Lemon Garlic Chicken with Zucchini Noodles and Asparagus

I make this garlic chicken a lot right now. Its incredibly flavorful and freezes great. Its based on a "dump chicken" pinterest recipe. Meaning you can dump it all in a bag and freeze it. Then you can thaw it and use it in several ways. In the crock pot, sauté it, grill it. Its great on its own, sliced on a salad, or like this over noodles (or zoodles). I lightly floured the chicken and that helped thicken the sauce. I used a all purpose gluten free blend when I made this today, but obviously regular AP flour is great too.


If you don't have all the dried herbs I suggest, just use what you have. The real flavor comes from the lemon and garlic. The herbs are just bonus, but recommended. The herbs give a nod to "ranch" flavor.

I like to make the meat stretch, so I made 4 adult servings with 2 chicken breasts and the veggies. If you are making the lemon chicken to be a larger part of a meal, I would double this part of the recipe.

Normally I marinade them whole, but since I knew I would be cubing them for this recipe, I cubed them before adding the marinade. If you make this with whole breasts to freeze, and decide to make this with them later, you can obviously cube it later. Or even cook whole and then cube. Whatever floats your boat.

You will need some sort of vegetable noodle maker for this recipe. Or a mandolin to make julienne strips. There are several types of veggie noodle makes on amazon.

You could easily use angel hair pasta if you desire

Lemon Garlic Chicken:

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp oil
5 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried chives
1 tsp dried dill

Combined everything but the chicken, and then add to chicken in a zip top bag and either marinade for a few hours or freeze and thaw overnight in the fridge.


Lemon Garlic Chicken with Zucchini Noodles and Asparagus:

Ingredients:
1 batch lemon garlic chicken (cubed, or cook it whole and cube)
3 large or 5 medium zucchinis
1 bunch asparagus (thinner is better, but not needed)
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
3 tbsp oil
1/2 cup white wine (can sub for more broth but the wine is amazing. You could buy the individual mini bottles of wine in some places)
1 cup broth
salt and pepper to taste

Zoodle your zucchini.

Place a strainer over a bowl and dump the chicken into it.

Heat a medium sauce pan of water to boiling. Add a good amount of salt. Have a medium bowl of ice water waiting

Cut the bottom couple inches of the asparagus off. Cut into 1-2 inch chunks. Add to boiling water and boil about 2 minutes. Drain and add to the ice water. Set aside.

Heat the largest skillet you have on medium.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Take the chicken (save the bowl with any juices that drained off) and toss it in the flour until coated.

Add the oil. Once hot, add chicken. Cook until done. Some of my breading fell off or stuck a little. Not a big deal. Take the chicken out and set aside.

Add the wine and scrape all the brown bits off the pan. Whisk in the broth and let simmer for 5 minutes or so.

Taste the sauce and and salt and pepper if needed (I make it a little salty because its also seasoning the noodles and asparagus.)

Add the chicken, drained asparagus, and zoodles to the pan. Toss with tongs and heat until warmed through and remove from heat. Serve.

Knock-Off Shake and Bake Mix

I set out to whip up my own version of this flavor bomb and it definitely paid off. These awesomely flavored breadcrumbs can make a very fast meal out of chicken or pork chops, or makes for a great breading for nuggets, risotto cakes, or even a topping for casseroles or baked mac and cheese.

This makes a lot. I keep it in my freezer in a couple zip locks.

Knock off Shake and Bake

Ingredients:

4 cups panko bread crumbs
1/3rd cup oil (I use olive or avocado)
1 tbsp seasoning salt
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp celery salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp dried parsley
1 pinch dried oregano

Whisk together all ingredients and keep in freezer in an airtight container. 1/2-3/4 cups is enough to cover 4 pork chops or 4 chicken breasts.

I like to coat and heat up a cast iron pan. Put some oil in it. Cook the chops on one side, flip them, and put the whole thing in a 400 degree oven until the internal temp shows its done. It all depends on the thickness of the meat.

