Thai Chicken

Yet another chicken that started in the American Test Kitchen slow cooker revolution volume 2 book.  This one however didn't really look like the original dish by the time I finished with it.  It was however, delicious!  I've been wanting to blog it forever so I wouldn't forget what I did.
You can certainly be more traditional and not shred the chicken and serve it over rice.  I made it into a casserole because we had already eaten a lot of rice that week.

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz.) coconut milk
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Thai red curry paste (I lowered this, but then upped the coconut  milk, I'd go back up to 2 Tablespoons if making this the same way again.)
• 1 Tablespoon instant tapioca
• salt and pepper
• 1 package bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed (I also skinned them.)
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• about 12 oz noodles of choice (we used up some bowties and some other macaroni)

Directions

1. Whisk 1/2 cup coconut milk, curry paste, tapioca, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in slow cooker.  Roll chicken in mixture and cook in slow cooker 3-4 hours on high (until super tender and shredable.)
2. When Chicken is tender, cook noodles according to package directions.  Microwave asparagus and oil in a bowl for 5 minutes, stirring mid way through cooking.  Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred.
3. Add remaining coconut milk, lime juice and fish sauce to sauce still in slow cooker.  Heat through.  Add shredded, chicken, asparagus, noodles and cilantro.  Stir to combine and serve.

Mediterranean Chicken with Potatoes, Fennel, and Olives

This was the other chicken dish we had while my mom was here.  She remembered the fennel and lemon, so I'm not sure which she was wanting but here is the other recipe.  This was good.  The kids weren't huge fans of the fennel, but I liked it.  It was different and good.  Probably not a top pick for me, but then again, it has to be an amazing chicken dish to be a top pick for me.  This was definitely different, but a good different -like if you are tired of the same boring chicken, try this.  I liked the fennel and orange combination.  Not something I would ever have thought to put together, but they went well together.  I will note here that the original used butter.  I did not because I am currently eating non-dairy.  The book also gives a nice vignette on olives on this recipe's page - certainly one of my favorite things about American Test Kitchen books.

• 1 lb potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 
• 1 fennel bulb, cored, and sliced thin
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1 package bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed (I also removed the skins.  For this meal, I think it would be easy/nice to use boneless, skinless thighs, or something already boned for easy serving since I wasn't shredding them at the end or anything.  Maybe next time.)
• 1/2 cup pitted salt-cured black olives, rinsed and halved (I may have forgotten to add these at the end.)

Directions

1. Microwave potatoes, fennel, onion, olive oil, garlic and rosemary in a bowl for 5 minutes stirring midway through cooking.  Pour into slow cooker.  Stir in broth, orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to the slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 3-4 hours on low.
3. Remove chicken and serve.  Stir olives, salt and pepper into veggies and serve.  (Can also add butter or parsley if desired.)

Lemony Chicken and Rice Soup

I've been in crock pot mode for a while.  I'm loving my new book American Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution volume 2.  Most of the following had their beginnings in that book and were modified by me to fit my family/cooking style.
I'd be a total slacker, but the next couple of recipes are things we made while my mom was in town and I told her I'd post them a week ago.  Sick kids and normal business has delayed my posting, but here they are.
This one is for a soup that was very good.  I only moderately modified it from the original.  I loved how it was creamy without cream since I'm currently eating non-dairy for my nursing baby.

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced onions
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced 
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 8 cups chicken broth.  (I use 2 heaping tablespoons of an organic better than bouillon paste that I buy at costco.  I boil the water and dissolve the paste to make my broth.)
• 1 package bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed (I also skinned mine)
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 cup cooked brown rice

Directions

1. Microwave onions, carrots, garlic and oil in a bowl for 5 minutes stirring mid way through.  Place in slow cooker, stir in broth.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to slow cooker.  Cover and cook until chicken is tender.  3-4 hours (book says on low, but I say on high for that short of a time)
2. Transfer chicken to a plate and shred/chop into bite size pieces.  Skim any excess fat from top of soup (I don't find this necessary if you remove the skin from the chicken before cooking.)
3. Whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together in a bowl.  Temper egg  mixture by mixing 3-4 Tablespoons of hot soup into the lemon/yolk mix, then whisk they lemon/yolk mix into the soup until well combined.  Add the shredded chicken and rice and cook until heated through.  (5 minutes or so)  Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

honey garlic chicken

I have been using the crock pot a ton lately.  I've just decided it is way easier to try and make dinner when I can during the day rather than trying to do it when I'm trying to help with homework, run children here or there, teach a piano lesson, and/or take care of a baby.  This one was super simple and tasted great.  The chicken cooked perfectly and it made a lovely sauce that I served over brown rice.  This made way more sauce than needed.  You could probably add more chicken thighs and have lots of left overs or a second meal.

