Quick Idea: Quesadillas

I love to make quesadillas with leftovers.  If we have any kind of meat leftover I will put it in a baggy and freeze it usually.  Then when we want to have quesadillas I just have to pull it out and defrost it. 

All I have to do is soften a tortilla in the microwave, spread a little refried beans on half the tortilla (sometimes I mix in a little enchilada sauce with the beans), sprinkle with meat, and cheese.  Sometimes I saute up some veggies but if your wanting quick these are still good without all the work.  Then fold the tortilla over and fry up on the stovetop with a little butter or cooking spray. 

Butter taste better of course and gives it that crunchy texture, but cooking spray will work if your watching your calories.  Also if your counting calories, or carbs for that matter, you can skip the tortilla and use a sheet of lavash.  We did this earlier this week and they were very yummy. 

Serve with some shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and/or guacomole. 

Asian Grilled Chicken

We love to grill out.  For the past month or two we have already grilled out almost every weekend.  I was excited to find a different type of recipe to try out on the grill.  I am partial to a charcoal grill but because I don't know the first thing about grilling on it and my husband was possibly going to have to work I was going to make them on my griddle/grill inside and I think they would of turned out fine.  Luckily he didn't end up having to work the extra hours and was able to cook these for me.

The marinade was easy and I just made it the night before.  All I had to do was combine all the ingredients and pour it over the chicken.  Then let them soak it all in, I turned my chicken over in the morning so it soaked in more evenly.  I also made some fried rice and egg rolls to go with the dish.  Everyone in the family loved this meal, it was excellent.


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Asian Grilled Chicken
Adapted from http://www.skinnytaste.com/
Serves 6


3 lb boneless skinless chicken breast

4 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp sesame seeds

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground ginger

4 green onions, minced

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

2 tsp honey

4 tsp sesame oil



Combine everything but the chicken in a bowl to make marinade.  Pour over chicken, cover and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or even over night (the longer the better).  Turn chicken after a few hours so both sides soak up the marinade.

Grill.  Can be done on an indoor or outdoor grill.

Grape and Almond Chicken Salad

We had company recently and need a quick light lunch, this sandwich is what came to mind. It's fancier than just a lunch meat sandwich but still easy. It can also be made in advance which is plus in my book. Not to mention it's a good excuse to use yummy croissants (I love those things). You can use frozen chicken breast (boiled and cubed), my preferred method, or to make it even easier you can use canned chicken, shredded. Serve with some chips and/or fresh fruit and you've got a yummy lunch. And once again I don't have any pictures, I forgot to pull out the camera, it was a crazy day.


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Grape and Almond Chicken Salad

4 cup cooked, cubed, chicken breast
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1/2 - 2/3 cup Miracle Whip
1 1/2 cup red grape halves
1/2 cup almond slices
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Chop the celery and scallion. Mix with the Miracle Whip. Cut the grapes in half then toss everything together. Chill for at least 1 hour.

I like to serve on Croissants, in pitas, or even on Triscuits for a snack.

White Chicken Chili

Yummy!  I had forgotten how good this chili was till I made it for the first time in quite a while the other night.  I got this recipe from my mother in law and have changed a few things to fit my families taste.  I know I said I was pulling out my crockpot recipes and this is done on the stovetop, but this can easily be done in the crockpot instead so that's what made me think of it.  This time I did this meal on the stovetop though, so I will put in the recipe instructions what you would do differently to make this in the crockpot also. 

No matter if you do this stovetop or crockpot you will start off the same way, toasting the tortillas.  This will make your kitchen smell wonderful, and it works on either a gas or electric stovetop.  After your tortillas are toasted, cut them up into bite size pieces and set them aside. 

Now you will be cooking your chicken unless your like me and have it already cooked in the freezer.  Almost everytime we grill out I have my husband put a few extra chicken breast on the grill for me to freeze for meals later.  It's a time saver and I love grilled chicken in almost anything, we had some in our pasta earlier this week and I used some in this soup.  If you do end up cooking your chicken, after its ready put it off to the side with the tortillas.  At this point if you're using the crock pot you will just put everything in the crock pot, except for the milk which we will substitute with extra broth and the oil, turn on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  And your done till it's time to get out the garnishings and to serve.

