Parmesan Crusted Chicken

We have this favorite meal in our house - well, actually we have many favorite meals - but one of these favorites is Tomato And Basil Capellini.  We have it quite often, but I had to figure out some type of chicken to go with it.  That's how I came up with Parmesan Crusted Chicken.   This chicken is easy, tasty, and the perfect accompaniment to our Tomato And Basil Capellini.

Ingredients:

6 thin chicken breasts

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

3/4 tsp salt

olive oil

In a shallow dish combine the bread crumbs, cheese, seasonings and salt.  Stir to combine.

Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag and pound until about 1/2 inch thin.  I just used a rolling pin - you could use a mallet if you had one.

Cover the bottom of a non-stick pan with olive oil - about 1/2 to 1 cup.  Heat oil on medium-high heat.

Then place the chicken in the bread crumb mixture and coat completely.

Once your oil is nice and hot, place the chicken in the oil.  Cook until golden brown - about 5 minutes.

Then flip the chicken over and cook on the other side - another 5 to 7 minutes.

This is what it looks like when your chicken is all done.  Crispy, juicy, seasoned perfectly and absolutely amazing!

Chicken Spinach Fettuccine

This is an adapted recipe.  It was originally a Betty Crocker, but I've changed it slightly and added a couple of things.  It is really creamy and amazingly good!

Plus, as far as Alfredo type pastas go, this one is actually fairly good for you.  The only fat comes from the bacon, the low-fat cream cheese, and the Romano cheese - and there's only a little bit of all three.  Not too bad - and the taste is amazing.


Ingredients:

16 oz uncooked fettuccine
8 slices bacon - cut into small pieces
1 large or 2 small chicken breasts - cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup water
2 oz neufatel cheese (low-fat cream cheese)
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tb flour
3/4 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
3/4 cup fat free half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
9 oz frozen spinach - thawed and drained


Fill a large large pot with water and get it going on the stove.  This is for your fettuccine, however, it will take a little while for this to come to a boil so get it started right at the beginning.

In a large non-stick skillet cook your 8 slices of bacon.  When they are crispy - but not burnt - remove them from the skillet and place them on a paper towel covered plate.  Drain the grease from the skillet.

Place the chicken strips in the non-stick skillet and cook until no longer pink.  This only takes a few minutes.  You've removed the bacon grease, but there is still enough that the chicken will cook nicely.

When the chicken is done, reduce heat to medium or medium high and add the garlic.   Cook (stirring constantly) for 30 seconds.  Add the water and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir chicken broth and flour together with a whisk.   Pour into the skillet and continue to cook and stir for two more minutes.  The mixture will thicken up.  

Your big pot of water should be boiling sometime soon.  Make sure and add those noodles once the water starts boiling.  They are going to take at least 12 minutes to cook - I usually leave them in for 13 or 14 minutes.

Reduce skillet heat to low and add Romano cheese.  This is what really gives it that rich flavor, so maker sure you include it.  Stir until cheese is melted.

Add half-and-half, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Now add the thawed and drained spinach.

As a side note, some people like to boil the spinach and then drain it.  I find this a little more cumbersome, so I generally leave the spinach out until it has mostly thawed.  Then I place it in a colander and run hot water over it.  After it has completely thawed, I place it in a cheesecloth (or a few paper towels) and gently squeeze out the extra water.  You want the spinach nice and dry.

Stir in the spinach and add a handful of the bacon bits.  Stir again to combine.

After the noodles are done, drain them and then combine with the spinach sauce.  Finish it off my sprinkling the rest of the bacon on the top of the noodles.

So good!

Enjoy!

Chicken Alabam

I got this recipe from my mom and it is absolutely wonderful. The only reason I don't make it more often is because of the amount of cream in it. But, I decided that Valentine's Day was the perfect time to live a little and this became the main course of our dinner.

Ingredients:

8 chicken breasts

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp thyme

7 Tbs butter

1/4 cup onions

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup light cream (or half-and-half)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 small jar pimentos

Mix flour, salt, paprika, pepper, and thyme in a plastic bag. Add chicken and shake to coat with four mixture.