Ingredients

• 1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• cornstarch (1-2 teaspoons)

Directions

1. Place chicken in the crock pot.  Mix Ketchup, soy sauce, honey and garlic in a bowl.  Pour over chicken and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4.  
2. Remove chicken, cover to keep warm.  Pour sauce into a saucepan (I poured it through a strainer so it wouldn't be chunky.)  Mix about a little water with cornstarch and add it to the saucepan heat to thicken. 
3. Serve chicken over rice and top with sauce.   

Mexican chicken spaghetti

I really liked this dish, which was surprising.  I haven't cared much for chicken lately.   I thought it was from having eaten vegetarian for a long time, but after finding out I was pregnant, I've decided that maybe I can just blame it on pregnancy.  This is one of the fist meals I tried when trying chicken again and I really liked it.  Some of my favorite things about this meal were - 1) it was easy, 2) the spaghetti cooked in the crock pot, 3) it wasn't as spicy as the chicken spaghetti's I've had in the past, and 4)it didn't have any cream of anything soups.  Good recipe if you ask me.  It was nice and creamy with a great flavor. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, sinless cicken breast
• 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 cups salsa (I'm partial to Jack's sold at costco - fresh salsa with a hint of lime.  Yum!)
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 8 oz spaghetti noodles, broken into small pieces
• 2 - 3 cups hot water
• 8 oz cream cheese

Directions

1. Place chicken in the bottom of a 5 quart crock pot.  Add beans, salsa, corn, salt and pepper.  Pour 1 cup of water over the top.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
3. Remove the chicken and shred.  Return to the crock.  Add 2 cups hot water (original said 3 but a comment said they did 2 and so did I.  I may have added 1/2 cup more, I can't remember.  If you don't look like you have enough water, feel free to add 3 cups.  You just want enough to be able to submerge your noodles, but not so they look like they are drowning.  You don't want soup in the end.)  Add broken spaghetti noodles.  Push down to submerge.  Turn crock to high and cook for 45 minutes-1 hour.  
4. Turn off crock.  Add cream cheese and let melt.  (I cut my cream cheese into squares before adding to speed up the melting process.  Stir and serve. 

Asian maple chicken

I have done a lot of crock pot recipes lately.  I used to make more on my piano lesson days but had gotten out of the habit.  I started back and have really liked it. 
This recipe comes from an e-book called crock on.  I've liked a lot of the recipes I've tried there.  What I like most is that they use real food for the most part.  Not cans of cream of something this and that.
This recipe originally called for 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast.  I had 3 1 lb packages of thighs in my freezer so I used one and added a can of mayacoba beans (you could use pinto or navy if you want.)  I liked the beans just fine but my 14 year old didn't.  No one else complained about them.  They kind of don't go with the whole asian aspect of the meal, so feel free to leave them out.  I was just trying to use less meat and add some fiber in the process.  Also note that the original recipe was called maple sesame chicken because it was topped with toasted sesame seeds.  I just didn't feel like adding them so I didn't.  Feel free if you love them.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped pepper (I have a mix of red, yellow, and orange diced in the freezer.)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 can mayacoba beans rinsed and drained
• 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder (original used flour and water.  I was lazy and mixed in arrowroot as I think it dissolves a bit easier.  You could also use corn starch and water.)

Directions

1. Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker.  Sprinkle onions and peppers on top.  In a small bowl, combine honey, maple syrup, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.  Pour over chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  (I added the beans in about the last 1 hour of cooking and partially shredded the chicken when I added them.)
3. Shred or chop the chicken and return to the crock pot (if you took it out.  I just shred mine with 2 forks in the crock pot.)  Add arrowroot powder.  (or other thickening agent)  I just pushed a measuring cup down on top of the chicken to get some juice in it, whisked the arrowroot into the  juice until smooth and returned it to the crock pot.  (With flour or cornstarch, I'd probably use water, whisk it together and add it to the pot.)
4. Cover and let thicken.  Serve over rice.