If you're cooking on the stovetop you will add the rest of your oil to the pan and cook the onions until softened, then add in the chilies, garlic, chili powder, and cumin.  Cook this for about 1 minute.  Now add in the broth and milk then let it start to boil.  Add in the hominy, tortilla pieces, and chicken then lower your heat and let it simmer.  Stir it every once and a while until it has thickened, about 20 mintes.  Toppings we like to use are sour cream, shredded cheese, and/or lime wedges.  This is a very filling meal and can be easily customized to your own taste, if you want a little kick to it add some pepper jack cheese instead of regular shredded or add a little sour cream to cool it off a bit for the kids. 


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White Chicken Chili

Time: about 30 minutes  Serves: 6


6 corn tortillas
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked (I like to use grilled) and shredded or cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil divided
1 medium onion
1 (6oz) can green chilies
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
2 cups skim milk (omit for crockpot recipe and use another can of broth instead)
2 cans white hominy, drained and rinsed

Serve with:
Lime wedges
Shredded cheese or pepper jack cheese
Sour Cream

Place a tortilla directly on stovetop burner (gas or electric), set on medium low, and toast.  Turning frequently with tongs until golden and fragrant. about 30-60 seconds.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.  Cut into bite sized pieces and set aside. 
In a deep skillet or dutch oven heat 1/2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. 
Add chicken and cook stirring often until lightly browned.  Transfer to plate and set aside. 
Add remaining oil to pan along with onions and cook until softened, add chilies, garlic, chili powder, and cumin.  Cook about 1 minute. 
(If using your crockpot put all ingredients except for the milk, we will use an extra can of broth instead, into your crockpot and cook for 6-8 hrs on low or 4 hours on high, and you're done.  If cooking on stovetop disregard this message and continue on)
Add broth and milk and bring to a boil. 
Stir in hominy, tortilla pieces, and chicken.  Reduce heat to low. 
Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened, about 20 mintes. 
Garnish with lime wedges, sour cream, and/or shredded cheese if desired.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

If you haven't noticed already, I love easy meals.  I like to cook but sometimes I'm just busy, but I still want a good meal on the table at dinner time.  My crock pot is my friend and I am trying to pull out and go over my crock pot recipes now that it is starting to get warmer, because who wants to use the oven much when it gets hot outside.

Today was a semi-busy day, I ran around town shopping, I can't remember the last time I went shopping for just me.  So before I left the house I put 2 cans of cream of chicken soup (I want to make my own sometime but didn't have the time today), 1 can of chicken broth, 2 cans of water (use the broth can for this not the soup), salt and pepper (I don't usually salt cause of the soups but I do put in pepper), 3 medium size frozen chicken breast, 1/3 cup of each frozen peas and frozen carrots, and 1/4 cup of frozen chopped onion (you could use fresh or omit these altogether but frozen are faster for today).  Put the lid on and turn it on low for 4-6 hrs.


When I got home I did a few things around the house while the girls napped, and Anthony was at the park with a friend of his. Then I turned the crock pot on high and took the chicken breast out. I placed them on a cutting board and they easily shredded, then back in the pot they went.

About this time Elizabeth woke up and I brought her in the kitchen to color in her highchair while I cut up the biscuits on a floured cutting board.  I like a lot of biscuits in my chicken and dumplings but I have seen other recipes that use about the same about of liquid and other ingredients but only use 1 can of biscuits so you could cut this down to 1 if you would like.  After they are all cut, dump them in the crock pot and put the lid on, don't stir them.  I know you want to, but don't do it :).  After about an hour check them and then if they are not cooking well stir them slightly and try to get them under the liquid if you can.  Just make sure not to stir much because they may still be doughy at this point.  After the dumplings have been in for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs check and see if you need to add any salt or pepper and that your dumplings are cooked.  That's it, an easy dinner for a semi-busy day. 

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Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
total cook time 5 1/2 -8 hours

3 chicken breast
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
2 cans water (broth cans not cream of chicken)
1/3 cup frozen carrots
1/4 cup chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup frozen peas
2 cans biscuits

Put all ingredients except biscuits in the crock pot. 
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Shred your chicken after 4-5 hours.  Turn the crock pot on High.

Flatten biscuits and cut into 4-6 pieces (your preference I like mine into six pieces)  Place in crock pot quickly but try not to stir them much if it all, after about an hour check and see if they need to be stirred.