Place chicken in a 9x13 pan and brush chicken with 3 tablespoons of melted butter. Or, you can just spoon it over like me - I didn't want my pastry brush touching raw chicken.

Broil chicken in oven until lightly brown.

Saute onions with remaining butter (4 tablespoons). Stir in extra flour mixture. Yep...you've just made a rue.

Add chicken stock and cop and stir until thick. Add cream and cook u neil thick again. Then add lemon juice and pimento.

Pour bechamel sauce (that's your sauce pictured above) over chicken. Cover dish and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes.

When it is done, your chicken will be perfectly tender and your sauce will taste great poured onto a large pile of rice. Absolutely wonderful!

Creamy White Chili

This recipe is perfect for these crisp fall days. It is so good, in fact, that I won 1st place at my church's Chili Cook-Off with this recipe. Of course, any recipe that has cream and sour cream must be good - it's a law of nature.

Ingredients:

1 Tb. vegetable oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 onion, chopped

14 oz. can chicken broth

2 cans (15.8 oz.) Great Northern beans, rinsed & drained

1 can (7 oz) chopped green chiles, undrained

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

8 oz. container sour cream

1 cup whipping cream

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Heat oil over medium heat; add chicken and onion. Sauté 10 minutes or until chicken is done; set aside.

Add broth, beans, chiles, and seasonings. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add sour cream and whipping cream, stirring well. You can top it with shredded cheese, however, I did not. I figured with all the various creams, I didn't really need the cheese.

This is seriously amazing, go make some tonight!

Chicken Spinach Roll-Ups

There is an amazing restaurant called Zoes Kitchen. If you've never heard of this place, you really need to check it out. They have these amazing spinach roll-ups that you can get with or without chicken. The first time I had them, I just knew that I would be trying to make these at home.

So....after a bunch of tries (ask my family - I think there were 7 or so), I finally came up with a recipe. These Chicken Spinach Roll-Ups are absolutely to die for!

Ingredients:

1 Tb. olive oil

1 lb. chicken cut into small slices

1/2 medium red onion - diced

1/2 red pepper - diced

3 cloves garlic - diced

1 lb. frozen spinach - thawed and drained

1 1/2 tsp. salt

4 oz. feta cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded

9 to 10 flour tortillas

Heat olive oil in skillet until hot. Add chicken, onions, and pepper. Cook over medium high heat until chicken is done and onions and peppers are tender. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Add drained spinach. (I like to to place my drained spinach in a cheesecloth or paper towel and squeeze all the extra water out - you want it nice and dry).

Add salt and stir to combine all ingredients.

Now throw in all that cheese. Yes...I know you are thinking that this can not be healthy with all that cheese, but if you really consider how many portions you are making this this, it's not that much cheese per person.

Continue to cook mixture until cheese melts.

Remove mixture from heat - it's time to make those Roll-Ups.

Scoop up some chicken spinach mixture and place it on top of the tortilla. Roll into a tube. You can get between 9 and 10 of these, so think of that when you're trying to come up with the exact amount of filling - I want to say it will be around 1/3 cup....ish....

Place your rolled tortillas onto a cookie sheet. You could brown these on a griddle or in a sauté pan on the stove, but I chose to do it in the oven - it's a little easier.

Turn your oven on Broil and bake just long enough for the tops to turn brown and the tortilla to get crunchy. You have to watch these constantly because you don't want them to burn.

See that? Nice and golden brown on the edges.

Remove from pan, slice in half on a diagonal and serve!

So good!

Chicken Salad

I was wondering what to do with my food from my Bountiful Basket and this recipe was my first idea. Well....not my first idea, but the easiest one to throw together for dinner. Absolutely delish!

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

1 1/2 cup grapes

1 cup chopped celery - about 2 stalks

3/4 cup mayo

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Lightly drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of the chicken and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Turn chicken over and do the same thing on the top. Place on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken and let it cool. Once it has cooled down, chop it into small cubes (or shred it, but I like cubes).