Chicken and veggies

This made a decent chicken (which for me is saying something because since I started eating a lot more vegetarian, I don't really care for chicken much at all.)  I did have a couple of problems time wise with this recipe.  It said I could make it in a crock pot for 7-8 hours on low or 1.5 in the oven.  I translated that to 3-4 on high in the crock pot, but didn't have enough time for that so I did 2 in the crock pot on high and ended up with 1.5 in the oven and it still wasn't cooked all over.  We just ate the legs, thighs, and parts of the breast that got cooked through.  Just a warning to plan ahead with you time.
This is from the cheap fast good book, so it is super simple.  I just made it a bit more healthy since it used seasoning salt.  I'm not a big fan of the list of ingredients on that stuff so I used an organic no salt spice blend and sea salt.  Worked out well and had a great flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 very large onion (seems all of ours are very large if going by the standard that 1 large = 1 cup diced.) cut into 8 pieces (or 2 smaller onions quartered)
• 5 baking potatoes (medium to small size) peeled and quartered
• 2 teaspoons organic no salt seasoning (I use one I got at costco)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 chicken, I used an organic chicken

Directions

1. preheat oven to 350.  In a small container, mix no salt seasoning with sea salt.
2. Prep veggies and toss in the bottom of a  large oven safe  pot with a lid (or crock pot).  Sprinkle about 1/2 of the seasoning mix on the veggies.
3. Prepare the chicken by removing neck and any giblets that may be in the cavity of the bird.  Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water removing any excess fat.  I also removed the skin from everything but the legs.  Place the chicken, breast side up, in the pot on top of the veggies rearranging if necessary so the lid closes tightly.  Sprinkle with remaining seasoning mix.  
4. Pour 1/2 cup water into the pot on the side of the chicken.
5. Bake until meat thermometer reads 180 about 1.5 hours.  (I'd be happy with 160/165 and hope for some carryover.  
6. cut chicken and serve with veggies.

alternative cooking - make in a crockpot and cook for 7-8 hours on low.

great greek pasta

So, finally a recipe that isn't originally from 6 o'clock scramble.  (I think I've exhausted most of the vegetarian ones in there anyway. :)
I found this recipe in my saving dinner book.  It originally had chicken in it.  I have adapted it to not have chicken although I did serve it with the option of chicken - which all of my children chose.  (I just used some pre-cooked I had in the freezer - thawed it in the microwave and added it on top.)  I had mine without the chicken.  Either way it was a nice pasta salad.  I did not use all of the pasta.  Would definitely have been too dry.

Ingredients

• 1 pound rigatoni (I didn't use it all -you'd be fine with 12-16 oz.)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 cup diced onion (I used sweet onion)
• 1 large tomato, chopped (I actually used 1 roma and a few cherry tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teapsoons oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional, chopped, cooked chicken

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile in a large skillet, saute onion in butter until fragrant.  Add garlic and saute a bit more.  Reduce heat and add tomato, feta, lemon juice and oregano.  Stir to combine.  Add pasta and stir until completely heated through.  Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Lemon chicken {freezer meal} + book review

