Judy's Chicken Picatta

2 chicken breasts, halved horizontally

1/4 cup flour

1 t salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 to 3 tablespoons dry white wine
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers

Place chicken between plastic wrap and pound evenly until about 1/4 inch thick.
Spread flour in a shallow dish; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; whisk to combine. Place chicken in seasoned flour, turning to coat thoroughly, then tap off the excess.

Heat the oil and 1 T butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter starts to sizzle. Cook the chicken in batches (the cutlets should fit snugly in a single layer) until golden and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes for each side. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Pour out any excess oil from the pan.

Return pan to medium heat and add wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove the pan from the heat. Add lemon juice, capers, and remaining 2 T butter and swirl until melted and combined.

Immediately pour the sauce over the chicken, and serve with angel hair pasta.

Marisa's Sweet and Sour Chicken

8 chicken breast tender
1 egg, lightly scrambled
1/4 c cornstarch

Sauce:
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c vinegar
1/4 c ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix sauce together and coat bottom of a 9x13 pan with part of the sauce. Dip chicken in egg and then cornstarch. Place in pan. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. Bake at 325* for 30 minutes. Serve with rice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

I found this recipe and adapted it to our needs. I like to make a marinade and then freeze chicken in it, so I can pull it out for an easy meal later.

2 lbs chicken breast, cut into large cubes
2 cups salsa
Juice from one lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 Tbsp taco seasoning (or one packet of taco seasoning)

Dump everything into a ziplock bag, label and freeze.

Pull it out of the freezer the night before and let thaw in the fridge. Dump into the crockpot and cook until done. I'd guess "done" is usually "high 3-4 hours" or "low 6-8 hours" but my crockpot must cook really hot, because a meal like this will be done on low in 3 hours. Pull the chicken out and shred it, then serve on tortillas with more cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and rice.

Curried Chicken Salad

While Mike and I were living in Alaska, I discovered a delicious curried chicken salad at a local supermarket. I haven't seen it since (although Mike informs me he's seen it at Whole Foods when he's traveled for work) and was thrilled to find a recipe for it!

2 lbs chicken, cut into small, 1" cubes
1/2 cup celery, chopped (about 2 large ribs)
1/2 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or chopped dates
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 c mayo
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
dash of cinnamon
pinch of salt

Brown the chicken in a skillet until done. While it is still warm, combine it and all other ingredients in a large bowl (the heat helps the flavors meld). Cool in the fridge and eat! We had this with grilled asparagus (asparagus tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then grilled outside for about 5 minutes). It was FANTASTIC!

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

I adapted this recipe from Paleo Diet Lifestyle. It was a super simple recipe and we always have these ingredients on hand, so I'll be making this again! I subbed out plain thyme for a seasoning mix I had on hand: Pizza Seasoning that had oregano, basil, marjoram, and garlic. I'm pretty sure any individual herb (thyme, basil, oregano), Italian seasoning, steak seasoning, or chicken seasoning would all make this dish tasty. Just make sure if you use a mix that has salt in it to taste the sauce before adding any extra salt.

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2-4 Tbsp seasoning (divided)
14 oz can of coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 oz sun-dried tomatoes (about 10-12 tomatoes), pureed
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375. Season your chicken breasts with your seasoning (I didn't measure how much I sprinkled on the chicken), salt, and pepper. Bake until done (my 5 pieces baked in about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile, in a medium pot, combine coconut milk, chicken stock, and two tablespoons of seasoning mix and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and let sauce simmer until reduced by 1/3 (this took until about 10 minutes before the chicken was done). Remove from heat and allow to cool until you take the chicken out (about 10 minutes). Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed (I added about 1/2 tsp).

Serve the sauce over the chicken (you can see I'm not Paleo, so I also had the sauce over noodles).

