It's a Ziploc Meal

Ziploc isn't a sponsor for me or anything, but after the meal I made Friday night, they could've been! I used the zip-top bags to save me some dishes in the end. I love doing that on Fridays, especially, because it means I get to relax after dinner!

Baked Cornflake Chicken Fingers and Roasted Potatoes

Chicken Fingers

1-1.5 lbs. chicken tenders, or boneless skinless breasts cut into tenders (My pack of tenders had 10 in it)

1 cup flour

seasoning you like (I use garlic salt, onion powder and black pepper)

1/2 stick melted butter

4-5 cups crushed cornflakes (make sure you crush them to oblivion -- they'll stick better)

Directions

- Mix flour and seasonings in a zip top bag and add chicken pieces; toss to coat

- Put cornflakes in a zip top bag and crush completely with a rolling pin or meat mallet. If you have a food processor, that would be awesome too

- Place melted butter in a shallow dish for dipping

- Place crushed cornflakes in another shallow dish (I use pie plates for both)
- Shake excess flour off of tenders, and dip in butter to coat, then dip in cornflakes, pressing to make sure they stick to the chicken

- Place on a foil-lined baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray

- Bake chicken at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes

- Serve

Roasted Potatoes

4-6 baking potatoes

2 tsp olive oil

garlic powder

onion powder

black pepper

Directions

- Thinly slice the potatoes (about 1/4" thick) and place in a zip top bag

- Add olive oil and seasonings; toss to coat potatoes

- Spread potatoes out on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray

- Cook at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes

- Remove from oven; can eat as is, or sprinkle cheddar cheese over them and let it melt

"Ben-chiladas"

These "enchiladas" have been floating around on a lot of the blogs I read, and EVERYONE has enjoyed them!

We gave them a shot as well, and found them to be delicious. They reeeeeeeeeally aren't enchiladas...I'm not sure they have a single authentic ingredient...but they're still amazing.

This recipe also makes a lot more food than it looks. We had ben-chiladas for dinner three times, and poor DH ate some for lunches as well! We enjoyed them plain the first night, but found on subsequent re-heating nights that the filling kind of congeals...so we added some canned enchilada sauce to our leftovers and it was delicious all over again!

To reheat, Annie recommends 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes

Ben-chiladas

(Annie's Eats)

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

8 oz. reduced fat sour cream

8 oz. ranch salad dressing

flour tortillas (10-15)

jar of salsa (i used fresh)

shredded mexican cheese blend (as much as you want...anywhere from 2-4 cups!)

Directions

- Cook chicken breasts by preferred method, set aside to cool. When cool, shred or cube chicken (I skipped this step by baking my chicken and shredding it a few days before I made them)

- In a large mixing bowl, combine half the sour cream, and half the ranch dressing

- In a small bowl, combine the rest of the sour cream and the rest of the ranch dressing

- Stir both until well combined, then add shredded or cubed chicken to the large mixing bowl and mix well

- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and grease a 9"x13" pan (and possibly another, smaller pan if needed -- it was needed for us)

- Take 1 tortilla and top with a little less than 1 tbsp of the sauce from the small bowl; spreading over the tortillas in an even layer

- Add some of the chicken mixture to the center of the tortilla, and top with salsa and cheese to taste

- Roll up the tortilla and place it seam-side down in your prepared baking dish

- Repeat until all ingredients are used up (Mine made 12 bursting-at-the-seams enchiladas on 10" tortillas with 4 chicken breasts)

- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (30 for a crispier tortilla)

- Allow to cool a few minutes before serving

Spicy Honey Chicken

The picture above is DH's handiwork...or rather, DHGM (Dear Husband-Grill Master) as he's been requested to be called on my blog :)

I got this one from Leigh -- her recipes are always fantastic!

Since DHGM finally, FINALLY was able to buy a grill (he's so happy!), I included a lot of grill-friendly recipes in this week.

This chicken can be done inside, under the broiler, or outside, on the grill. I love those flexible recipes!

Spicy Honey Chicken

(your home based mom)

*Note: You can change the "spicy" aspect of this recipe by how much cayenne pepper you put in!)