Blog?  What blog?  I have gotten very bad at blogging as of late.  A fact that has bitten me in the rear a couple of times when I went to look for a recipe I had made to see how I had changed it and low and behold, I hadn't bothered to even blog it.  Oops.  Part of my problem has been a husband who has been exponentially more busy at work lately - lots of trips to china, late hours.....  That equals 1 mom at home with 4 busy boys much of the time alone.  2 of my busy boys were involved in school sports until last week.  One was in cross country, followed almost immediately by basketball, the other was in wrestling which started practicing the second week of school.  Between games and busy life, blogging sadly fell by the wayside.  Well, happy day, Basketball is over!  Wrestling is over!  I can't tell you how much more time I have in my day not having to go to pick up my boys at 5:00 everyday.  Tons more time.  Of course now I've volunteered to be soccer coach for the next one down.  :)  However, that is low key.  Practice is 1 day a week not 4-5, and games are 1 day a week for 1 hour, not 2 hours - some of the wrestling tournaments that were 13 hours long.
So, enough of my busy life, point is, I actually stopped cooking quite a bit.  I got a book at Christmas that was some Freezer meals and for DH's last 2 trips to China, we've had freezer meals most nights.  Life saver.  I love the book I have.  It's called Once-A-Month cooking Family Favorites Can't say all of the recipes are the greatest in the world.  We've had our definite favorites, and the ones we haven't cared for as much, however, I love the setup of the book.  It is different from other types of freezer meals because it is just 30 different meals, not make a quadruple batch of 3 recipes.  For a 1 month cycle you make 30 meals.  It does take all day, and it is better to start the day before, but I love the convenience once the meals are done.  I also love how the book has everything set up for you.  If you want to choose to do an entire cycle, the grocery list is done, and there is even a list of how to process everything.  For example it will say dice 5 onions (13 cups), dice 2 bell peppers (2 cups)...  The ingredients are to be used throughout the many meals made, but all the chopping is done at once.  Then you chop meat, and it will tell you, Slice 8 chicken breasts into strips (4 for this meal, and 4 for the other)  Then it gives you steps to cook the meals so you have some simmering while you are just tossing others in a bag.  I will say I followed the directions well for the first 2 week cycle I did, but the second 2 week cycle I'd already made 2 of the meals just as regular meals, and I didn't follow the directions as well.  I did a bunch of quick chicken meals the night before, rather than between simmering....  You can rearrange as you see fit, but the first time, I was all about sticking to the directions.
So, I do like the book.  Our meal this evening is from the book.  I do have to say that the meals do not always include any vegetables or anything, so I do usually have to add a veggie and/or fruit, and/or green smoothie to our meal, but that is easy enough.  I always purchase fresh fruits and veggies weekly.  I also have to say that this makes shopping super easy.  I only have to buy fruits, veggies, milk and eggs a lot of the time.  I didn't even go to the grocery store last week because I did bountiful baskets and got milk, eggs and cheese at costco.  Wahoo.  Such a time saver in more ways that one.  OK, enough gushing about the book.  On to the recipe right.
I chose this recipe because #1 it was absolutely delicious.  Super tender chicken.  Which was an absolute surprise because the chicken was microwaved.  Originally I looked at this meal, and even commented to my neighbor - the chicken tonight is microwaved, I'm afraid it will be rubbery.  So far from the truth.  I keep having dry chicken or pork from the oven.  Keep buying thermometers.  I'm determined mine are off.  By the time the meat is up to temp, it is dry.  Anyway, total tangent, but because of that, I was even more impressed with this chicken.  I also liked it's lemon flavor.  It was pretty strong, and relatively tart, but I really liked it like that.  A lemon chicken that tasted like lemon, and not a lemon pie.  :)  This was also a super easy meal to prepare.  -SUPER EASY.  Not only the actually cooking, but also the prep of putting it in the bag to freeze.  How can you go wrong?  Easy to prepare and delicious.  YUM

Oh, and also forgot to mention that on one of those China trips the thing that died while my husband was gone was the computer.  (also a huge reason I haven't been blogging - can't do it from the ipad.)  The worst thing about that is that I don't have any of my pictures.  Hopefully that will get remedied and I can go back to posting pictures, but until then, I'm using an old work laptop and I'm not installing picasa or worrying about adding pictures here.  Good thing I have 2 memory cards that are 16 GB each right.  I should be good for quite a while.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I did cut mine in half because they were very large, but I still used 4)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice (I did squeeze mine fresh)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons chopped sweet peppers (I always buy the mini sweets at costco.  original recipe just called for red bell pepper)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic (I used jarred here)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a 1 gallon freezer bag;  Label and freeze.  (Could it be any easier?  -I do recommend freezing it flat or it won't defrost in 1 day in the fridge)

To serve 

1. Take out of the freezer the night before and put in the refrigerator to thaw.
2. Place in a microwave safe dish and cook on high for 5 minutes.  Baste the chicken with the juices, turn, and microwave for 3 more minutes.  (I do have to say, this took a lot longer than 8 minutes for me.  I just kept doing 2-5 more minutes depending on how pink the chicken still was, and/or what it was measuring on the thermometer.  I think it ended up taking something like 16 minutes rather than 8.  Still quick though.)