Cook on high for 2 hrs.

*note: On occasion my biscuits have not cooked well (maybe I left the lid off too long, or cut my biscuit to large, who knows) or I need to get dinner on the table quicker than 2 hrs from putting the biscuits in.  You can still use the crock pot for the everything up until the biscuits, let the flavors simmer all day, yum.  But about 30 minutes before you want to serve dinner put the whole thing in a large pot.  Bring to a boil. Cut biscuits and drop into boiling broth. Cook on medium heat approximately 10-15 minutes.

Chicken Monterey

This is a dish my husband's been requesting for a little while now and I finally decided to make it for him.  I'm so glad I did, I forgot how good it was.  It's really fairly simple and I've done it a few different ways, like this time I forgot the taco seasoning till everything else was almost done so I just added it into the sour cream and you couldn't tell a difference except for the orange sour cream of course. 

This dish is not too spicy, but I use mild taco sauce and mild taco seasoning, so it can easiely be spiced up if you prefer.  I usually serve this with refried beans and salad.  You could also serve with tortillas and make burritos out of it, I've done that with leftovers before but there were no leftovers this time.

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Chicken Monterey
Serves 4

2 chicken breast
2 cups cooked brown rice
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 slices pepper jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup taco sauce
envelope taco seasoning

Put the rice on the bottom of a casserole dish. 
Place chicken on top of the rice.
Mix oil, taco sauce, and taco seasoning then pour over chicken.
Place cheese slices over chicken then top with dollops of sour cream.
Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

I serve with refried beans and salad.

Sweet and Sour Chicken



Sweet and Sour Chicken, fried rice, egg rolls, and extra sweet and sour sauce for dipping


We had Sweet and Sour Chicken, with egg rolls, and fried rice.  It is a time consuming dish so be prepared, it does take 1hr in the oven and probably about 30 minutes of prep and time at the stove.  Needless to say we don't make this often but it is a favorite.  If a recipe keeps me in the kitchen that long it better be exceptional or it doesn't last on our menu long. 
Also I have used just the chicken recipe without the sauce and added in a little garlic powder and onion powder to the flour mix to make chicken nuggets to keep in the freezer for the kids lunches.  It is cheaper and much better than store bought chicken nuggets.  I enlist Matthew's help and we do a whole 6 lb bag of chicken at once.  They love it, and Matthew and I even made a few for ourselves last time by adding a little Cajun seasoning to the last of the flour.  But back to the actually recipe.

 

Start off by cubing 3-4 chicken breast. Then put your flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. And your beaten egg in another shallow dish. I use 8x8 pans. I like to double dip my chicken, because of this I use about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of flour instead of the 1 cup the original recipe calls for. Start off in the flour, then egg, then flour again. While you are dredging your chicken you can start your oil heating up on the stove. When you oil is heated enough to sizzle and bubble at a pinch of flour tossed in, you can add your chicken. Now don't cook your chicken all the way just get it brown, the oven will finish where the skillet leaves off. Oh yeah on that note nows a good time to preheat your oven to 325 degrees while you finish up the chicken.   Remove your chicken from the skillet to a paper towel lined plate, drain, then transfer to a 9x13 dish. 

Now you get to mix up your sauce.  The original recipe calls for 1/2 a cup of vinegar but this is just too much for my family so we cut it down to 1/3 a cup.  If your family isn't turned off by that much vinegar, Matthew and Anthony liked it fine with 1/2 a cup, but the girls and I like it better with a little less.  Now if you don't want to take the hour for the oven, you could cook completely in the skillet, then heat your sauce in a saucepan for about 10 minutes on a low heat.  It really is worth the wait to do it in the oven though, the flavors blend so much more that way.  So with your chicken placed in the 9x13 single layered, pour your sauce over the chicken, and bake for 1 hour turning about every 15 minutes so they are coated well.



So I got distracted and this is the last picture I took till my actual plate sorry.

 We like this with fried rice and for the first time I made egg rolls.  I also doubled the sauce so we had the extra to dip our egg rolls in.

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Sweet and Sour Chicken
adapted from: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Serves 4-6




Chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil


Sauce:


3/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons ketchup

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic salt



Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. 

Mix salt and pepper into flour in a shallow dish I use a 8x8 glass pan.