Restaurant Style Sweet and Sour Chicken

So sweet and sour chicken is my husbands absolute favorite chinese food meal He loves it and its the dish that he orders to judge the quality of any chinese food joint. There is this place back home in Lincoln Nebraska that is the best chinese food we both have ever had. And every new place we try is measured against them. Well, my husband said this meal brought him back to Fortune Palace and he wants me to make it once a month.

I found the premise for this recipe on AllRecipes. But I made so many changes that I felt I had to blog it .
This recipe isn't difficult, but it does take a little bit of time. I would recommend setting aside about a hour to really complete it.

You could easily substitute the veggies for a bag of stir fry mix to cut down on some prep time. Just steam or cook as directed on the bag

You could easily do this with chunks of pork as well.

I suggest having a cooking rack over a baking sheet and keeping it in a 200 degree oven to place the chicken that has been fried so it stays warm and crisp. You can also put the veggies on a tray on the bottom to keep it warm as well.

Alternatively, you could fry this up earlier in the day (nap time, anyone?) and reheat on a rack over a cookie sheet at 350 for 15 minutes. They reheat very well. You can freeze any extras and do the same. The leftover chicken also makes EXCELLENT chicken nuggets for kids. Delish.

I suggest serving this with rice cooked in chicken broth. You could do some fried rice if you are feeling extra ambitious! 

I preferred to not use food coloring to give the sauce its signature orange pink look. It does result in a odd opaque white look, which may not be for everyone. Feel free to add a couple drops of orange food coloring if you desire. I might invest in some natural dyes or even try a slight pinch of turmeric. I actually think that would work very well. Not too much though.

I would add the sauce to each serving as its dished up so the chicken stays crisp. Also, you don't want to have the "eye is bigger than the stomach" syndrome and have a bunch of soggy leftovers.

With all that being said, lets begin. I really suggest reading the recipe in full before hand to get the steps in mind. Its a lot of steps, but its simple. And the results are worth it.

Restaurant Style Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

For the veggies:
2 green bell peppers, diced into 1 inch squares
1 large onion, diced into 1 inch squares
2 carrots, peeled and cut into very thin rings
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (optional. We had it to use up)

For the sauce:
1 20 oz can pineapple chunks and juice (remove chunks and set aside)
1/2 cup white vinegar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 3/4 cup water, divided
1/4 cup cornstarch
food coloring (if desired)

For the chicken:
4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

Batter:
2 1/4 cups self rising flour (or add 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt to 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour)
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil (of choice. coconut, olive, canola/veg)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (You can use water if you want. I think the broth added something)

Oil:
Enough to put 1 inch of oil in your pan. Use a smaller pan if needed, and do in batches. I used a jar of coconut oil. Maybe 14 oz or so? You can use peanut if you want, or even vegetable oil if you must (I'm not a fan, personally.) You can use coconut oil several times over if you strain it.

Instructions:
Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Pat dry and lay on  a platter. Salt and pepper liberally and then sprinkle with garlic and onion powder. Rub it around and make sure its well coated. Let sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes to take the chill off and let the flavor meld.

Meanwhile,
For the veggies, steam in a pot for maybe 5 minutes, until softened. If you don't have a steamer insert, you can lightly boil, or even sauté for a few minutes. Keep warm in 200 degree oven while frying.

I would start the rice at this point if you are boiling up some rice.

In a saucepan over medium, stir together the pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, and 1 1/2 cup water. Heat until boiling. While heating, whisk together the 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup cornstarch (and food coloring, if desired). Once boiling, turn off heat and add in the cornstarch mixture. Stir well until it thickens (it was very quick for me). Keep warm.

Start the oil in a frying pan on one notch above medium heat until it reaches 350-360 degrees or so. No thermometer? Use a wooden spoon.

While the oil is heating, whisk together the dry ingredients for the batter. Add the oil, egg, and water/broth. Mix, but don't over mix, until combined and like a thick pancake batter.

Add the chicken to that bowl and coat stir until well coated.