I Served this over brown rice.  Can't remember what veggie we had - probably a green smoothie, and maybe something else like green beans or something.  I just can't remember.  What I do remember is how tender and juicy this chicken was.  

chicken cannelloni

This is another recipe from double delicious.  Can you tell I only have it for 2 weeks and have to quickly try everything.  :)  I spiced this up by really adding to the tomato sauce, and even at that, I found it to be a bit lacking.  I think it just felt dry - maybe some added mozzarella in the center of the roll, or maybe more of the tomato sauce??  The meal was OK, just lacking something - maybe a bit of Italian seasoning in the chicken mixture??  Mostly I think it just felt dry.  However, I didn't at all mind the amount of cauliflower puree that was mixed with the ricotta.  Maybe it just needed a bit more ricotta??  Again, not too sure exactly what was lacking only that it was lacking something.
I did like how these rolled up.  It seems like I have tried a cannelloni or manicotti made with lasagna noodles before, but somehow it just seemed easier this time.

orange chicken (with hidden veggies)

I guess I'm getting way too into the hidden veggies thing.  I pulled out this orange chicken recipe to make and went and made it a bit healthier by using agave rather than brown sugar, and adding some veggie puree.  No one was any the wiser.  Still tasted great.  I was also super lazy today and just used Orange juice, dehydrated green onion, and tossed everything in the pot together.  No problems.  Makes for a quick and easy meal.  I served this with sweet brown rice.  That rice is so tasty.  Sticky, but tasty - for brown rice anyway.  :)

ngredients

• about 1 lb precooked chicken, defrosted 
• 1/2 cup orange juice 
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon orange zest - I just used the zest of 1 orange - no measuring
• 1/4 cup cauliflower puree
• 1/4 cup sweet potato puree  (could probably have tossed in 1/2 cup, and would use carrot interchangeably.  I'm just out of carrot.)
• 3/4 cup agave
• 1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger-I just grated some over the pot -  no measuring today.
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic -tossed in garlic powder here today
• 2 tablespoons green onion - I used dehydrated and just tossed them in the sauce.
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 cups rice

Directions

In a medium saucepan combine orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in purees (I just tossed them in frozen and let them defrost as the sauce heated.) agave, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.  Remove about 1/2 of the sauce to a bowl (I used my gravy boat.)  Add the chicken to the remaining sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer while preparing rice.  (I just made min in a rice cooker.  3 cups lets me fill it up to line 4.)  Serve the chicken mix over rice with extra sauce for the rice.

Balsamic chicken sandwich (with hidden veggies)

OK, I have to say that I'm totally loving this double delicious book I have checked out from the library.  I may have to purchase this one.  It's definitely on my wishlist now.  I have to say, I was reading reviews and saw a bad one for this sandwich.  I do have to agree with the person that posted it, this sandwich ended up with a lot of liquid.  I would probably add a bit less beef broth next time, but only a little.  I added a lot of the sauce to the sandwich because the crusty bolillos we got could easily absorb a bit of liquid.  I also caught a child wiping the extra liquid off of his plate with his finger and licking it.  I'm not complaining because that is where the hidden veggies were.
I do have to agree with many of the commenters at amazon, you aren't getting a ton of veggies in there, but I'm super happy that my super picky, non vegetable eating 3 year old has eaten all 4 of the things I've made from this book.  He ate a whole 1/2 of this sandwich which is truely saying something for him.  He is super picky - has texture issues, color issues.....
I did of course have a couple of changes, but not many - just used barley flour instead of wheat, and I actually used a bit more than called for in the original. Here is what I did

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (I used 3 larger sized chicken breasts - not sure of the weight) 
• salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup barley flour (can use wheat or white as well, I just wanted to try barley)
• 2 Tablespoons oil (can't remember if I used healthy blend or coconut this day)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic minces (been really lazy with garlic lately)
• 1 cup chicken stock (this will make a lot of sauce.  I might reduce this to about 3/4 cup next time -or just have lots of sauce.  I'm undecided at this point)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 6 Tablespoons dark brown sugar (mine was a brick so I guessed.)  
• 1/2 cup steamed and pureed broccoli (I made this earlier in the day -during nap time)
• 1-2 Tomatoes sliced (depending on the size of your tomato)
• 6-7 Bolillos or other type of crusty roll 
• Mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Toss chicken with flour to coat (either in a ziplock bag, or on a piece of wax or aluminum foil - or in a bowl.)  
2. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add chicken.  Cook until chicken begins to brown adding garlic in the last minute or 2.  
3. Add the stock, vinegar and brown sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  (If I didn't add less stock next time, I would boil this uncovered to reduce the sauce a bit.)  While this is simmering, preheat the oven to 350 and cut the buns in half.  (I found that I liked not cutting all the way through the bun because it caught all of the juices better and held together better in the oven -   think cut it like a hot dog bun.)
4. Add puree and cook 2-3 minutes more (I simmered it a bit longer to reduce the sauce some this time since I had left the pot covered in the previous step.)
5. Place the bread on a cookie sheet.  Top each with tomato and chicken.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake until the 3-4 minutes until the cheese begins to melt.  Change oven to broil and broil for 45 seconds to a minute - just until the edges begin to brown.  Serve.  

