Quick Chicken Parmesan

I looove Chicken Parmesan. It's one of my favourite Italian dishes. Here is my quick version.

Ingredients

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
salt
pepper
1 tsp. basil
1/4 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Box of spaghetti noodles
Jar of marinara sauce (I love Emerils, its to die for!)

1. Place chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper and beat with wooden mallet. I don't have one so I used a wine bottle. (While you are messing with the chicken, preheat your oven to 350, and start your water boiling for the noodles)

2. Beat egg in one bowl. Add bread crumbs, spices and parmesan cheese in another. Stir well.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in saucepan over medium/high heat. Make an assembly line like pictured above. Dip breasts in egg, making sure they are completely covered. Dredge in bread crumb mixture, completely coating chicken. Then place in saucepan.

 

 

4. Cook until lightly browned, then flip over and cook other side until lightly browned. Remove from heat. Chicken will not be completely cooked, you are just searing it to hold in the juices.

 

5. Pour marinara sauce into casserole dish. Nestle chicken into the sauce. Cover with mozzarella. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and chicken is cooked through.

 

 



Crockpot Sesame Chicken and Fried Rice

I can make almost any food taste amazing but for some reason I have a problem with Chinese food. It is the bane of my cooking existence. I've tried making crab ragoon, cabbage rolls and egg rolls. They all turned out as flops and my hubby told me to stay away from cooking Chinese food. Buuuut I am not one to back down from a challenge! Here is one of my few successful Chinese meals.

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tsp. sesame oil
3tsp. corn starch
1/4 cup water
toasted sesame seeds

1. Start by laying chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Mix all ingredients except for water and corn starch and pour over chicken.

 

3. Cook on low 4-6 hours, turning once or twice to make sure chicken is cooking evenly.
4. Remove chicken and shred in separate bowl. Stir together the corn starch and water then add this mixture to the sauce in the crockpot. Stir well. Return chicken to crockpot and mix evenly with sauce. Add as much sesame seeds as desired.

Fried Rice

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

3 cups cooked rice (leftover, day old rice works best)



 3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tsp. garlic

1 cup peas and carrots (I use the can but you can use frozen thawed also)

Rest of the onion, chopped

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

 

 

1. Start by heating the sesame oil over medium high. Saute onion, garlic, peas and carrots until tender.

 

 

 



2. Add in rice (I used brown rice which is why it looks brown) and cook on medium low until warmed and soft.

 

 

3. Push rice mixture to the side and add the eggs in one side of the pan.

 

 

4. Cook egg then stir everything together.

 

 

CHINESE FOOD SUCESS!

Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole

My mom made this recipe growing up, and it was one of my favourite meals as a kid. I came across a similar recipe and decided to make my own version.

Ingredients

5 cups shredded chicken
1 cup plain greek yogurt
3 cups (24 oz) cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup melted butter
2 rolls of Ritz crackers; crushed
Rice

1. Preheat oven to 350. If you don't have shredded chicken already, boil several chicken breasts in water with a boullion cube and some chopped onions.

2. Place shredded chicken in a casserole dish.

3. Mix yogurt, cream of chicken soup, salt, pepper, and sauce in a bowl. Pour over chicken.

 

4. Melt the butter and mix with crushed crackers. Sprinkle evenly over chicken mixture.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until top of casserole is browned and sauce is bubbly. Serve over rice. Add some steamed broccoli for a complete meal.

 

Lemon and Rosemary Chicken Pasta

The temperature has been climbing steadily out here in the desert! It's only April and in the 90s! This is a great meal for a hot day. Although it requires a little use of the stovetop, at least you don't have to turn on the oven.

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti noodles
1 lb chicken breasts

Chicken Marinade
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp rosemary (really good if you use fresh!)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Garlic Sauce
1/2 stick butter
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon basil
1/2 tsp. pepper

1. Cut up the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Add all the marinade ingredients with the chicken, seal in gallon ziplock bag and marinate a minimum of 20 minutes. (You can also marinate overnight for a more intense flavor)

 

2. Boil noodles with a dash of salt and olive oil. Cook until al dente. (Which means not mushy)

 

3. Melt butter in saucepan, saute garlic until soft. Add in flour slowly and mix well. Cook for a minute then slowly add in chicken broth stirring continuously.

 

 



4. Simmer until thickened then add in basil and pepper. If it looks too runny add a tiny bit of flour a pinch at a time until desired thickness.