Carefully add bits of chicken to the pan. Don't over crowd the pan or do too many at once. This will be several batches. Cook a few minutes and flip with tongs. They cook fast, but it doesn't hurt to sacrifice one nugget to make sure the chicken is getting done in the middle, just to be safe. Put the cooked chicken on a rack in the oven to keep warm while you finish the rest.

To serve, dish up the rice, veggies, some of the reserved pineapple and chicken. Drizzle the sauce generously over it all and enjoy the amazing meal you pulled off.

Crock Pot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

I found myself with a limited grocery budget, a need to get creative with some pantry staples, and a desire to not heat up the kitchen. This was the result. With some frozen stock (or cans of cream of chicken/mushroom if you prefer), some frozen chicken and broccoli, and some rice, you are there.

Crock Pot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

3 chicken breasts (I had bone in and just saved the bone for stock later)
1 can of cream of mushroom (I LOVE this brand when I can't make my own)
1 can  cream of chicken (I always make my own, but you can use the above brand as well. Or Campbell's, of course.
1 pound (give or take) frozen broccoli(toss it in the fridge while the crockpot is going, if you remember)
3/4 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt

Rice:
2 cups dried rice
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt


Throw the chicken in the crock pot with the creams of soups. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6. If going for "low", and you have the time, put on high for 30ish minutes and turn to low. Just gets things going faster.

Once the time has past, remove the chicken to a plate. Cut/break the chicken into a few smaller pieces and let cool for for a few minutes until you can handle it. Turn crock pot on high and add the broccoli and sour cream/yogurt. Cover. Shred chicken and add back to crock pot. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until warmed through. Should be good by the time the rice is done

Cook rice in rice cooker or on stove per cooking instructions (Yes, I add less liquid. Its my preference. Do what you want there)

Dish up some rice and top with chicken and broccoli mixture. You could always sprinkle on some cheddar cheese if you desire.

Sausage, Peppers, and Onions Over Rice

Pretty much anything with bell peppers and onions makes me happy. Such a delicious combo and I just think about it for days before and after I make it. Yes, I am a foodie freak. I can't help it.

This is a pretty simple recipe, and can be tweaked a few different ways depending on your tastes or what you have on hand. I have made this with kielbasa, Target chicken sausage with garlic and spinach (a fav around here) and with Aidells sweet italian chicken sausage. Really, any precooked sausage would work here. Go with what speaks to you. Or is on sale.

You could make this over quinoa instead of rice if you prefer.

I strongly recommend making the rice/quinoa with broth. It really adds flavor and nutrients for minimal effort. If you aren't making it yourself yet, you should try. Pretty easy and incredibly frugal.

I can make this meal with 1 package of sausage and 2 bell peppers and a onion. And it makes JUST enough for 1 meal for my family of 4. So I double it, so we can have seconds and some leftovers. This recipe is for my doubled version. It reheats well.

Feel free to morph this to your own tastes. Add basil if you want, or italian seasoning. Mince some garlic, or add some tomato paste. Whatever flies up your skirt, or compliments the sausage you have.

Sausage, Peppers, and Onions Over Rice

2 packages cooked sausage of choice, sliced into 1-1.5 inch rounds
4-5 bell peppers (whatever colors you want) sliced thinly
2 onions, sliced thinly
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp worchestershire
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
a few shakes hot sauce
salt and pepper
1.5 cups chicken stock
parmesan for topping, if desired

Rice:
2.5 cups rice
3.75 cups broth (I prefer a ratio of 1:1.5 rice:liquid, but if you prefer 1:2, by all means, add more broth)
2 tsp salt (less if you use salted bought broth)

Cook in rice cooker or per bag instructions (I never make on the stove, so your guess is as good as mine, honestly)

Get your rice started.

While its cooking, heat a large skillet over medium. Add the butter and sausage. Cook until sausage is warmed up and butter is flavored. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate.

Add the peppers and onions to the butter and cook until softened. About 10 minutes. Add the sausage, worchestershire, balsamic, hot sauce, and stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more sauces if you desire. Simmer on med low until rice is done.

Dish up a bowl of rice and top with peppers and veggies and spoon sauce over rice.

