Italian Marinated Chicken

Don't have any good marinade on hand? This is a simple marinade that tastes great!

Italian Marinated Chicken

1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. canned diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Mix everything but the chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Add chicken and shake gently to coat. Seal the bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Grill chicken for 15 minutes or until cooked through, brushing often with stock mixture.

Oriental Chicken

Another Campbell's recipe that's worth trying.

Oriental Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen green beans
2 green onions, chopped

Saute chicken in oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, heat to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for five minutes. Serve over rice.

*Try assorted oriental veggies or add carrots!

Campbell's Week: Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Super easy!

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
2 tsp. chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded cheese (Monterey Jack is great!)
6 flour tortillas, warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (opt.)
1 green onion, sliced (opt.)

Heat oven to 350. Stir soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder in a medium-sized bowl.

Stir 1 cup of the sauce mixture with chicken and cheese in a large bowl. Divide this mixture up between the six tortillas. Roll tortillas and place them seam-side up in a 2 quart shallow baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the rolled tortillas. Cover.

Bake for 40 minutes or until enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top with tomato and onion.

Add a little protein and fiber by stirring in 1/2 cup rinsed black beans with chicken before filling tortillas.

Campbell's Week: Lemon Asparagus Chicken

Lemon Asparagus Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can condensed cream of asparagus soup
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
lemon slices (optional)

Saute chicken in 1 Tbsp. oil until brown. Add soup, milk, lemon juice, and pepper. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook 5 minutes on low heat. Serve with lemon slices. Serves four.

Serve with pasta!

Campbell's Week: Tomato-Basil Chicken

Another Campbell's recipe--a great way to turn basic soups into great dinners!

Tomato-Basil Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
4 cups hot cooked tube pasta

Saute chicken in 1 tbsp. oil until browned. Add soup, milk, cheese, basil, and garlic. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Serve with pasta.

Chicken Enchilada Pizza

Chicken Enchilada Pizzas

4 flour tortillas (10-inch)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
½ c. green salsa (red also works)
1 can (2¼ oz.) sliced ripe olives, drained
1/3 c. sour cream
1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Heat oven to 400, place tortillas on ungreased cookie sheet, bake about 5 minutes or
until crisp.
2. While tortillas are baking, heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Cook onion in oil, stirring frequently, until tender; remove from heat. Stir in chicken,
salsa and olives.
3. Spread sour cream on tortillas. Top with chicken mixture and cheese. Bake 5-6 minutes
or until cheese is melted.

I'm not really a fan of olives, so I substituted a small can of diced green chilis to add some zest!

Back in Business! Thai Chicken Pizza

Sorry for the recipe hiatus: it was finals week here and both computers bit the dust! My rented desktop had to be returned before my husband could graduate (congratulations Eric! I love you!) and my husband's laptop suddenly gave up the ghost.

NOW it's time to get back to cooking (the easy way!). I love pizza, but homemade pizza either requires a lot of work to make everything from scratch or money to buy all of the ingredients. I was so excited when I found these recipes for variety pizzas that use tortillas and other easy to find ingredients.

Thai Chicken Pizza

6 flour tortillas (10-inch)
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 c. chopped cooked chicken breast
1 lb. frozen (or canned) stir-fry vegetables, thawed and drained

1. Heat oven to 400. Place tortillas on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 5 minutes or 
until crisp.
2. Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; spread over tortillas. Top each with 1/4  c. 
cheese. Spread chicken and vegetables evenly over tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining 
cheese.
3. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until pizzas are hot and cheese is melted.

Broccoli, Rice, & Chicken

This crockpot recipe received an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up!

Broccoli, Rice, & Chicken

2 lb. boneless chicken, cut in strips
1 1/4 cup uncooked rice
1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 can water
pepper and minced onion to taste

GREASE CROCKPOT WELL. Add rice. Sprinkle with onion and pepper. Top with chicken. Pour soup and 1 can water over chicken and rice. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

This recipe cooks the rice well and is moist without being runny. Would be great with extra veggies--simply add frozen veggies before pouring on the soup.

P.S. Don't forget to submit your recipes and vote in the poll!

Chicken Divan Casserole

I think it's time for a break from dessert. This is a traditional chicken broccoli and cheese casserole.

