Category Archives: Chicken

May 5, 2010 · 11:12 pm

Mexican Chicken Salad with Black Beans and Corn

I have been making this salad for years. It is pretty quick and easy and is great on a hot night when you don’t want to turn on the oven.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, already cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Lettuce
Ranch Dressing
Salsa
Tortilla Chips

Directions:
Get out a bowl for each person that will be eating.

Place a few handfuls of lettuce in the bottom of each bowl.

Divide the chicken evenly among the bowls and place on top of the lettuce.

Place about 1/4 c. of corn into each salad bowl and place on top of chicken.

Place about 1/4 c. of black beans into each salad bowl and place on top of corn.

Sprinkle crushed tortilla chips on top of each salad.

Serve with salsa and ranch dressing. When you put them both on the salad and mix it all together it is super yummy!

What does the family think? Hubby and I really like this salad. The kids will eat the chicken and the lettuce and sometimes a stray bean or corn kernel. They insist on eating it with the salad dressing they always use though which can’t possibly be nearly as tasty as ranch dressing and salsa mixed together. 🙂

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Mexican, Super Easy to Make

May 2, 2010 · 5:28 am

Mississippi Oven-Fried Chicken

All of the yumminess of fried chicken with only a little bit of the guilt.

Ingredients:
1 broiler-fryer chicken
1/2 c. fine bread crumbs
2 tspn. salt
1 tspn. paprika
1/4 tspn. pepper
1/4 c. melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash chicken pieces and pat dry.

In a medium bowl combine bread crumbs, salt, paprika and pepper. Stir to thoroughly mix.

Brush each piece of chicken with butter and then roll in the bread crumb mixture.

Place each piece of chicken in a lightly greased shallow baking dish skin side up.

Bake at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

What does the family think? I LOVE this chicken. It is so good!!! Hubby and our oldest like it and our youngest isn’t a big chicken fan, but he will eat it. I don’t make this a lot though because I am the only person in my family that will eat dark meat. That’s a lot of dark meat for only one person.

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Filed under Chicken, Six Ingredients or Less

April 27, 2010 · 5:40 am

Chicken Pastina Soup

This has pesto in it and as far as I am concerned anything with pesto in it is good. 🙂

Ingredients:
1/2 c. water
(2) 14 oz. cans of chicken broth
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces, precooked
2 1/4c. chopped carrot, celery and onion mix
Salt and pepper to season
1/4 c. uncooked pastina (tiny star-shaped pasta)
3T pesto (or more if you’d like)
2T lemon juice
1/4 c. shredded parmesan

Directions;
Bring water and chicken broth to a boil in a Dutch oven.

Stir in veggies and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Add pasta and cook 4 minutes.

Stir in pesto and juice and simmer for one minute.

Serve and top with parmesan cheese.

We usually have this with a yummy fresh baguette from the bakery.

Did I change anything? No! This recipe is perfect and simple as is. However, if you don’t have pastina, I am sure you could use some other little pasta. Also, sometimes I can’t find the celery, carrot, onion mix in the freezer section at the grocery, so I will either just make my own mix of veggies or use the Italian frozen veggie mix that has zucchini in it.

What did the family think? Hubby and I love this soup. The kids aren’t too keen on soup of any kind.

Adapted from a Cooking Light recipe

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Italian, Stew/Soup, Super Easy to Make

April 24, 2010 · 7:42 am

Nutty Noodles

We are in the middle of moving, so I have not been doing a lot of cooking the past few days. This dish I found a few years ago in Parents magazine. I haven’t made it in a long while, but it will probably be one of the first meals I cook in our new house.

Ingredients:
8 oz. multigrain thin spaghetti or soba noodles
1 c. crinkle-cut carrots
2 c. frozen shelled edamame
1 c. snow peas, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1/2 c. Thai peanut sauce
2 tbspn. creamy peanut butter
2 tbspn. soy sauce
Chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles. Place the carrots in the pot to cook with the noodles. Cook for five minutes and add edamame and snow peas to pasta and carrots. Cook 3-5 minutes longer or until pasta and veggies are tender. Drain and return to saucepan.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together peanut sauce, peanut butter and soy sauce. Stir the peanut sauce into the pan with the noodles and veggies. Dish into individual bowls and top with fresh cilantro.

Did I change anything? It has been a while since we ate this, put I think I added some red pepper flakes for a little heat and I think I also added some shredded chicken for more protein.

Next time? The next time I make this I think I am going to make more sauce. It is better to have too much sauce than not enough.

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again

April 23, 2010 · 8:20 am

Penne with Blue Cheese, Pesto and Asparagus

I am ready and willing to try anything with pesto and I absolutely love blue cheese, so I knew this one was going to be a winner before I even tasted it.

Ingredients:
8 oz. penne
1/2 c. pesto
1/4 c. crumbled blue cheese
1/2 lb. frozen or fresh asparagus spears

Directions:
Cook pasta per the directions on the box.

Put pesto and blue cheese in a mixing bowl and mash them together with a fork.

During the last 3 minutes of the penne cooking time, add asparagus to pot and cook until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain penne and asparagus well in colander. Add to the bowl with the pesto and stir to coat them well.