Monterey Chicken

I have seen this meal pop up in conversation several times, so I decided to look it up and make it. Super easy pantry meal, super yummy, and very simple.

Monterey Chicken

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
1 cup BBQ sauce (I have used home made or Sweet Baby Rays)
1 can rotel, drained (save the liquid)
1 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
4 slices crisp bacon, crumbed
3 green onions, sliced

Directions:

Take turns placing a breast in a freezer bag and hammer it out so its all the same thickness. It doesn't have to be super thin and flat, but just flatted the thickest parts so they are even with the rest and will cook evenly. I use a rolling pin.

If the bag is still usable, place all the chicken breasts in the bag and add 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce, the rotel liquid, the dijon, and the worcestershire sauce. Seal with the air removed and smush around to evenly coat. Let marinade 1 hour at least, or overnight if possible. No more than 24 hours

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in a baking pan and cover with foil. Cook 30-40 minutes, until done.

Meanwhile in a small bowl, mix the remaining BBQ sauce and rotel pieces together. Top chicken with rotel mixture and cheese. Put back in oven for a couple minutes until melted. Top with bacon and green onions

Tuscan Stuffed Shells

With all these yummy complimentary flavors meshed together, how can these not be delectable?

You could easily substitute the cheese topping with a jar of alfredo sauce if you prefer. I think it would be delicious either way.

This makes a large casserole dish full. So you can freeze half, or just have a lot of leftovers!

You can easily add or subtract ingredients to suit your tastes. Some chopped katamala olives would be good in here I am sure, but our family doesn't care for them much.

You can buy the roasted bell peppers, or just do it yourself. Just rub some oil on the peppers, toss them under the broiler for a few minutes each side, and put them in a covered bowl for 15 minutes to steam the skin off. Remove the skin, seeds, and stem and chop!

Tuscan Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

1 box jumbo pasta shells (around 35)
2 cups shredded and chopped cooked chicken (approx)
6 oz cream cheese, softened (could easily use ricotta)
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out. (I only used 3/4ths of the box)
2 cups mozzarella
1 cup shredded parmesan
2 roasted red bell peppers, chopped
4 sun dried tomatoes (in oil) chopped
i jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped up
few pinches of salt and pepper

Boil the shells as directed on box, using the lower time. (IE if it says 12-15 minutes, do 12) Drain and rinse in cold water.

While boiling, combine the chicken, cream cheese, spinach, a handful of the mozzarella, half the parmesan, roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and a little S&P. Mix well.

Using a spoon or your hands, generously stuff the shells. If you have a little extra, go back and stuff a little more.

Top with remaining cheese and cover with tin foil. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and they are warmed through.

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Oh my goodness this was so yummy. I actually doubled it and froze half. With fall and winter coming (for all you people lucky enough to not habitat the surface of the sun), this is a GREAT recipe to keep on hand. This bell pepper loving family will be making this often.

I made it with ground turkey, but italian sausage, ground beef, or ground chicken would be equally good. Or any combination there of.

You can make this more or less bell pepper-y too

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb ground meat
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno, deseeded and deribbed, diced (optional)
5 bell peppers, cut into 1 inch squares
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 14 oz can petite cut diced tomatoes, not drained
1 small can tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
couple shakes hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cooked rice
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Brown meat, onion, garlic, and jalapeño in a large skillet on medium until meat is done.

Add meat mix, bell peppers, broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, bay leaves, basil, oregano, and hot sauce.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until peppers are desired doneness. 15-30 minutes


Serve over a scoop of rice and top with cheese.

Chicken, Black Bean, and Corn Enchilada Casserole

This a great recipe that you can toss most of the ingredients in the crock pot and cook for a few hours, stir in a few more ingredients and finish in the oven. Super comforting and satisfying. I doubled it and froze half.

Chicken, Black Bean, and Corn Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (can use frozen. Add an hour to low crockpot cook time)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced green chilis
15 oz red enchilada sauce, divided
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 medium tortillas, torn into 2 inch chunks

In a crockpot, combine chicken, beans, chilis, 1/3rd of the enchilada sauce, and salsa. Cook on high 1 hour and low 3.