chicken pasta salad

Here is yet another recipe from recipe shoebox.  This one was OK.  I think I would have liked it better if there were less pasta.  It was better the first day than as left overs, and it made a lot, so I may 1/2 the recipe next time.  The left overs seemed like they absorbed the dressing and were a bit dry.  Of course I did cut the oil way down.  Certainly more oil would have helped.  :)

Ingredients

• 1 container pre-cooked chicken
• 1 pound rotini noodles
• 2 heads broccoli, finely chopped
• 1 cup diced red, yellow and orange bell peppers (I use the baby ones -it would be about 2 regular size)
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 1 can sliced olives
• 1 cup shredded cheese (optional - I did not use it)
• 1/3-1/2 cup ranch dressing

Dressing ingredients

• 2 envelopes dry Italian dressing mix
• 6 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• 6 Tablespoons water
• 6 Tablespoons oil  (you may want to use more - original was 3/4 cup, but a bit less water too)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Rinse with cool water to cool.  I did this while chopping all of the veggies.
2. Combine chicken, chopped vegetables, and olives.  Set aside.  Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over vegetables and chicken.  Mix together.  Add ranch, cheese if using and pasta.  Fold together.  Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving if desired.  (I did not.) 

Mexican Bowtie pasta with chicken

This recipe wasn't a total failure, but I no longer have the recipe (turned the book back into the library yesterday.)  It is from Family Feasts for $75 a week.  (page 155 if I ever get the book again.)  I liked that it made a ton - I froze half of it. - that is how much it made.  It was also a typical mexican flavor dish but with the addition of cream cheese which made it creamy and more mild that some dishes.  In this picture you can also see that I served it with grape salad.  I did in this case use 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture as mentioned in the original post.  You can see that it was plenty saucy.

Butter lime chicken with brown rice pilaf

I saw this recipe on Deals to meals.  It looked like a great recipe for a super busy day because it could come together very quickly using pre-cooked chicken.  It did come together quite quickly, and it was tasty.  I'm not sure what kind of tasty judge I am this week though because I have been congested and therefore not able to smell or taste as well as normal.  However, I think I could taste this one.  The kids didn't complain about it either, and I actually got my pickiest to eat a good deal of it.  He ate his first serving of chicken with no prompting and I got him to eat more chicken and even the rice by bribing him with jellybeans.  (horrible mom, I know, but what are you going to do.  He got 1 jellybean for each bite of rice.  Even got in some veggies with the rice.  I'll take it for the 7 jelly beans he ate.)
Also on a side note to self -- I made my pre-cooked chicken in the smoker this time.  While it is super tasty, I'm not sure I want to do that again.  (or at least I guess I'd better use less wood chips.)  The chicken had a powerful hickory flavor.  Again, not bad, just strong.  Not sure it will go with all recipes.
Finally, I made this with a super simple rice pilaf.  My goal was -something that my 14 year old (not good in the kitchen or following directions) could start while I was gone so that the boys could eat between activities.  So, I tossed a bunch of dehydrated veggies in with the rice and left it in the rice cooker.  (he just had to add broth - sadly he didn't add enough and the 12 year old wanting to attend his church activity left to it hungry but what can I say.  I tried hard - didn't help that there was a wreck on the way home from the cross country meet, but that is another blog right??  Suffice it to say, this was a super simple meal that came together quickly.  I was so impressed with how well the pilaf went with the chicken that I'm including the recipe.