 

5. Mix sauce with cooked noodles and set aside. Saute marinated chicken until no longer pink. (I like mine a bit brown)

6. Add chicken in with the sauce and noodles, toss until evenly distributed. Top with cherry tomatoes and a few shakes of grated parmesan cheese. Yum!

Teriyaki Chicken Freezer Meal

This is a great meal you can prepare and cook the same day or freeze and cook later. I've listed the smaller version that feeds 2-3 people but its an easy recipe to double.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 onion cut into chunks
1 large can pinapple rings or chunks
2 large handfuls of baby carrots (or long carrots cut up)
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 large clove of garlic, chopped

1. If you are preparing to freeze add all ingredients to gallon ziplock bag. Seal, lay flat and freeze. Don't forget to write the date prepared on the bag. When you are ready to cook this meal take out of the freezer and simply dump in the crockpot. Add a little less than 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce, salt and pepper to taste and cook for 5-7 hours on low. Most teriyaki sauces are already pretty salty so don't overdo it with the salt. Serve hot over rice. (If you are preparing to cook same day just layer all ingredients in crockpot and cook)

 

 

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

This is an easy meal that can be whipped up any busy weeknight. For the chicken I made my Crockpot Chicken and saved half of it for this recipe. If you have never tried cooking a whole chicken in the crockpot you should! It saves so much money rather than buying a pack of chicken breasts.

Ingredients

3 cups shredded chicken
3 cups shredded cheese
2 cups enchilada sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small can chopped green chilis (optional)
12 corn or flour tortillas

1. Mix chicken, cheese, enchilada sauce, cilantro and chilis together. Add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Take a baking dish and spoon a little enchilada sauce on the bottom.

 

3. Next warm tortillas in the microwave so they are soft and semi pliable. Spoon filling in the middle of the tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down in the sauce.

4. Next drizzle enchilada sauce all over tops and cover with cheese. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. To prevent foil from sticking to the cheese spray foil with cooking spray. Take foil off and continue baking until cheese is melted and bubbly.

 

 

You can now top with lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream or whatever you like!!

Crockpot Chicken&Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings. Mmm. The ultimate southern comfort food. I remember when I first made this dish for Steven and my oldest stepson Bryan. They had never had chicken and dumplings before and absolutely devoured it.  It is a favorite in our family! Its also easy,cheap and filling, which is a necessity in our house.

Ingredients

2 26oz cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans Pillsbury biscuit dough

1. Dump cream of chicken soup in crockpot. Add 1 1/2 cans of water. Add spices and chicken. You can use fresh or frozen. I prefer fresh but the frozen was on sale and I needed chicken for another recipe this week. Stir all together. Cook on low 4-5 hours.

2. 30 minutes before serving, cut biscuit dough in halves and add to crockpot. Give one quick stir and replace lid. Stir again before serving. Dumplings should be soft but not "doughy" (no idea how to spell that word lol)

 

 



Spinach&Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
1/2 an onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup raw uncooked spinach
1/2 cup cheese (feta, mozzarella, pepper jack)
3 tbsp butter
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1. Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in small pan on medium heat. Chop onion and garlic and add to pan. Saute until soft, add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted all the way.

 

2. Place onion/spinach mixture into bowl. Add cheese, salt and pepper and stir. In my picture I have the velveeta shreds but DONT use this kind. I only used it because I didn't realize I had bought it instead of kraft. Velveeta is nasty!

3. Melt butter in pan used for onions, take off heat and add breadcrumbs, basil and oregano. Stir.

 



4. Cut a slit in the chicken lengthwise and not all the way through, almost like a book.

 



5. Stuff the spinach mixture into the chicken, letting it overflow a bit.

 

6. Drizzle olive oil in a pan, rub it around a bit to coat. Place chicken, stuffing side up in the pan and cover with bread crumbs. Bake about 25 min or until juices run clear.

Simple, Cheap Crockpot Chicken

This is the recipe I made for Steven's birthday. It's easy to throw together, very cheap and so yummy! You can use the chicken for chicken tacos, enchiladas, or any other recipe that calls for chicken.

You will need:
1 whole chicken
2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinager
1/2 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic or 2 cloves

1. Place whole chicken in crock pot. Pour oil and vinager over chicken and sprinkle with spices. Place garlic cloves under the skin or spread the minced garlic over the top.

2. Cook on low 7-8 hours. Pull chicken out and shred, removing bones and skin.

Steven always has to do this part for me, I get too grossed out seeing the chicken parts lol.