Chicken Divan

4 chicken breasts
1 onion (green or white)
1 pkg. frozen broccoli
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup mayo or salad dressing
1 cup grated cheese
2 Tbs. lemon juice

1. Boil chicken with onion. For a faster fix, cut and saute. Place cooked chicken in a casserole dish.
2. Cook broccoli according to package directions. Microwaving preserves more vitamins and nutrients than cooking on the stove top! Put over chicken.
3. Mix soup, mayo, cheese, and lemon juice. Pour over chicken and broccoli.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

This casserole can be microwaved for an even faster meal!

PF Changs Lettuce Wraps

I think I have a new favorite recipe! I've been waiting to post this one until I tried it--and it really is THAT good.

Lettuce Wraps

4 chicken breast halves (boneless, skinless, frozen is okay)
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. white wine (I used white vinegar, rice vinegar, and a pinch of sugar)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
garlic powder (or 5 chopped cloves)
dash of allspice

Put chicken in crockpot with onions and garlic powder. Mix everything else together and pour the sauce over the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6, stirring occasionally. Shred chicken ~30 minutes before serving. Serve buffet style in lettuce wraps.

I added chow mein noodles for a bit of crunch and some stir-fry veggies and rice to balance out the meat. Add hoison or plum sauce if needed!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

Tried and tested!

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken

4 lb. chicken
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 1/2 Tbsp. red vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix sauce, pour over chicken in crockpot. Cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. Serves 6.

I halved this for my smaller family. Can be shredded as it cooks. Best served over rice with steamed veggies. Add pineapple for extra zest!

One Easy, One Gourmet

Apologies for being so slow to update--I just got a new cookbook and I was waiting to test these out before I posted them!

Crock Pot Italian Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
1 pkg. Italian dressing seasoning mix
1/2 c. water
1 (8 oz) block cream chese

Place the chicken, italian seasoning, and water in the crock pot, cook on LOW for ~3 hours (longer if using frozen chicken). When chicken is fully cooked, use a fork to shred it, add the cream cheese and mix thoroughly. This makes a creamy chicken topping that is great over rice or noodles. Serves 6-8.

Wedding Chicken - a la Chicken Cordon Bleu

6 chicken breasts
6 slices of ham
6 slices of Swiss cheese
6 slices of bacon
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 c. sour cream

Lay chicken breasts flat in a large pan. Place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese on each, wrap with bacon and tuck the ends under. Mix together mushroom soup and sour cream, pour over the chicken. Let set overnight. Sprinkle with paprika before baking at 250 for four hours.

Actually a faster recipe than it seems, because you can make them in the evening, make room in the fridge, and then let your house smell wonderful while they bake the next day!


On a side note, I made a two-pan batch of Peanut Butter Fingers last night and they are WONDERFUL, as always. If you haven't tried this yet you're missing out!

Guest Recipes!

This week I'm featuring recipes submitted by the rest of you :o) Thanks for the help!

Sun-dried Tomato Chicken

Ingredients:
1/3-1/2 bottle Kraft's Sun-dried Tomato salad dressing
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken in the dressing for 2-3 hours. Bake at 425 for 15-17 minutes.

Great with baked potatoes and salad!

Crockpot Dip Chicken

4-6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
8 oz cream cheese, soft
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
one packet zesty italian salad dressing mix.

put chicken in crockpot, cover with cream cheese mixture
cover and let cook 6-8 hours.
serve over rice or noodles.

you can use almost any dip mix! (use about 1 1/2-4 Tbsp)

Crock-pot feasting

My sister in law made a fabulous dinner on Saturday for the whole family, and still had lots left over. Haven't quite decided what to call it, but it's a slow-cooked, super tender, chicken fajita type mix :o)

Chicken Salsa Fajitas

Ingredients:
24 oz. salsa
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 packet taco seasoning
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Put in crock-pot on low for 4-5 hours. Shred chicken, serve in tortillas with cheese and sour cream and anything else you have laying around!

Stir-fry in seconds...

So I'm a huge fan of variety and for that reason I LOVE "ethnic" food. I think by ethnic I mean something other than pasta, because that seems to be the cheapest and easiest for college student budgets.