Dip chicken in flour and then in egg then back in flour.

Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through.

Place in a single layer in a baking dish.

Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken.

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes so it is evenly coated with the sauce.



Chicken Fried Chicken



This one is for my Bro-in-law Jeremy. He was asking for a chicken fried chicken recipe and it sounded good to me also. So I did a little research and this is what I came up with. We had these for dinner tonight with my mother in law and father in law over to help taste test too. They were a hit.




This was only about a third of one of the "monster" pieces of meat I used

 

Now I tried to find the smallest chicken breast I could but still ended up with HUGE pieces of meat. Even my husband only ate half of one and I didn't even finish my half (that's saying a lot). So I am putting the recipe for "normal" sized chicken breast not the monsters I used, but if you can't find "normal" ones you may have to double the breading and egg mix like I did. But my freezer has 4 individual lunches for my husband, even with leftover mashed potatoes, and a dish with a whole dinner's worth of chicken for our family, all I have to do is provide the sides.

I used 8 boneless skinless chicken breast and started off by putting a piece of chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and flattening it with a meat mallet or you could use rolling pin, you want to make them about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. If you've had a stressful day make sure you don't over do it or your chicken won't stay together while you handle it, I got a little over zealous with one of mine and had trouble keeping it together for all the dredging.

 

In a shallow dish combine 2 cups bread crumbs, 3 Tbsp flour, 3 Tbsp potato flakes, 1/8 tsp of onion powder, 1/8 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper.  In another shallow dish, I used 2 8x8 pans, whisk together 3 eggs and 1/3 cup milk.

In a deep skillet pour about 1/2 inch thick oil and heat on medium high for a few minutes. If you drop in a bit of flour and it sizzles at you, it's ready. Dredge your chicken in bread crumb mix, egg mix, then bread crumb mix again. Place the coated chicken in the skillet and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side.  Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels. After drained I placed mine in the oven at 275 degrees while I cooked the rest and just added them to the dish in the oven as I went.

You can make gravy with this if you choose, we did but it wasn't picture worthy. Probably cause I burnt the drippings, but oh well, the chicken was good enough it made up for it. I also don't usually use a recipe for gravy and dinner was running late so I didn't measure anything out this time. Next time I make it I will try to get a gravy recipe on here.
 
 

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Chicken Fried Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken breast

3 Tbsp flour

3 Tbsp potato flakes

2 cups plain bread crumbs

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup milk

Oil



1. Start off by putting a piece of chicken between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and flattening it with a meat mallet or rolling pin, you want them to be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.

2.  In a shallow dish combine bread crumbs, flour, potato flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and, ground black pepper.

3.  In another shallow dish whisk together eggs and milk.


4.  In a deep skillet pour about 1/2 inch thick oil and heat on medium high for a few minutes.

5.  Dredge your chicken in bread crumb mix, egg mix, then bread crumb mix again.

6.  Place the coated chicken in the skillet and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

7.  Place in the oven at 275 degrees to keep warm as you go.

Poppy seed Chicken

Poppy seed chicken is an absolute favorite around here.  The girls even like it, but won't just dig in themselves we actually have to feed it to them.  This can be a pain but once you taste it you will realize why we bother and make it anyway, it's just that good.

You start by boiling 2-3lb of chicken, I like mine on the meaty side so I go with 3 lbs.  While the chicken is cooking, in a large bowl I put together my 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 12 oz of sour cream with salt and pepper to taste.  After the chicken has cooked, remove from pan, and cube into bite-sized pieces.  Stir into your large bowl with the soup mix you've been working on.

In a seperate medium bowl combine 2 1/2 - 3 sleeves of ritz crackers, crushed, 2-3 Tbsp poppy seeds, and 2 sticks of melted butter.  Stir till well coated with the butter.

In a 9x13 pan spread half of your cracker mix on the bottom of the pan the pour in your chicken mix.  Top with the other half of the cracker mix and place in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

We love this served with mashed potatoes and green beans.

