Honeyed Ginger Chicken

2 lbs chicken breasts
½ c flour
½ t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 eggs, beaten
Oil for frying
1/3 c soy sauce
1/3 c honey
1 T sherry
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T sesame seeds
1 t ginger

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cut the chicken into 2” strips. Combine the flour, salt and pepper. Dip the chicken into the eggs and then coat with flour. Fry the chicken in a frying pan in ½ “ oil until golden brown. 6-8 minutes. While the chicken is frying heat the soy, honey, sherry, garlic & ginger in a small saucepan. Drain the chicken briefly. Dip it in the honey mixture and place on a rack in a baking pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cook for a total of 20 minutes. Re-dip in the glaze after 10 minutes.

Basil Chicken Packets

Basil Chicken Packets

• 4 chicken breasts - I use boneless skinless
• Heavy duty aluminum foil - 4 sheets approx. 12x18"
  
• 2 T. chopped parsley
• 2 t. grated lemon peel - I use fresh lemon zest
• 2 t. dry basil leaves - I use fresh chopped basil
• 1/2 t. each salt and pepper
• 2 medium yellow squash, sliced
• 1 medium red pepper, cut in rings

Center 1 chicken breast on each foil sheet. Mix parsley, lemon peel, basil, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over chicken. Top with squash and red peppers.
Bring up sides of foil to make a packet.  Leave room for heat to circulate inside.
Place packets on grill over medium hot coals. Grill for 11-13 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.

Greek Chicken and Vegetables

Greek Chicken and Vegetables

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups fresh or frozen cut green beans or 1 can of cut green beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
• 2 t. dried oregano leaves
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 4 sheets of aluminum foil approx 12x18"
• 1 pkg crumbled feta cheese

1. Cut chicken in stripes. Toss with beans, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Center 1/4 of mixture on each sheet of foil.
3. Bring up sides of foil to make packets; leave space for heat circulation.
4. Place packets on grill over medium hot heat. Grill 10-14 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender crisp. Open foil packets; and sprinkle with cheese.

Claypot Chicken Rice (without the Claypot)

Instead of using a claypot, I made this in the rice cooker, and modified the real recipe and made this using whatever I had in the kitchen and it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients :

1 cup of rice (uncooked)
1 cup of chicken broth
4 drumsticks ( chop up 2 drumsticks into small pieces)
3 slices of ginger

Garnish :
Fried onions
Spring onions (chopped)

Marinate :
1 tbsp black soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp kicap manis (sweet sauce- can be found in the Asian market)
3/4 tbsp mirin sweet cooking sauce
3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp ginger powder
Dash of pepper and salt

Mix all the ingredients for the marinate together.
Marinate the chicken for about 45 minutes.

Place the two drumsticks on a baking dish, drizzle with some oil and brush some marinate over.
Bake in oven 400 F for about 40 - 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked. (turn chicken over half way during cooking)

Put uncooked rice, chicken broth, ginger and marinated chicken slices in the rice cooker. Add a few spoonfuls of the marinate and stir.
Cook rice. (If your rice cooker is not an automatic one, cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is cooked)

Sprinkle spring onions and fried onions on top of rice and serve.

Note : To make it more authentic, you should add some chinese sausage, shitake/chinese mushrooms and salted fish into the rice. The two drumsticks I made in the oven is just an add-on to the meal and is optional.

Tortilla Chicken

Tortilla Chicken Crock Pot Recipe

1 dozen corn tortillas
3 cans cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery soup
1 (8oz) pkg. Jack cheese, grated
1 (8oz) pkg. Cheddar cheese, grated
2 cans (4oz each) chopped chilies
1 boiled deboned chicken (3 to 4 cups chopped)
1/2 med. onion, diced

Layer in a crockpot: Soup, tortillas, cheese, chicken, chilies, onion, soup; repeat, etc. until ingredients are used up. Start on high for 1/2 hour. Reduce temperature to low and cook for 6 hours.

Ridiculously Easy Honey Orange Chicken

This recipe is in violation of the "no fruit and meat" rule at my house. But not only did my husband LIKE this meal, he requested that it go into rotation -- which is a high honor around here.

You will need:

Half a bag of frozen chicken tenderloins
1 cup orange juice
1 orange, zested and sliced
2-3 tbsp honey
1 onion, sliced
three cubes chicken bouillon, crushed (about 2 tsp.)
salt and pepper
paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Arrange still frozen chicken evenly in large baking dish. Yes, still frozen.
Sprinkle with pepper, salt and paprika. Cover with onion slices.