Remove breasts and let cool enough to shred (or use forks). Preheat oven to 400

Add chicken back along with yogurt, corn, cheese and tortillas. Stir well 

Spray a casserole dish and place mixture in, evenly.

Top with reserved enchilada sauce and the cheese

Cook for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is melted and its heated through

Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas

Sometimes waiting stuff to cook one at a time so you can start another is just plain annoying. Like pancakes and waffles. Then mama is always the last one to eat.

This way you can cook everyones quesadillas at once!

This is a fast and cheap meal. A great way to spread out some of the meat from cooking a entire chicken.

I like to serve with a side of equal parts sour cream and salsa mixed.

Another great thing is this is so easy to customize for taste. My son doesn't love peppers and onions, so we just put cheese and chicken on his.

Oven Baked Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 cup leftover chicken
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 tsp oil
s&p
1 cup cheese
6-8 8 inch tortillas
oil for brushing

Preheat oven to 425
Toss the chicken with the salsa.

Put the onion, pepper, oil, salt and pepper in a skilled that was heated over medium. Cook until softened.

Brush the baking sheet lightly with oil

Place all ingredients in half the tortilla, fold over, and place on baking sheet. Repeat for all.

Brush the tops with oil.

Bake for 5 minutes and flip gently. Cook for 5 more minutes

Cilantro Pesto Roasted Chicken Thighs

I have been thinking about this dish for weeks. I just love cilantro. And I was looking at a basic pesto recipe a long time ago and thought about a mexican inspired pesto. And from that spurred this dish. Its very fresh and flavorful. The broth from the roasted chicken is amazing. The chicken was very moist. The pesto could be made a day or two ahead of time. Once the pesto is made, this dish couldn't be any easier. Try to marinade 24 hours, or at least several hours.

Cilantro Pesto Roasted Chicken Thighs

Pesto:
1 poblano pepper
1 bunch cilantro
1/3rd cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
zest and juice of 1/2 lime
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup cotija, manchego, queso blanco, or parmesan cheese. Grated or crumbled
1/2 cup olive oil
salt

4 pounds bone in, skin on chicken thighs (about 8)
2 limes
salt


Coat the poblano pepper in a bit of oil and pop under the broiler. Check on it every couple minutes (literally 2-3. It doesn't take long) and rotate it until all sides are equally browned and bubbled. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit 10 minutes. Remove outer skin. Take out the stems and seeds. Dice.

Meanwhile, in a small dry skillet, toast the seeds over medium for a couple minutes, watching constantly. They will burn fast. Let cool a few minutes

Add the seeds to a food processor. Pulse until they are ground pretty fine.

Rip the top half of the cilantro bunch off. You want mostly just the leaves. I didn't go crazy pulling off the stems though. Add to processor and pulse until chopped very fine.

Add the garlic, zest, juice, and cheese. Pulse until combined.

Pour in olive oil as the processor is running on low. Pour until pesto is smooth.

Add salt as needed (different cheese have different salt levels)

Stir in the diced poblano.

Mix in large ziplock with chicken until its well coated. Marinate several-24 hours in refrigerator

1 hour before cooking, slice limes and add limes to chicken bag and mix well again.

Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken in a baking dish and cover with tin foil. Cook 40 minutes. Remove tin foil, turn on broiler and cook until chicken is browned. Keep a close eye.

Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Kid Friendly Chicken and Broccoli Nuggets

So I came across a post a while back about a theory that one of the reasons that kids like processed chicken nuggets and patties is that the blended nature of the chicken makes the texture easier for small mouths to true. Well, that, and all the yummy yummy additives. So I decided to make my own chicken nuggets! And I also had some broccoli that needed to be used up. So while I was blending up chicken, why not steam and blend in some broccoli too? I decided to experiment by mixing in the broccoli into half the nuggets. This made them slightly crumblier, but still good and tasty! Try it with spinach or kale too! My kid likes SPICY food so I added a little hot sauce and cayenne. Totally optional! He also really likes to dip them. So a little ketchup, homemade ranch, or homemade honey mustard (as easy as it sounds. A little honey and a little mustard mixed) goes a long way

You can add the broccoli or not! Either way they are yummy. I think adding some cheddar cheese in with broccoli ones would be super yummy too!