Skewerless Chicken Satay

I tried a recipe this week that reminded me so much of the Thai dish, Chicken Satay. It's a very "dumbed down" version, which is great because I had everything on-hand without any special trips to the store. I haven't actually made the full recipe yet, just the sauce, but it is so tasty (and all I need to do is add the stir-fried chicken) that I'm positive I'll be making it again! I made a couple of changes based on Lily's distaste of spicy foods, but you could easily turn up the heat by using more red curry paste (or just add sriracha sauce to your own bowl). The only thing I disliked about this recipe is the leftover can of coconut milk! Guess I'll make a quick shake out of it to tide me over until dinner in 3 hours.

SAUCE:
1/2 C coconut milk
1/2 C nut butter (I used almond butter which added a nice texture)
1 T red curry paste
1 T lime juice (or one lime)
1 T coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
1 T fish sauce
2 t almond oil (I didn't have toasted sesame, or I'd use that)
1 T brown sugar (or honey if you prefer no sugar)
dash of cinnamon
dash of ground black pepper

CHICKEN:
1 t coconut oil
1/2 C onion, thinly sliced (cuz I'm lazy, you could chop them)
2 cloves garlic, sliced (again, you could chop them finer)
2 lbs chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks

In a medium bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients. I use a fork, because it's easier to clean than a whisk, but whatever works for you. Taste, adjust as desired.

In a skillet or wok, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked all the way through (about 10 minutes). Add sauce to chicken, stir until heated.

You could serve this with fresh cooked green beans or asparagus for extra yumminess. They'd taste well dipped in the sauce too. If you like to eat your chicken with rice, go for it! This would be tasty with rice. Just start cooking the rice before you do any other prep so it can be finished by the time your chicken is done (unless you use minute rice).

Sarah's Superbowl Dip

I know it's not Superbowl time right now! I'm going through all of my old recipes and pulling the ones I love. This is a perfect dip for any party/potluck.

1 lb chicken breast (or 2 cans cooked chicken)
1 large block velveeta
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup salsa
1 small can chopped olives
1 small can chopped green chiles

If you decide to use fresh chicken, boil it until done, then chop and shred it. While it's cooking, cube the velveeta into 1 inch chunks and put in a large crockpot. Add all other ingredients and let heat on low until melted (about 3 hours).

Serve with chips!

Garam Masala Chicken Thighs

Tonight Mike pulled a dry rub out of thin air and didn't measure his ingredients *of course* :) Again, the result was delicious!

1/3 c brown sugar
2 Tbsp garam masala powder
1 tsp ground cloves

Mix everything together and rub over chicken thighs. We had about 4 lbs fresh, boneless, skinless thighs. Grill on medium high for 10 minutes, turn and grill 10 minutes more (or until done).

Mike's Wire Hanger Chicken

Mike invented this yesterday and (as we should all know by know) never uses measuring tools. Which is too bad because it was tasty! Here are his best estimations:

2 lbs chicken breast, cut into strips
1/2 c tomato paste
1/2 c curry paste (he used Masaman)
1/2 c smooth nut butter
1/2 c lime juice
1/4 c coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
1/4 c honey
1 Tbsp rooster sauce (sriracha)
1 tsp salt

Combine tomato and curry paste, apply liberally to chicken and allow to marinate while heating the grill to medium-high. Using wire hangers cut into 6" spears (yes, for real, that's where the name came from), skewer the chicken tandoori-style. Grill chicken for 5 minutes each side, or until done.
While chicken is grilling, mix together the rest of the ingredients for a tasty satay sauce.

Crockpot Cranberry Chicken Stew

I've made a cranberry roast before, and LOVED it, so when all I could find in my freezer was chicken, I decided to try this combination. So good, and it ended up reminding me of Dinty Moore stew (but so much tastier!). I'm thinking this would be even better with turkey and sweet potatoes (like Thanksgiving dinner in a crock).