In a small bowl combine orange juice, honey, chicken bouillon, 1-2 tsp of grated orange peel (you can use a zester or the smallest part of the cheese grater)

Pour the mixture over the chicken. Place dish into oven, bake for 45 minutes to one hour.
Cover the chicken and onions with the orange slices, put back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.

Serve over rice or orzo.

Chicken Piccata

Quick and easy.
The finished dish looks fancy and like it took TWICE the time to cook.

You need:
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/4 inch thickness (or get the fillets, which are usually thinner and sometimes cheaper)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp dry white wine or water
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon thinly sliced
3 Tbsp capers
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture, shake off excess

In a large frying pan, heat butter AND vegetable oil over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook about three minutes a side, until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Add wine to pan and deglaze for about one minute. Make sure to get all the pan drippings scraped up off the bottom of the pan.
Add lemon juice and bring to a low boil. Return chicken to pan cover with lemon slices and capers cook until sauce thickens slightly, about three minutes.
Serve garnished with parsley over hot buttered egg noodles and whole green beans.
Delicious.

Zanzibar Chicken

This totally violates the "no fruit and meat" rule at my house, but seriously, it's sooo good. And raisins are only just barely fruit. In fact, I let my daughter in on the secret that raisins and grapes were exactly the same thing, and she looked at me like "Mom, seriously, you've lost your mind now. For real."

OK. Zanzibar Chicken. Another great recipe for a cheaper cut of chicken, the thigh.

You need:
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or more to taste
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp raisins

I like to combine the chicken, cinnamon, cloves, salt, pepper and oil in a bowl together and let it sit and marinate for awhile first.

Then you heat a skillet, medium high, brown the chicken five minutes a side, until it is golden brown and slightly crusty.

Remove the chicken and keep warm. Add the onions to the skillet. Cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remember to be scraping up those delicious browned bits off the bottom of the pan while you saute those onions.
Add the garlic to the pan, cook one minute.

Return the chicken to the pan, add OJ and raisins. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

I serve this over steamed rice with broccoli or whole green beans on the side. Very nice. We had this for dinner tonight. And though I got a raised eyebrow from the husband, on account of the raisins, it was very well received.

Uncle Thomas' Chicken Cacciatore

Honestly, I've yet to make this for MY family, but Uncle Tommy makes it for his all the time and it's a bonafide hit. This is his recipe straight from him. He is one of those natural cooks, so he uses hardly any measurements. I will add them in along with notes on what he means by fancy cooking words like "deglaze" and "other seasonings"

You Need:
Olive Oil & Butter (maybe 2tsp of each)
Chicken (a couple lbs cut up, bone in, skin on or off)
Flour (about a quarter to half cup)
Pepper & other seasonings (about 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper and maybe 1/4 tsp of anything else you add)

Note from Jessica: By "other seasonings" I think he means, and I would suggest, using salt, garlic powder, maybe sweet paprika, maybe parsley, thyme, sage. This is mixing in with the flour to make what will be the crust on the chicken. Think like KFC...11 herbs and spices...

Garlic (about 2tsp, minced)
one Red Pepper (seeded & sliced)
one medium Onion (sliced)
(mushrooms, sliced, about four ounces, if you like them, they are NOT in Thomas' recipe)
Tomato Paste (about 1.5 Tbsp or so)
Chicken Stock, white wine or water (1/4 cup or less)
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes (any flavor, I like fire roasted)
Oregano & other seasonings

Note from Jessica: HERE by "other seasonings" he means your standard italian seasonings like basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper. Whatever you like or would normally put in spaghetti sauce. About a tsp or so of anything, or to taste.


Melt butter & olive oil in big, deep fry pan.
Dredge chicken in seasoned flour & brown in butter oil mixture for couple of minutes per side.
Remove chicken from pan and keep warm, add garlic, onion & red pepper to pan. Saute then add tomato paste & fry that up until onions & peppers start to get soft. About five minutes.
Deglaze (see below) pan with liquid of choice, add 2 cans diced tomatoes.
Bring to a bubble then lower to minimal heat. Return chicken to pan and cook over low heat for about 20-30 minutes.
Taste & season sauce to your liking. The meat should almost fall off bone. If you don't like the chunks of veggies in your sauce, blend with a stick blender, food processor or blender. Blending will also thicken sauce. Serve over favorite pasta. You should have a good amount of tasty sauce left over.