8 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs (I used chicken thighs, but bone in, and some leftover boneless breasts)

Rub:

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Glaze:

6 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions

- Combine the first six, 'rub' ingredients in a bowl and mix well

- Clean excess fat from chicken pieces and add pieces to bowl of spices, rubbing to coat

- Brush grill surface lightly with olive oil, and grill chicken for a few minutes on each side, until cooked through

- Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring until well combined

- Brush mixture onto chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling

- Since the glaze is sugar-based, you'l need to turn the heat down so your chicken doesn't burn; leave it on the grill a fw moments to caramelize

- You can also use these steps inside, under your broiler

Saucy Baked Chicken

This recipe was quite tasty -- we enjoyed it immensely served over pasta tossed with olive oil.

We'll make this one again!

Saucy Baked Chicken

(Lauren's Kitchen)

4-6 chicken cutlets (I used 3 chicken breasts I had left in the freezer)
1 medium onion, sliced
8 ounces sliced white mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth
4 TBSP all purpose flour
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions

- Preheat oven to 450.Pour oil into a casserole dish.

- Add chicken, onion and mushrooms, turning to coat with oil.

- Bake 5 minutes; turn chicken over and stir vegetables.

- Bake an additional 5 minutes.

- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk flour into chicken broth.

- Add vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stirring well.

- When chicken has cooked for 10 minutes, add broth mixture to casserole dish, cover with foil and bake 10 minutes.

- Remove foil; stir vegetables and bake, uncovered, until sauce bubbles and is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

- Heat broiler. Turn chicken over. Place dish 6 inches from heat and broil until chicken just starts to turn golden, about 3-5 minutes.

- Serve immediately.

Parmesan Ranch Chicken

This was tasty, but I didn't feel like the ranch or parmesan flavors really came through -- it tasted mostly like butter and cornflakes (which, by the way, is a HEAVENLY combination).

I only had the parm in the green can -- so I'm thinking next time I'll try this with more ranch mix, and fresh parmesan.

Even if it didn't taste exactly like I thought it would, it was still incredibly tasty and the chicken was VERY juicy.

I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Even made great leftovers!

Parmesan Ranch Chicken

(Kara's Kitchen Creations)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup crushed corn flakes

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp dry ranch dressing mix

2-3 Tbsp melted butter

Directions

- Rinse chicken breasts and set aside.

- Combine corn flakes, cheese, and dressing mix in a shallow container.

- Dip chicken in butter, then in crumb mixture.

- Place on greased cookie sheet.

- Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or till juices run clear.

Chicken DaVinci

I nabbed this recipe from my friend Chera -- she blogs, but since it's sort of a family blog, I won't link it here for her privacy.

This was tasty -- very much like a sausage sandwich with peppers and onions...except over pasta. with chicken. :-)

Nice and quick as well!

Chicken DaVinci

(Chera)

16 oz. pasta, cooked according to directions.

Drain and toss in bowl with 2 T. olive oil.

1 lb. Chicken, cubed

3 italian sausage links, cut into 1/2" pieces (I assume hot or sweet is fine here...)

1 red onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

10-12 mushrooms, quartered

2 cloves garlic, minced

- Saute chicken and sausage in 2 T. olive oil for 5 minutes.

- Remove from pan, drain drippings.

- Add a little more oil and saute veggies.

- Add garlic when veggies are almost done.

- Add chicken and sausage back to pan to mingle flavors.

- Serve with noodles and season with salt, pepper, and Parmesan and/or Romano cheese.

- Enjoy!

(Chera says don't forgo the Parmesan cheese -- it really makes the dish (as evidenced by this picture I took of DH's plate after he added half a container of parm to it.)

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts

Oh my god these were good. And, fast enough for a weeknight, but "nice" enough to serve to company!

We'll definately be putting these in our rotation!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken (Stuffed with Cheese and Spinach)

(Adapted from: A Taste of Home Cooking)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (this was 3 in my package)

black pepper

salt

4 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened

2 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped

9 slices of bacon (3 on each breast)

Served with:

Mashed potatoes: 6-8 red potatoes, peeled and cubed, milk, butter

1 lb. fresh green beans, steamed

Directions

- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F

- Cut a slice in the thickest part of the chicken breast, making a pocket in the breast to stuff

- Combine the softened cream cheese, chopped spinach, salt and pepper to taste, and stuff into the pocket in each chicken breast.