You can use a whole chicken (toss in the crock pot. Easy peasy) and double the rest of the ingredients to make a huge amount you can freeze and use for weeks and weeks.

Kid Friendly Chicken and Broccoli Nuggets

Makes 16-20 depending on size.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled, and cut into large chunks (I just baked in a 350 oven for 45 minutes, covered)
2 eggs
1 tsp hot sauce (optional for the spicy guys)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup broccoli, steamed soft and cooled
2/3rds cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/8tsp cayenne pepper (again, optional)



In a food processor, place the cooked chicken chunks and pulse gently until chicken is shredded into small pieces. Maybe the size of rice.

Place chicken, eggs, garlic and onion powders, salt, parmesan cheese, and broccoli (and hot sauce) in a bowl and mix until well combined.

In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs, parmesan, parsley, and cayenne (if you want).

Take a glop the size of a ping pong-golf ball smush into a nugget shape in your hands. Its a loose mixture, so be firm with it and pack it down. Place in the bowl of bread crumbs, push down, and flip to the other side and press firm. Repeat with all the chicken.


Now you can either place on a sheet pan and freeze through. Then transfer to a ziplock. My 2 year old eats 2-3 of these in one sitting.

Or you can lightly spray a sheet pan, and pop into a 425 oven for 5-10 minutes (10+ for frozen)

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Sometimes its nice to be able to make a asian influenced meal without paying the $$$ for take out. I LOVE asian veggies. Cannot get enough. But unless you get a plain veggie meal, there isn't nearly enough veggies in the dishes I like to satisfy me. So this made me happy. You can easily leave the chicken out for a meatless meal.

Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red/orange/yellow pepper diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch knot of ginger, grated
2 tbsp sesame oil, divided
1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sriracha (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
1 tbsp cornstarch

1 can baby corn, drained, rinsed, and chopped
1 can diced water chestnuts, drained


In a slow cooker, put the chicken and soy sauce in and cook on high until shreddable. 3-4 hours on high. Cool and shred. Can be done in advance

Put 1 tbsp sesame oil in a large skillet on medium. Add onion, bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic and ginger. Cook 5-8 minutes until softened.

In a jar with a lid, put 1 tbsp sesame oil, the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, and cornstarch. Shake well. Add to pan.

Add chicken, baby corn, and water chestnuts. Cook 5 minutes until heated through and sauce starts to thicken.

Serve!

Chicken and Herbed Dumplings

Can't get much more comfort food than this. Super comforting, filling, and flavorful. Use home made stock for even more flavor! I put a whole chicken in the crock pot the day before. Shred the chicken and put the bones and some veggies back in the crock pot overnight for some intense stock. Learn more here

Chicken and Herbed Dumplings

Ingredients:

Shredded meat from one whole chicken. (Can use rotisserie. Or about about 3-3 1/2 cups shredded chicken from breasts, thighs, whatever you want)
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp dried parsley
8 cups low sodium chicken stock (or home made ;) )
1/4 cup half and half or cream
1 cup frozen peas

Dumplings
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried parsley and/or chives
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup milk or half and half

In a stock pot or dutch oven, heat butter over medium. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 5 minutes.

Add thyme, turmeric, and parsley. Stir well.

Add chicken stock and chicken meat and bring to a simmer. Simmer 20-30 minutes.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and herbs together. Add milk and butter and mix until just combined

Drop by heaping spoonfuls in a even layer into the soup. They will expand as they cook.

Cover and cook 20 minutes. Do not peek. Uncover and test dumplings with a tooth pick. Should come out cleanly.

Add peas and half and half and cook 5-10 more minutes.