2 chicken breasts, cubed into 2 inch cubes
1/2 cup (1 small) red onion, chopped
2 cups (4 small) potatoes, cubed into 2 inch cubes
1 can whole cranberry sauce (or one recipe of Cran-Orange Relish)
2 T soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.

Colette's Butternut Squash Soup

A friend of mine brought this tasty soup to a Christmas potluck and I had to get the recipe. Thanks Colette!

42 oz chicken broth (three 14 oz cans)
1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 in cubes (about 4 cups)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 large tomatoes, diced (one 14 oz can)
2 green or yellow squash, cubed
2 cups cooked cubed or shredded chicken

Bring broth, butternut squash and garlic to a boil in a large pot. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 mins or until squash is almost tender. Add tomatoes, other squash and chicken; simmer, uncovered 5 mins or until other squash is tender.
You can pull part of it out and blend it to give it a creamier texture if you like.

Serve with: guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, lime tortilla chips, or whatever your heart desires!

Honey-Citrus Chicken Enchiladas

I had these over at a friend's house and adapted the recipe she gave me to our tastes. Love it! It's easily freezable, which makes it even better. When I plan this for future freezer meals, I use media crema, or table cream - it's a canned cream commonly found with the Mexican foods. This way I don't have to make an effort to keep heavy cream in our fridge.

I like to make a quadruple batch so I can have enchiladas for dinner tonight, plus four more times without much added effort! I'll cook a large package of chicken breasts (the packages you can get with 6 or 7 fresh breasts) in my crockpot - on low for about 4 hours, and then "shred" them in my kitchenaid mixer on the lowest setting with the flat paddle. Works like a dream!

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 Tbsp chili powder (or more, depending on how much heat you like)
2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 cups chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts), cooked and shredded
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
6 med flour tortillas
1 cup of Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 14-oz can of red enchilada sauce
3/4 cup of heavy cream (or 1 can media crema)

*If freezing, combine these ingredients in a large ziplock bag* In a large bowl, whisk the honey, juice, chili powder and garlic. Add the chicken, corn, and beans, then stir to combine. Allow to marinate 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator. *Or toss in the freezer - just thaw in the fridge the day you plan to make it*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the sides and bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl combine the enchilada sauce and the heavy cream. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the baking dish.

Spoon chicken mixture onto tortillas and roll tightly, placing seam side down in pan. After rolling all tortillas, pour the remaining marinade mixture over the top of all the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly and starting to brown on top.

Yellow Curry

 

1/4 c yellow curry paste

1 can coconut milk
1 c cubed chicken
1/2 c cubed potato (about 1 large potato)
1/4 c sliced carrots
1/4 c chopped onion
3 T peanuts (optional)
1/2 c water

Stir-fry past with half of the coconut milk; when mixed, add rest of milk and bring to boil. Add meat and cook until almost done. Add potato, carrot, onion, peanut, and water, and cook until vegetables are soft. Taste before seasoning. Serve with Jasmine rice or steamed veggies.

Chili-Parmesan Chicken Nuggets

1/4 cup Kraft 100% grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chili powder
6 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2 inch cubes

PREHEAT oven to 400°F.
MIX cheese and chili powder in pie plate. Add chicken; turn to coat all sides evenly.
PLACE chicken in shallow baking dish.
BAKE 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Roy's Pad Thai

-->

1/2 cup tamarind

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar (or white)

Melt together over low heat. Add:

1 tsp (at a time) chili powder or paprika

…tasting with each new tsp.

Let sauce rest while preparing other ingredients.

2 oz chicken breast, cubed (or 7 peeled shrimp) per serving

16 oz rice noodles, soaked in cold water just until al dente

one egg per serving (this amount of sauce and noodles should serve 6-8)

1-2 T ground peanuts per serving

1 c bean sprouts per serving (optional)

garlic chives for garnish (optional)

sliced lime for serving

Follow these steps carefully and the best Pad Thai you've ever had will be the one you've just made! Keep the sauce pot warm on another burner next to your wok. Keep a bowl of water handy too, if things get to hot in the wok you can sprinkle the water on it to slow it down.