Put grapes and celery in with chicken. If you have large grapes, cut them in half - mine were small, so I left them whole.

In a small bowl, add the mayo and the salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour over chicken, celery, grape combo and mix together.

Cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to use. It tastes better chilled.

You can serve this a couple of different ways.....

You can have it just plain - by itself or on a piece of lettuce.

Or...you can add some carbs!

The traditional way is on a croissant bun.

Absolutely yummy and served at every wedding reception you go to. : )

I really like it this way, however, I would have to say that my favorite way to eat this is on a piece of toasted whole wheat bread.

Take two slices of bread and toast them (no butter). Place one piece of toast on the bottom, cover with chicken salad, and then place the other piece of toast on the top.

You'll probably want to eat this with a fork!

The crunch of the toast goes great with the creamy chicken salad. It's just a great combination - and a lot healthier than the croissant.

Enjoy!

Chicken Caesar Wraps

School Lunch Week

Day 3

Chicken Caesar Wraps

This has quickly become a staple in our School Lunch routine. It's an absolute favorite and so simple to make.

This is one of those recipes that has no exact amounts - you just make them a couple times and then you'll have it down.

Ingredients:

Chicken

Parmesan Cheese

Romaine lettuce

Tortillas

Caesar Salad Dressing

Lay out your tortilla and place chicken on top. If your tortilla is at room temperature it seems to work best. Also, you can use any leftover chicken that you have in your fridge - that chicken breast you had for dinner? Slice it into thin slices - or use the leftover shredded chicken from your asian salad - that's what I did.

Take your salad dressing and put a zig-zag line over the top of the chicken. Then sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese.

We like to use the Kraft Classic Caesar Salad Dressing - it's perfect for this.

Place your romain leaves on top of the chicken. You can use whole leaves or shredded leaves - either one will work.

Don't use other types of lettuce. Ice burg lettuce tastes different and red and green leaf don't stay crispy with the dressing.

Add another zig-zag of dressing and roll that thing up!

Sometimes it stays together just fine, and other times it wants to roll apart. So, I often take a toothpick and stick it right through the middle, just to keep it all together.

This is one that I typically don't slice - I just give them the whole tube.

You can also add more or less of any of the ingredients. Make this a few times and I'm sure you'll have it down perfectly!

Asian Chicken Salad

School Lunch Week

Day 2

Asian Chicken Salad

I'm actually quite surprised that my kids like this and eat it! But, hey...I guess they're culinarily adventurous - who knew?

This is a nice crunchy salad that can be made the night before - which truthfully every mom loves because the mornings are so crazy!

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded chicken

1 cup carrots

3 cups cabbage

1/4 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup asian salad dressing

peanuts (optional)

bean sprouts (optional)

Begin by cooking your chicken. I like to boil mine and then shred it. Once your chicken is shredded, place it in a bowl.

Cut your carrots into thin long strips - or just buy the prepackaged matchstick carrots and measure out a cup. ; )

Place the carrots in the bowl with the chicken.

Take a head of green cabbage (washed, of course) and thinly slice. You want the same style of cabbage that you would use for coleslaw.

Throw in the chives - if you don't have chives, just cut the green tops off of some green onions. They work just great.

Throw the cabbage and the onions into the bowl.

Now for that dressing. I like to use Newman's Own Lowfat Sesame Ginger. But you can use whatever you prefer. I also like the Kraft kind (can't think of the name) but this one is my favorite.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine and coat all ingredients.

If you want to throw in some bean sprouts or peanuts, now's the time. I thought I might be pushing my luck if I added any, so I decided to go with the basic salad for my kids...no need to scare them away with something new.

Eat salad immediately, or place in fridge until ready to serve. Personally I like mine cold.

The kids had the Asian Chicken Salad with grapes (no those are not olives), water, go-gurts, and granola bars.

Yum, yum.