There are tons of ways to make good stir fry and chinese food, but here are my quick suggestions.

1. Good sauce
2. Chinese veggies
3. Meat optional
4. Rice

Again, I love my rice cooker so I can't imagine living without it, but instant rice is not too bad either and takes about the same amount of time to stir fry.

There are lots of different kinds of veggies that work great for stir fry, I usually buy what is cheapest. In the frozen food section there is usually a bag of "chinese starters" or something like that that includes basics like mini-corn and water chestnuts. The type in a can tends to include more sprouts and such but they both work well.

If I have chicken or pork I add that, but if I don't have it or only have a little, I make up the difference with vegetables and it's still great.

There are lots of different sauces. If you have to pick simply one, I recommend a teriyaki merinade or sauce--it's a common flavor that everyone likes but it's not just salt like soy sauce. I also favor Hoison sauce if you're looking for a little more authentic.

Other than that, it's super easy. If you add a little sauce before adding meat you never have to add oil, which makes it healthier. Saute meat over med-high heat until brown, add veggies and more sauce, cook until medium soft (don't want mushy vegetables!) or until the rice is done. Works great as leftovers as well.

Also, if you check out the foreign food aisle of most grocery stores you will find sauce packets for a variety of chinese food that usually are pretty good. My favorites are sesame, hot & spicy, and honey teriyaki. The sweet and sour are generally NOT good, but I have an awesome quickie recipe for that if you're in the mood!

3 ingredient specials!

Ok, here are two of my favorite recipes, both of which had three ingredients (or less)!

Crock-pot Chicken Salsa
Ingredients:
crock-pot
chicken
salsa
(lemon slice or lemon juice if you REALLY feel domestic)

Instructions:
Spray crock-pot for easy clean up.
Add bite size pieces uncooked chicken
Cover with salsa (about 3/4 a jar for a few pounds of chicken)
Add lemon if you're feeling up to it/have it around
Cook on high 3-4 hours

Best served over rice. Salad is a good side if you have it. Serves groups large or small depending on how much chicken you add.

bonus: Makes the house smell fabulous! Also, very easy to remember by the descriptive title.

The other three ingredient special is also served over rice, so I sometimes make these in the same week and just make lots of rice the first time (I consider a rice-cooker an essential gadget).

Thai Peanut Chicken
Ingredients:
chicken, small breasts work best
peanut sauce mix (check the asian section of the grocery store)
1 can coconut milk (also in the asian section)

Instructions:
Preheat to 375
Place chicken in glass casserole dish
Whisk together peanut sauce (usually comes with 2 packets, I use one unless I'm in the mood for serious spice!) and coconut milk. Pour over chicken.
Cover with tin foil, bake for 1-1.5 hours.

Serving depends on amount of chicken, can go farther if you stir-fry or steam vegetables as well. Most gourmet when served with cooked carrots and dished over fresh spinach leaves (found by the salad-in-a-bag in any grocery store). Great for entertaining because it's Thai and different from traditional dinner.

Chicken Lattice Casserole

This is like an upside-down pot pie, super fast and easy to make, while including all food groups at once so there's no need for side dishes! i used to think casserole were "grandma-ish" until i discovered how nice is it to eat something homemade, fast, and healthy without extra work.

Chicken Lattice

2 cans cream soup or chicken gravy (I often use one can chicken gravy and one can cream of celery)
1/2 onion, diced (buy onions when they're on sale and chop them all at once. Store 1/2 onion sections in plastic bags in the freezer--handy and precut whenever you need them, and no need to add any oil to saute!)
1 1 lb. bag assorted frozen vegetables (i.e. California style)
1/2 c. cheese
1 tsp pepper (sometimes I put in a little garlic salt as well)
1 lb. chicken, cooked, chunked
1 package crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375. Cook vegetables according to package directions (microwave works great). Combine all ingredient except rolls in a large saucepan, heat on medium until warm. Pour into glass baking dish. Unroll package of crescent rolls, press seams together. Cut into 1" strips and weave on top of casserole. Bake for ~15 minutes or until rolls are done.
Serves 6-8, great for leftovers.

Sometimes i make a large amount and put it into two square dishes. I can either cook both and take a meal to someone else or keep the second for the next week--just add the rolls and bake!