Chicken
Ingredients

• 1 package pre-cooked chicken (12-16 oz) -or saute some chicken in a pan before starting
• 2 limes, juices
• 1 stick butter (could probably reduce by 1/2 - there was a LOT of sauce and we didn't use it all.)
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. In a frying pan, cook juices of limes over low heat until it begins to bubble  Add butter, stirring until butter becomes opaque and forms a thickened sauce.  Stir in chicken broth, chives, and dill. Add chicken and heat through.  Serve over rice.

Simple rice pilaf (in a rice cooker)

Ingredients

• 2 cups brown rice
• varied dried veggies -I just tossed in maybe 1/4 cup of each - more or less I mixed it in with the rice and went by how it looked.  I used
• a veggie flavor mix which included onion, garlic, red and green peppers and celery (I see that is not posted here.  I may have to give it a post.  It was handy and added a lot to the flavor.)
• peas
• carrots
• 1 32 oz container of chicken stock

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in rice cooker and push button - can't get easier than that.

bbq chicken tortilla pizzas

Here was another totally easy, super quick idea that I loved from my Rachael Ray magazine.  To be honest, she did make hers more high class by using gouda and red onions.  I used either monterey jack or cheddar and sweet onions because that is what I usually have around my house.   I also loved that these used corn tortillas.  I love corn tortillas.  YUM!  These would make a great quick lunch, but we had them one day for dinner.  I'm not listing quantities because it isn't like I measured anything. Rachael Ray had it for 4 corn tortillas.  I think I made 16 or so for dinner.  However many it took to use up my 12-16 oz. package of pre-cooked chicken.  I also didn't add the onions to all of them.  Probably about 1/2 for my kiddos who don't like onions.  They were still tasty.

Ingredients

• corn tortillas
• cream cheese
• pre-cooked chicken
• Barbecue sauce
• shredded cheese (we used Monterey Jack, cheddar or a combination of both)
• diced onion

Directions

1. Toss chicken with Barbecue sauce.  Preheat oven to 375.  
2. To make each tortilla, Spread with a thin layer of cream cheese, add some of the bbq chicken, sprinkle with cheese and onions if desired. 
3. Bake for 15 minutes. 

One pot chicken and rice

Here is the one pot chicken and rice meal that I tried from Mel's kitchen cafe this week.  I tried to change it and use brown rice rather than white.  To make up for the additional cooking time needed for brown rice, I just added my chicken partially frozen.  None the less, the chicken ended up dry.  It was much better when I shredded it up, stirred it in the rice and had it that way for left overs today.
This was quite tasty.  I would make it again, but would probably just defrost some pre-cooked chicken and add it at the end with the corn and beans.  I could also see myself making this vegetarian and using an additional can of black beans.  As it was I only used about half of the meat the original called for. (which was plenty)

Here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb -I cut mine into a 4-5 pieces)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon garlic minces (or powder)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 32 oz container chicken stock (4 cups)
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup cheese (I used cheddar jack)
• cilantro (if desired - I forgot it and wasn't sad)
• salsa and sour cream for serving if desired (I tried it like that - it was OK, but not necessary in my opinion)

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute the onions in butter until golden.  Add chili, cumin, and garlic minces.  Stir to combine.  
2. Add the rice and saute until rice absorbs the remaining oil.  Add chicken stock.  Bring to a simmer.  Add chicken. (I'd actually wait to add the chicken until about 1/2 way done next time.)  Cover and simmer for about 50 minutes (until rice is done, adding chicken after about 25 minutes -next time of course.)
3. When rice is done, remove chicken, add beans, corn, cheese and cilantro.  Heat through.  Serve with chicken, adding sour cream and salsa if desired.

Southwest chicken pasta salad

Here's another recipe whose inspriation came from the $5 dinner mom's cookbook, but I totally changed it up.  It really is only the same as the original in that it has black beans, noodles and chicken.  It turned out really well.  You can eat it cold or hot, but I liked it a lot better hot.  Heated up it reminded me of an enchilada casserole or something.  I also loved that it was super easy.  It did make a ton though.  I could probably freeze half of it, or leave out 1/2 of the noodles next time.