1. Heat a large wok over high heat until very hot, to the point of smoky.
2. Add a splash of oil, about 3-4 tablespoons.
3. If you are making chicken Pad Thai, add the chicken first, cook, stirring vigorously, until it's half way done, about 1-2 minutes, then add a tablespoon or two of the sauce to flavor the chicken, and a pinch of garlic if you're using it.
4. Add the noodle, about 2 loosely packed cups for one portion is my standard, and then a ladle (about ¼ cup) of warm sauce. Stir rigorously, keep everything moving in the wok, and cook the noodle until soft. Remember to break up the noodle and don't let it lump together. If the sauce evaporates too quickly and your noodle isn't quite ready, sprinkle a bit of water and keep stirring. Add a bit of oil if the noodle still stubbornly sticks together.
5. When the noodle is ready (taste it to be sure), push it up to one side of the wok and crack an egg into the middle. Let it set for 10-15 seconds and toss everything all together.
6. Add the shrimp meat (if using), ground peanuts, bean sprouts. Keep things moving. Add more sauce if it looks a little pale.
7. When the shrimps are done, shouldn't take more than a minute, add a handful of Garlic Chives. Turn the heat off, and quickly give the wok a good stirring to mix everything together.
8. Add the finished Pad Thai to a plate and serve to your first lucky dinner guest. Give the used wok a quick rinse with warm water, wipe off any excess bits of food with a warm towel, then put the wok back on to the fire.

As soon as it heats back up to a smoking point, you're ready to do another portion. Repeat this process until all your dinner guests are fed.

Panang Curry

1/4 c Panang curry paste*
1 can coconut milk
2 1/4 c chicken, pork or beef
1/2 c water
kaffir lime leaves
fresh chilies

*for a milder curry, half the amount of curry paste!

Stir-fry past with half of the coconut milk; when mixed, add rest of milk and bring to boil. Add meat plus water and cook until done. sprinkle with lime leaves and chilies. Taste before seasoning. Serve with Jasmine rice or steamed veggies.

Masman Curry

1/4 c Masman curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 c cubed chicken
1/2 c cubed potato (about 1 large potato)
1/4 c sliced carrots
1/4 c chopped onion
3 T peanuts (optional)
1/2 c water

Stir-fry past with half of the coconut milk; when mixed, add rest of milk and bring to boil. Add meat and cook until almost done. Add potato, carrot, onion, peanut, and water, and cook until vegetables are soft. Taste before seasoning. Serve with Jasmine rice or steamed veggies.

Red Curry Pork/Chicken

2 T oil
1 1/2 T red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 lb pork or chicken, cut into bite size pieces
2 t sugar (optional)
2 t fish sauce
1 red bell pepper, sliced
10 large basil leaves, chopped

Heat the oil in wok or deep frying pan over medium heat. Add curry paste and simmer until dissolved. Stir in coconut milk and allow to heat up. Add meat and simmer for 4 or 5 minutes. Add sugar, fish sauce and bell pepper. Simmer until meat is cooked through. Add basil, season to taste and serve with cooked Jasmin rice or steamed veggies.

Crockpot Blackbean Chicken Burritos

Dump into a crockpot:

3-4 chicken breasts
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
8 oz salsa
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can chicken broth

Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 4-6 hours. Half an hour before serving, shred the chicken and add:

1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or monterey jack)

Heat through, then serve with tortillas, more cheese, lime wedges, guacamole, etc...

Teriyaki Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup honey
1 T cooking oil
2 T dry mustard
3 T soy sauce
1 t ginger root (grated)
1 minced garlic clove


Place chicken in ziploc bag. Melt honey in microwave and mix in remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken, seal and freeze.

To serve, place in baking dish and cook covered in oven for 1 hour at 350 F.

OR place in crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

OR BBQ!