- Wrap each chicken breast tightly with the slices of bacon, covering the meat

- Place the chicken breasts in a roaster pan with a drip tray (or just a nonstick cookie sheet will do as well -- but your juices and fat will accumulate on the bottom of your chicken) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is crispy and chicken is firm to the touch.

King Ranch Chicken

Once again -- casseroles and delicious things never photograph well. And this recipe is both, so that should explain the pictures!

This was tasty, though -- I think DH liked it more than me, because I find the Rotel Tomato/Chilis mixture to be too spicy for my liking.

King Ranch Chicken

(I can't remember where I found it!)

1/4 cup butter
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (10 oz.) ROTEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

- In a large saucepan, cook pepper and onion in melted margarine until tender, about 5 minutes. - Add soups, ROTEL and chicken, stirring until well blended.

- In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, alternately layer tortillas, soup mixture and cheese, repeating for three layers.

- Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Serves 8

Note: Not sure what the idea was behind making the tortillas bite-sized, but I think it would hold together better for cutting/serving if you left the tortillas whole.

"Lighter" General Tsao's

DH loves General Tsao's (I'm positive I'm spelling that wrong...) so I thought we'd try this recipe at home.

But -- like every time I try Asian-anything at home -- it just isn't as good as getting it at a restaurant. DH liked this, but I could've passed on it.

I'm not a big fan of ginger, and it's a prevalent flavor in the dish, so that may be why.

"Lighter" General Tsao's Chicken

(Martha Stewart)

1 ¼ cups long-grain rice

¼ cup cornstarch

1 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise (I used steamed broccoli instead for DH)

4 garlic cloves, sliced

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled

3 tablespoons light-brown sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes

2 large egg whites

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower (I used regular vegetable oil)

Directions

- Cook rice according to package instructions.

- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and ½ cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.

- In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.

- In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).

- Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat.

- Serve with rice.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I've said before how much I love Picky Palate. But I don't care, I'm saying it again -- I love Picky Palate!

She always takes nice photographs, and her meals are fantastic for weeknights.

This week I made her chicken cordon bleu casserole. DH says it's tasty, and to put it "on the rotation" -- we have a winner, ladies and gents!

I used all mozzerella and cheddar tonight, because it's what I had on hand...but I reeeeeeeeally think the shredded Swiss would make it taste more like actual Chicken Cordon Bleu.

And, as always...casseroles don't photograph well. Just trust me, it's tasty and it's quick (with a little prep work).

Cheesy Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

(Picky Palate)

6-8 servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced

1/2 lb. diced ham

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

14 oz. can chicken broth

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup mozzarella or swiss cheese (I think I would recc: 1/2 cup mozz, 1/2 cup shredded swiss)

Directions

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

- Heat oil in a large, rimmed skillet over medium heat

- Add onion and bell pepper; saute until softened, about 5 minutes

- Stir in garlic, ham, and chicken, cook for an additional 5 minutes

- Melt butter then stir in flour, salt, and pepper until combined (I melted the butter in the microwave and just added it to the pan)

- Slowly stir in chicken broth until well combined

- Stir in cooked rice, then transfer to a 9x13 baking dish.

- Top with cheddar and mozz/swiss cheeses

- Bake 20-25 minutes. Cover the dish with foil for the last 10 minutes for oozing cheese

"Pennsylvania Dutch" Chicken Pot Pie

A few weeks ago there was a discussion on the What's Cooking board on TheNest about pot pie in soup form.

Most had never heard of it, and those that had were centered around a very small area of Central Pennsylvania -- also known as where I currently live.

I'm not from this area, so I think this "pot pie" with no crust is a bit odd, but my husband loves it. Prefers it to my "crazy" pot pie that actually looks like a pie!

So I decided to try my hand at it. I'd never made it, and it turned out really well. The ONLY thing that would've made it more delicious is if I'd have had a whole day off to slow roast a chicken to use in it. Mmmm..slow roasted chicken.

Oh! And before we get to the recipe...a note about the noodles involved.

Part of what differentiates this type of pot pie from any chicken noodle soup recipe are the noodles. They're a thick egg noodle, cut into squares.