Chicken and Asparagus Penne with a Light Garlic Alfredo Sauce

My husband isn't a broccoli fan, so the traditional chicken and broccoli alfredo just doesn't happen here. But we love asparagus, so we decided to go with that. I have never made alfredo from scratch, but I couldn't bring myself to dump a ton of cream in it today. So I lighted it up with milk and chicken broth but its still creamy and plenty hearty.

I prefer to cut my chicken raw (I use kitchen shears) and then cooking it. Its just faster and you don't have to wait for it to cool. If you prefer cooking it whole, go for it.

Chicken and Asparagus Penne with a Light Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp oil

1/2 tbsp butter

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

2 garlic cloves

1 lb asparagus, tough ends up off, cut into 1 inch pieces

12 oz of penne (we used whole wheat)

Sauce:

1 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth 

3 heaping tbsp flour

salt and pepper

2oz cream cheese

1/2 cup parmesan

Heat up a skillet on medium. Melt butter and oil. Add garlic and chicken. Cook until done. 8-12 minutes.

Meanwhile,  cook the pasta. Once done and drained, refill the pot with a couple inches of water, salt heavily, and bring to rapid boil. Add asparagus and boil 2-3 minutes. Drain and shock in ice water. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat a sauce pan over medium. Add butter and garlic. Cook until brown. Careful not to burn. Add flour and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk and broth. Whisk together and cook until bubbling and thickened. You can whisk in another tbsp flour if needed. Add cream cheese. Whisk until blended. Once ready to serve, remove from heat and stir in parmesan. Add salt and pepper as needed (depends on how salty the broth was.

Toss the pasta, asparagus, chicken, and sauce together.

Creamy Chicken Flautas

Ok, just in case you were wondering. A flauta is with flour tortillas and taquitos are with corn tortillas.

Ok, class dismissed. Lets cook.


These things are ridiculously good. Definitely will be making them regularly. Prep wise, its pretty easy as well!

You can either bake or lightly pan fry. I will go ahead and share both ways of making them. But baked is super easy

Creamy Chicken Flautas

Ingrediens:

3 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie works, or put a 2 big/3 medium chicken breasts in the crockpot. I used 8-9 chicken thighs)
1 pkg 1/3rd fat cream cheese
1/3rd cup sour cream
1/3rd cup salsa
1 can diced green chilis
1 cup black beans
1 cup corn
2 green onions, diced
1 1/2 cups baby spinach. Stems torn off and torn into smaller pieces
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar

16 6 inch flour tortillas

melted butter or oil

This really couldn't be simpler. Mix all filling ingredients well.

Spoon a heaping 2 tbsp of filling into a strip off center in the tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam side down.

To fry:
Heat a frying pan on medium. Add oil and heat. Add flautas in small batches (I did 2 at a time) and cook until just lightly brown on each side.

To bake, lightly butter a baking sheet and place flautas seam side down. Brush with melted butter and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until golden.

Mexican Chicken and Rice

This was kind of a wing it type recipe. I made it in the oven and it was fine. But a few bits of the rice was still crunchy, and that bugs me. But if you wanted to do it all in the oven, just mix the raw rice with the soup, top with frozen chicken, and then top with other ingredients and bake covered for 1 hour 40 minutes.

But I personally think the crock pot is best for this.

It ended up so yummy and had a lot of the things in it that are my favorites :)

Mexican Chicken and Rice
Ingredients:

2 cans cream of chicken (or from scratch)
1 cup water or broth
1 packet of taco seasoning (or: 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder)
4-6 frozen chicken breasts
1 can rotel
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 handful cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (or mex blend)

1.5 cups rice



Mix the soup, water/broth, and taco seasoning. If you use homemade soup and seasoning, add some salt and pepper.

Place frozen chicken in crock pot and cover with soup.

Mix rotel, beans, corn, cilantro, and green onions.

Pour on top of chicken.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

30 minutes before dinner, add cheese to crock pot and cook rice according to directions. I prefer a 1:1.5 ration of rice to liquids and use broth when I can.


Serve chicken over the rice.