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Poppy seed Chicken

Oven Temp: 375 degrees  Time: 30 minutes  Serves:8-10

3lb Chicken cooked and cubed

12oz sour cream
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 1/2 - 3 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed

2-3 Tbsp poppy seeds

2 sticks of butter, melted

Boil your chicken then transfer to cutting board and cube in bite-sized pieces.  Mix together the chicken, sour cream, and chicken soups.  In a separate bowl mix crackers, poppy seeds and melted butter.  Layer 1/2 the cracker mixture at the bottom of a 9x13 pan.   Then pour chicken mixture on top of that.  Top with remaining cracker mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Chicken Enchilada

We have had a crazy couple weeks with our girls sick.  So I have been using lots of go to meals, and I will admit pizza and sonic have come into play and even my wonderful mother in law brought over some chicken noodle soup last night for us.  Here is one of my favorite go to recipes, we used it tonight.

Start off boiling 2lbs of chicken breast.  While the chicken is boiling, cook 1 cup of brown rice according to package.  Once rice is cooked stir together rice and 1 block of cream cheese.  Shred or cut up chicken and add to rice mixture.  Mix in 1/3 cup green enchilada sauce (save the rest for later).  And sometimes I will put in half a can of black beans, and you guessed it put aside the other half can for the girls to eat. 

Take 8 burrito size tortillas and heat them in the microwave til they are warm.  I put the stack in for 30 sec then flip them and put them back in for 30 sec, flip them again and nuke them one more time for 30 sec. 

Fill your tortillas with chicken and rice mixture and put into a 9x13 pan, or I do 2 smaller casserole pans and put one up for later. 

Cover with the rest of your enchilada sauce and 2 cups of cheese.  Place in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

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Chicken Enchiladas
Serves 8

2lb Chicken breast
1 cup minute brown rice, uncooked
1/2 can black beans drained and rinsed (optional)
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese
8 burrito size flour tortillas
2 cup shredded cheese
2 (10 oz) cans green enchilada sauce

1. Boil then shred chicken breast

2. Cook rice according to package

3.  Mix cooked rice, cream cheese, chicken, and 1/3 cup enchilada sauce in a large mixing bowl.  Then add in 1/2 can black beans, don't over stir after adding beans or they will mush

4. Warm tortillas then roll mixture up in tortillas and place in 9x13 baking dish

5. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top and then shredded cheese on top of that.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes

Anthony's Pizza Pasta



Mmmmm cheesy goodness



One evening, a little over a year ago,Anthony and I were trying to figure out what to have for dinner.  He wanted pizza but I didn't have any pizza sauce or crust, but we had everything else.  So he came up with this recipe (with a little help from mom). And it turned out pretty good.  Well we made pizzas the other day and needed to use up the leftover pepperonis.  So, Pizza Pasta was the solution, and we haven't had it in quite a while.

This can either just be thrown together last minute, skipping the crock pot and just boiling your chicken instead, or you can do what I did today.  I threw 2-4 frozen chicken breast, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a can of petite diced tomatoes in the crock pot and let it cook for 6 hrs on low.  It has a great flavor slow cooking like this if you can manage getting it in early enough for the meat to cook all the way.

About 45 minutes - 1 hour before dinner.  Cook 16oz of dry pasta, we like it with penne noodles but I make it with whatever I have on hand, make sure not to overcook the pasta your gonna put it in the oven too. 

Then take the chicken out and cut it up into bite sized pieces.  Cut about 15-20 pepperonis into quarters and stir back into the crock pot. 

Put pasta and sauce in a 9x13 pan or a large casserole dish.  This makes enough for two meals for our family so I put half in a medium casserole dish and half in an 8x8 pan to put up for later.

Add two 2.25 oz cans of sliced olives and 1 cup of cheese, stir.  The top with 1 additional cup of shredded cheese.

Place in the oven at 325 degrees for 20-25 min. 

I served with steamed broccoli and rolls.











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Anthony's Pizza Pasta

Serves 8-10  

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 jar Ragu light pasta sauce

1 can petite diced tomatoes

16oz of penne noodles

15-20 pepperonis, quartered

2 (2.25 oz) cans of sliced olives

2 cups of shredded cheese

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2.  Boil chicken then cut into bite size pieces.

3. Cook pasta, make sure not to overcook it will go in the oven next.

4. Mix chicken pieces, pasta sauce, petite diced tomatoes, pepperoni, olives, and pasta.

5. Stir in 1 cup of cheese, then place mixture in a 9x13 pan or large casserole dish.

6. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

7. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes.