watch our cholesterol. We didn’t concern ourselves one iota with the fact that we had consumed more calories in one night that we had all week. But it was ok, we were watching baseball.

It was at this point in the evening, when we realized that we had eaten our way through the first 4 innings. We then began to notice two security guards, which walked back and forth, back and forth, right in front of us. The “lady” guard walked in front of “baby Huey” guard, neither one of them looking to the left or to the right, just straight ahead. We became so interested in them that we missed a homerun. We noticed that Baby Huey guard was probably not over the age of 25 and maybe was in training. If lady guard stopped, he stopped, when lady guard walked, he walked, always the same amount of space between them.  Baby Huey must have weighed over 300 lbs and I must say that there was no way he would have been able to run for help or chase anyone trying to steal 3rd base. I truly am in horrible physical shape and over weight. The heaviest thing I can probably lift would be a extra large piece of cheesecake to my mouth. The only time I even try to run is when the blue light comes on at KMart, but I am here to tell you, I think I would be able to beat Baby Huey to be first in line at the hamburger stand. It didn’t give us a sense of security at all. We both sat there and wondered, “what is the biggest size of security uniforms made”? As we watched the snack guys running up and down the stands, yelling, “hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream”, we talked among ourselves about why didn’t they make these guys the security people? They are able to run up and down the stairs without having to carry an oxygen tank with them. They can throw a hot dog through the air like it was a feather. If a terrorist was running after me, I would vote for the hot dog guy to come to my aid any day before Baby Huey. At least he could stuff cotton candy down the terrorist throat, giving me a chance to hide under the hot dog cart. So we came away, knowing that we will be writing to the NBL with our suggestion that they switch the roles. Snack guys would become security people, baby Huey’s would become snack guys.

Ok, that is off my chest I can post the recipe that I am making tonight. We are headed to watch Forever Plaid and need to eat and run (well, not like the hot dog guys, we will take the car). This is a quick easy recipe that uses store bought rotisserie chicken.

1 (8 oz) package wide egg noodles

1 teas paprika

1 teas dried thyme leaves, crumbled

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

3 tables butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 (16 oz) package mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tsp minced garlic

1 (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup

1 cup milk

1/3 cup dry white wine (or more milk if you don’t want to use wine)

1 rotisserie chicken cut into serving pieces

1 tables chopped fresh parsley

Prepare noodles as directed on package. Set aside and keep warm

Stir together paprika, dried thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and sauté 8-10 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in garlic and paprika mixture. Saute 2 more minutes. Add soup, milk and wine. Bring to just beginning to boil stage, stirring frequently. Add chicken pieces. spoon sauce over top of chicken. Reduce to a low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in 1 tables parsley. Serve over hot cooked noodles.

Serves: 4

Chicken · Fruit · Salads

Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad

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This is the second one I couldn’t wait to post.

8 oz uncooked angel hair pasta

2 cups cubed chicken breast

1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix

1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained

1 medium sweet red bell pepper, julienned or finely chopped

1 cup fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved

2/3 cup reduced-fat Asian toasted sesame salad dressing (can you believe I am actually posting a recipe that has the word “reduced fat”) I am so proud of me

1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts (I added about 1/2 cup, love the peanuts in this)

Cook pasta according to package directions and then set aside after draining to cool.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, coleslaw mix, oranges, red pepper, snap peas and green onions. Sprinkle with salt. Toss to combine.

Add pasta and dressing to chicken mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts. YUM….