I made these, but I did see that in the grocery store here, San Giorgio sells Pot Pie Noodles -- they're hidden on the top shelf near the egg noodle section. Check your store and see if they have them -- I'm curious if they sell them anywhere but here!

Onto the recipe -- and pardon the bad pictures. It's getting dark earlier, and I'm also in the process of prepping a house for move-in, so dinner has been very late!

Pot Pie Squares (The Noodles)

3 cups flour

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening (like Crisco)

1/2 to 3/4 cup water

Directions

- Mix the flour, egg, and shortening together

- Knead the dough mixture, while alternately adding small amounts of water until the dough holds together well

- Divide the dough into two or three pieces

- Roll each piece out to about 1/8" thick on a floured surface

- Cut the rolled out dough into squares - about 2" to 2 1/2" wide

- Allow the freshly made pot pie noodles to dry for about 30 minutes or more before cooking

The Soup

*3-4 cups of shredded chicken, turkey, beef, or even ham leftovers can be used instead of a whole stewing chicken for this. When using leftovers, use broth instead of the 2 quarts of water. With leftover chicken or turkey, use 4 cans of chicken broth.

1-3 lb stewing chicken

2 quarts water

5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into bite sized chunks

2 cups chopped celery

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 cup finely diced carrots

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions

- Cook the chicken in water until tender

- Remove the chicken from the broth and separate the meat from the bones and skin

- Cut or shred the cooked chicken into bite size pieces

- Meanwhile, add the vegetables and seasonings to the simmering broth

- Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, then add the pot pie squares to the broth mixture, a few at a time, stirring frequently so they don't stick together

- After all have been added, cook gently for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the noodles are tender

- Add the cut up chicken and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes longer

- Cover, and let stand for a few minutes before serving.

**The article this recipe was taken from suggests serving it on dinner plates, or in shallow bowls. Sides are recommended as a salad such as coleslaw, pepper cabbage, or lettuce with bacon dressing --- if you REALLY want to do it "Pennsylvania Dutch" Style!

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad

I am -- ashamedly -- a member of the Lean Cuisine lunches club. For some reason, my biggest temptation to overeat is lunchtime, and those darn handy little meals prevent me from doing it!

Every once in awhile, I feel guilty about eating all the nastiness in those meals, and I make myself something at home. It's always tasty -- but unfortunately, the frozen meals continue to provide me with more variety than I can afford to provide myself during the week for lunches!

This salad is delicious and it's a total meal in one package. I'm labelling it Mexican, but like Liz before me...well..it isn't really mexican, per se. It's just darn tasty!

Chicken, Rice, and Black Bean Salad

(Liz's Cooking Blog)

1 cup brown (or white) rice

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked with olive oil, kosher salt, and Adobo Seasoning, cooled and diced (I used 3 bone-in chicken breasts that I had in the freezer, and just removed the skins)

1 can (15 1/2 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

2-4 on-the-vine tomatoes, seeded and diced

3-4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno chili, seeds and ribs removed, minced

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- Cook the rice according to package instructions. Cool completely.

- Place cooled rice in a large bowl; add chicken, beans, tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno, vinegar, oil, and cumin.

- Season with salt and pepper; toss to combine

- Serve immediately, or refridgerate, covered, up to 1 day (I kept mine refridgerated for about 3 days..and it was admittedly not holding up so well by that 3rd day!)

Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

First off, I love Picky Palate. Her stuff is so easy and delicious! And she takes such pretty pictures. Actually, her pretty pictures will come into play again here shortly.

I also loooooooove Mexican. Any form. My poor husband, who LIKES Mexican, often tells me I need to cool it a little on the Mexican menu items. But the fantastic pictures of enchiladas (see?! She even takes good pictures of enchiladas! It's amazing!) convinced my husband it was a good dinner to try...Mexican or not.

Now, here's the dilemma. I do not take pretty pictures. But I generally still try. I also apparently ended up with slightly stale, or perhaps just completely-and-totally-difficult, these-dang-things-are-too-small-to-roll corn tortillas (there was a lot of breakage action and selective swearing on my part). See, I'd never used corn at home, always flour. So I grabbed the first corn tortillas I saw...and that was a mistake.