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (15 oz)
• 1 can dice green chilies (4 oz)
• 2 cups cooked chicken
• 1/2 container of taco sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 16 oz. package noodles (I used bowtie, but you could use any)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• cheddar jack cheese -to taste

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.  Rinse and drain.  
2. In a large bowl, combine taco sauce, cumin, garlic, tomatoes, black beans and corn.  Stir until well blended.  Add chicken and noodles.  Stir to combine.  (After this I refrigerated mine because we went to the pool and I kind of planned on eating this cold - you can choose to do that to let flavors blend if desired, or not.)
3. Stir in 1/2-1 cup of cheese.  If heating, you can combine everything in the noodle bowl and stir until cheese melts.  I just topped each individual serving with additional cheese and heated it for 30 seconds to 1 minutes in the microwave depending on serving size for those who wanted to eat it warm.  

Chicken bundles and lemon rice

This wins as the second recipe to post because it was really good.  Super good.  I liked both the chicken and the rice.  I was actually sad to not get to eat the left overs on this meal, but I graciously gave them to my teenage boys knowing they wouldn't appreciate the lentils or quinoa we had as left overs as well.  :)
This is definitely a keeper.
This recipe is from my Taste of Home magazine from a woman named Sheila Cutchlow of Washington, D.C.  Thank you Sheila for such a yummy meal.  This is definitely going in one of my favorites.  As a bonus, it wasn't super hard to prepare -a bit of work to roll the chickens, but no dicing, and they cooked in 20-25 minutes.  Score!  Here is my slightly modified version.

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese (I used Neufchatel with no trouble), softenend
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 8 turkey bacon strips
• 2 Tablespoons melted butter, divided
• 2 cups brown rice
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1 Tablespoon dried dill

Directions

1. In a rice cooker, combine brown rice, chicken stock and garlic. (can also cook in a pan, but you may have to adjust the amount of liquid.  For my rice cooker, I added 2 cups rice and filled it to the line labeled 3)  Cook while preparing the chicken.
2. Preheat oven to 375.  Cut each chicken breast horizontally in half;  sprinkle with salt and pepper (honestly I totally forgot the salt and pepper and it was still wonderful.)
3. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, onions and tarragon.  Spread over chicken.  Roll up from a short side.  Wrap each chicken with a bacon strip.  Place seam side down ina greased 9 X 13 pan.  Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon butter.
4. Cover and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160.  Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes longer or until lightly browned.
5. When the rice is done, stir in lemon juice, dill, lemon peel, and remaining Tablespoon of butter.
6. Serve chicken over rice.  Drizzle with pan juices if desired.

Orange curry

Once again, I'm behind in my blog.  I'm starting with this one mostly because I ate the left overs for lunch yesterday and I really liked it.  It didn't get posted when made partly because of time, but partly because none of the kids liked it.  However, both of the adults of the house liked it a lot, and I think I liked it even more as left overs yesterday.  (And that is saying something.)  The original recipe comes from Healthy Meals for less.  I picked this up on Amazon for it's great ratings.  I've only tried a couple of things so far, and both have been good.   Problem is, there aren't a ton or recipes in the book that seem new or really appeal to me.  This one did for a couple of reasons - orange with curry piqued my interest.  Second, the recipe is written to be used with left overs.  I liked that.  I didn't use left overs, I used pre-cooked chicken and frozen veggies, but technically, this could be used to turn left overs into a new meal, and that is always a bonus.
I know I made changes.  This is the worst problem I have when I don't blog immediately.  I doubled to tripled everything except the curry, and cut down on the  water and cornstarch to make the sauce stronger and not as thick so it would cover the noodles.  I'm going to write what I remember of what I did.  :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen concentrated orange juice
• 1/2 cup water + 1 Tablespoon
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons dehydrated onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 cups cooked chicken (could use any type of meat or meat substitute)
• 1 16 oz. package frozen mixed veggies (could use 2 cups of any steamed veggies)
• 8 -12 oz egg noodles (this is a total guess -probably closer to the 8.  You could use rice as well)

Directions

1. Cook noodles (or rice) according to package directions.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the orange juice concentrate, 1/2 cup water, curry powder, salt, onion, and garlic.  In a separate small bowl, combine cornstarch with 1 Tablespoon water.  Mix well.  Slowly whisk the cornstarch mixture into the orange juice mixture.  Continue whisking until it thickens slightly.  (2-3 minutes)
3. Add chicken and veggies.  Heat through (I just tossed my veggies in frozen, so I had to heat for a couple of minutes.)  Either serve over noodles, or toss the noodles into the mix and stir to combine. (We did the second one.)