Note from Thomas: If you use boneless chicken, cook veggies longer before you add the chicken & reduce cooking time of chicken. This recipe is really meant for less expensive chicken on the bone like thighs, legs, etc. It's a great way to get all the flavor and value out of those cheaper cuts.

Deglaze: Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing bits of food from a pan in order to make a sauce with them. Usually, the meat is removed from the pan. The pan is returned to the heat, and a liquid is added to act as a solvent. This liquid can be plain water, vegetable or meat stock, a spirit, some wine or any other liquid. This allows the cook to scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan, and dissolve them creating a rich sauce.

Chicken Enchiladas

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 50 minutes


Ingredients


4 portions chicken breast (about 1 lb.)
4 green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded & minced
3 cans (10 oz each) green enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup cheese, shredded
2 cups lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tomato, diced
1 can (2 oz) ripe olives, sliced

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Place chicken breasts in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Shred cooked chicken by pulling apart with 2 forks; set aside.

3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add green onion, cilantro & jalapeno; saute for 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken & 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

4. Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce in a medium bowl and microwave until warm, about 2 minutes. Dip each tortilla in the heated sauce and fill with about 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in prepared baking dish.

5. Pour remaining heated sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

6. Top with desired toppings lettuce, tomato, olives, salsa, & sour cream. Serve & enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

Being a half mexican family, we love to eat mexican food. We are also in love with Italian food after our stay there, so what could be better than noodles and mexican flavor??

Ingredients:
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 c milk
1 1/4 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
3 c cubed cooked chicken
1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1/2 c sliced green onions (approx. 9)
1.2 c fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
3 c shredded mexican style cheese blend (I use whatever cheese i have on hand... cheddar, jack, pepper jack etc. I am too cheap to buy preshredded), 12 oz.
1 large red bell pepper
1 small can sliced black olives

Prep:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with cookin spray. Cook and drain noodles according to package directions.

In a large bowl, mix soup, sour cream, milk, cumin, garlic powder, chicken, chilies.

Spread about 1 1/4 c of chicken mixture in baking dish. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 1/4 c chicken mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with onions, cilantro and 1 c. of cheese.

Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 1/4 c chicken mixture over noodles. Sprinkle bell peppers and olives. Sprinkle with 1 c. cheese. Top with 4 noodles. Spread with remaining chicken mixture.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 to 30 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. Sprinkle with additional cilantro. Let stand for 15 min. before cutting.

Serves 8

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This is my go-to, gotta make something the whole family will eat meal. It's easy and the prep time isn't too bad considering it cooks inself in the crockpot after that.
Bob requests this for his birthday and Father's Day and any other day he thinks he should get a special meal.

You need:
3-4 lb chicken, I use a whole cut up chicken, you can also use half breasts with the bones still in.
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. oil
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
(I use the reduced fat, sodium kind, no taste difference)
1 cup sour cream
1 - 28 oz can green enchilada sauce
1 - 4.5 oz can peeled diced green chiles
20 corn tortillas
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Prep:
Boil chicken. Shred meat and discard bones and skin. (I freeze the broth from this in ice cube trays for use later as chicken stock) You can do this step a day ahead and keep the chicken in the fridge until you're ready to whip up the sauce and assemble.

Sauce:
Saute onion in oil in saucepan until translucent. Add can of green chiles cook one more minute. Stir in soups, sour cream and enchilada sauce. Warm through.

Cut the tortillas into four wedges. I do this in a big stack rather than one at a time!

Assemble:
In your crock pot, layer sauce, chicken, tortillas and cheese, it's usually three or four layers, end with cheese then pour the remaining sauce all over the top.

Cover. Cook on low 5-6 hours or high 2-3 hours (I recommend slow!)

Cowboy Chicken

My kids love this quick and easy dinner!

• 2 c. shredded chicken in BBQ sauce. You can buy this already in a can or you can be like me and throw some chicken and the contents of a bottle of BBQ sauce in the slow cooker the day you want to make this for dinner.
  
• 1 can garbanzo beans
  
• 1 can lima beans or pinto beans
  
• 1 can kidney beans (I use 3 cans of random beans, whatever I have on hand.)
  
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 quart casserole with cooking spray (or olive oil in your Pampered Chef oil spritzer thing). Mix chicken and beans in casserole.
   
2. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

6 servings

Serve over rice or with tortillas or tortilla chips. Serve with corn and a salad and you have a complete meal!!