Did I change anything? Yes. The original recipe called for walnuts. We didn’t have any walnuts so I didn’t make it that way. I am sure it is tasty either way.

What does the family think? The first time I made this I made it just the way it’s described above. My hubby said he felt like it needed some meat, so the next time I added a little shredded chicken in it and we have been eating it that way ever since. Either way it’s good. Our children are kid of purists when it comes to pasta…if it doesn’t have red sauce then it’s not pasta.

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Italian, Six Ingredients or Less

April 20, 2010 · 5:37 am

The Best Pasta Salad

According to Jaime Oliver this is “the best pasta salad.” I beg to differ. It was good, but definitely not the best. However, I LOVE all the fresh veggies and herbs that go into it. It is a very colorful, fresh and healthy pasta salad.

Ingredients:
11 oz. small shaped pasta
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
9 oz. red cherry tomatoes
9 oz. yellow cherry tomatoes
1 handful of fresh basil
1/2 cucumber
4 T white wine vinegar
7 T Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta per the directions on the box. Drain, rinse with cool water and place in a large bowl.

Chop tomatoes, cucumber, chives and basil into pieces smaller than the pasta and add them to the bowl with the pasta.

In a small bowl, mix the garlic, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Pour this over the pasta and toss.

Next time: I didn’t prepare the garlic like Jaime’s original recipe. I will definitely do that next time. I also didn’t put olives in mine like his recipe calls for. I might add those as well. Also, I served this as a side dish, but next time I might add some shredded chicken to it and make it a main dish. I might need to make a little more dressing, but I think it would be good that way.

What does the family think? Everyone was just sort of so-so on this dish. I am going to give it another go though and prepare it the way Jaime actually says to make it instead of doing it with all of my little shortcuts.

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Filed under Chicken, Make Ahead of Time, Salad

April 19, 2010 · 5:01 am

Asian Chicken Salad

This is a great, fast meal on a hot spring/summer day when you don’t want to turn on the oven. I have been making this salad for years, but I think I originally got the idea from one of those Kraft cookbook magazines.

Ingredients:
Lettuce greens, rinsed and dried
2 already cooked chicken breasts, shredded
11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
Asian sesame dressing
Chow Mein Noodles, a sprinkle of top of each salad

Directions:
Divide lettuce greens between four bowls.

Divide the shredded chicken breast between the four bowls and place on top of the lettuce greens.

Divide the mandarin oranges between the four bowl and place on top of the chicken.

Wait to put chow mein noodles and the salad dressing on right before being served.

Enjoy!!!

What does my family think? My hubby and I both really like this salad. Our children will eat it as long as they don’t have to eat the Asian dressing with it.

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Salad, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

April 14, 2010 · 8:55 pm

Curried Chicken Salad

If you love chicken salad then you will love this one with a twist, unless you don’t like curry, of course. It is a good dish to fix in the summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. It’s also a great dish to make ahead of time.

Ingredients:
2-3 already cooked boneless chicken breasts,
2 stalks of celery
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup real mayonnaise
1/4 c. onion, finely minced
1 tspn. curry powder
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Pita bread (at room temperature)
lettuce
tomatoes, sliced

Directions:
Shred chicken in a medium mixing bowl. Add celery, cilantro, mayo, onion, curry and garlic and mix well. This would be a good time to put it in the frig to chill unless you don’t have time then it’s okay to just go ahead and serve it.

Place lettuce in pita halves with slices of tomato and then add the chicken salad. Be careful not to add too much or the pita bread will break.

Next time: I have made this several times and this time it didn’t seem like there was enough curry in it. Next time I will taste it before I serve it to make sure that we can really taste the curry.

What did the family think? Hubby and I like this dish. The boys did NOT. Usually our older one will suffer through whatever I have put in front of him at the dinner table, but he just couldn’t do it. Our youngest went and got the salad dressing from the frig, tore open and ate the pita bread and poured salad dressing on the lettuce that was in the pita. At least he ate the lettuce. 🙂

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Make Ahead of Time, Salad

April 10, 2010 · 11:09 pm

Whole Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

It doesn’t get any easier than this. I found this recipe on-line a few years ago and have made several variations, but this is the simplest one I have made. Simple is good. We have this at least twice a month at our house. It is a great dish to have on a night when you know you are going to be busy or getting home late. It’s done when you get home AND your house smells FANTASTIC!

Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
Poultry Seasoning
1 large roasting chicken
1 small lemon

Directions:
After making sure there aren’t any gizzards, etc. in the cavity of the chicken, cut the lemon in half and place both halves of the lemon in the cavity of the chicken then place the chicken in the crockpot. Sprinkle a little bit of salt, pepper and poultry seasoning on the chicken. Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 4-8 hours. (Ours is usually done within five hours at the most.)

Variations: You can put just about any reasonable spice on this chicken that you want to and it will turn out tasting great. You could use paprika, lemon pepper, garlic salt, thyme, cayenne…get creative.

We usually have this dish with a veggie that can be prepared quickly and some bread and butter with honey on it. Again, very quick, but yummy.

What does the family think? Hubby and I love this dish. It is definitely a comfort food in our house. Our boys aren’t huge chicken fans, but they’ll eat it.

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Uncategorized