Oven Baked Chimichangas with a Queso Blanco Sauce

You can make this vegetarian with just beans and cheese. Or this is a great way to use leftover chicken. Or you can buy a rotisserie chicken to use for this. Or you can throw a couple chicken breasts into a crock pot for the day. Any way you do it, its pretty simple and easy. You can leave the sauce off. But its super yummy :) You can use less chicken and more beans if you want to spread the meat out a little too. Pinto beans are also very yummy in this.

The cheese sauce was inspired by our latest outing to a local mexican restaurant where they drenched the chimichangas in yummy queso.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded. About 1.5-2 cups cooked chicken.
1 cup salsa
2 tsp cumin
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or a mexi blend)
2 green onions, chopped green and whites
1 can black beans, drained
8 8 inch flour tortillas
4 tbsp melted butter


Plus toppings:
Sour cream
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Salsa
Cheese
Guacamole or avocado chunks
Queso Blanco Sauce, recipe below


Directions
Preheat oven to 400
Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, cheese, green onions, and beans.
Spoon 1/8 of the filling into a tortilla. Tuck in the ends and roll tight to make a little pocket. It doesn't need to be perfect.

Place seam side down. Repeat 7 more times

Brush with melted butter.

Bake for around 25 minutes until starting to get brown and crispy.

(my big pan was in the fridge, so I had to use 2 small ones)

Queso Blanco Sauce
Ingredients:

a splash of oil
1/2 small onion, diced fine
1 jalapeño, diced fine
16 oz white american cheese (I got it at the deli and tore the slices up)
2-4 slices provolone (optional)
1/3rd-2/3rds cup half and half or cream
1 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (or a tbsp of the cilantro in a tube from the produce section)
1-2tsp cayenne (optional, if you want it spicier)


Heat the oil on medium in a skillet. Add onion and pepper. Cook until soft.

Turn the heat down a notch or two and add the cheeses. Heat until melty. Keep a eye on it.

Add 1/3rd cup cream or h&h and stir until melted.

Add tomatoes and cilantro. Add more cream/h&h to reach the desired consistency of a cheesy sauce.

Keep warm!

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Quinoa

So we had this recipe. It was delicious. Comfort food to the max. Full of boxed yellow rice, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream. Just scrumptious.

Well, we haven't cooked it in a while around here. Too crappy for you. But its been mentioned often.

Well, Husb challenged me to make it healthy(ier). Challenge accepted.

It may not be a diet food, but at least its less processed and made from good food. :)

Crockpot Cheesy Chicken and Quinoa
Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts (frozen or thawed)
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and chilis
2 cans of cream on chicken (but MAKE it! Takes 5 minutes....)
1 diced onion
1 minced garlic clove or 1 tbsp powdered garlic
1/2 tsp salt
6 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup sharp cheddar
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
2 cups frozen corn


In a crockpot on low, put chicken breasts, rotel, cream of chicken, onion, garlic, and salt.

Cook on low 4 hours for thawed chicken, 6 for frozen.

Shred the chicken.

Add the quinoa, cheese, yogurt, and corn. turn on high for 30 minutes.

Mexican Lime Chicken Soup

This is a nice broth soup. The chicken falls apart, the lime makes it tangy, the chipotles are spicy (so do less if you don't like kick) and smokey, the corn balances some of the heat, and the beans make it hearty.

Mexican Lime Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1 yellow onion, chopped

• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 1/2 cups beans (white, pinto, black, whichever you prefer) drained

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

• Juice of 2 limes

• Salt and pepper

• 1 avocado, thinly sliced lengthwise 

• Crushed tortilla chips (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. I used my dutch oven for this. Add the garlic and onion. Cook until starting to brown. Turn the heat up to medium high, push the onions and garlic to the side, and add the chicken pieces. Cook until browned, 5 minutes or so. Stir in the chipotles, adobo sauce, broth, corn and beans. Lower heat and simmer at least 15 minutes. I prefer 45. Skim any foam off. Stir in lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Serve with avocado, tortilla chips, and a plop of sour cream if desired.