Anyway...my enchiladas were...how do you say...totally NOT as pretty as Picky Palate. So bad, in fact, that I decided while making them there was no way I was getting good pictures.

So I have no pictures. But this IS a good recipe (and yes, it has cream of chicken in it). And if you want to see how pretty it can be, you can go here.

Fiesta Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas
(Picky Palate)

*This made 2 9"x13" pans full of enchiladas for me...or enough to feed my husband and I for 2 dinners, and a variety of lunches*

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
1 japaleno, minced (I removed seeds and ribs)
3 fresh cloves of garlic, minced (I used pre minced. I love that stuff)
10 oz. bag baby spinach leaves, chopped
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I used 3 HUGE bone-in breasts that I had in the freezer)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (I used garlic powder since we added salt above)
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin (DH felt this was a bit much cumin. I may cut back next time)
1-10 oz can Mild Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles

Sauce
1 lb (large family size can) cream of chicken soup
1 cup red enchilada sauce
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt

Corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place oil in a large skillet or dutch oven and heat over medium heat
- Add onion and jalapeno and saute until softened, about 5 minutes
- Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute
- Add chopped spinach and cook until wilted down
- Stir in chicken, salt, pepper, garlic salt, cumin and diced tomatoes
- Reduce heat to low and simmer

- Place cream of chicken soup, enchilada sauce, sour cream, milk and salt into a large saucepan over medium heat
- Stir until warmed through

- Ladle a small amount of sauce into the bottom of a large 9" x 13" pan (I used 2 that size) -- just enough to cover the bottom
- Place a spoonful of chicken mixture inside of the corn tortillas, roll up and place seam side down in the pan
- Fill tortillas until chicken filling is used up
- Top evenly with sauce from the saucepan and shredded cheese

- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yogurt Chicken

Sorry for that nasty gash -- it was 1.5 hours later than I thought we'd be eating, and I was in no mood for "pretty" checking that the chicken was done!

I *think* (without actually going back through my posts and looking) that this is my first Pioneer Woman recipe. That's hard to believe considering she pops up nearly every other starred item in my Google Reader!



Unfortunately, I wasn't all that thrilled with this recipe. DH liked it immensely, but I tend to be a "consistency" eater, and the panko consistency really turns me off. The flavor from the yogurt mixture was tasty, though.



It may have been better if I'd have used smaller chicken, too -- DH bought me these monstrosity-sized chicken breasts (they took almost 2 hours to cook!!!) for the recipe. Maybe it would've been better with smaller pieces of chicken.



Who knows!



Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yogurt Chicken
(Pioneer Woman Cooks)

Chicken (she uses thighs or legs -- we used breasts)
2 cups plain yogurt
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (I used pre-minced)
Handful of parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
Butter
2 cups (approx) Panko bread crumbs

Directions
- Pour 2 cups plain yogurt into an empty bowl. Add minced garlic, chopped parsley, and the juice of 1 lemon. Mix well.
- Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Pour 2 cups of panko into another bowl and give it a sprinkling of salt as well. Mix.
- Butter a baking dish
- Using tongs, dip each piece of chicken in the yogurt mixture (coating entirely) and then in the panko (coating entirely again). Place in buttered baking dish.
- Place a slice of butter over the meatiest part of each piece of chicken (for the ginourmous breasts I actually used two butter slices)
- Cover chicken with foil and bake at 350 degree F oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes to let the breadcrumbs brown up a bit (I had to cook mine much longer, and I reccommend more than 15 minutes uncovered to get that brownness on top!)

Tandoori Chicken

I decided to branch out and try a new cuisine. Since I often have tummy troubles with, ahem, "unique cuisines" in restaurants, I decided to try it at home.

This time around we tried Indian food. With a little help from Kristie's Kitchen, I set out to make tandoori chicken, biryani, and (the original plan at least...) naan.

Unfortunately, the night I made the Indian food is also the night we had to sign paperwork with a real estate agent to put in an offer on a house. I ended up cooking at 9pm!!

Needless to say -- we used the store-bought naan.

Things I've learned?

1. Cardamom is freaking EXPENSIVE and one should look at the price before just tossing it in the basket. YIKES!

2. Indian food sits remarkably well with my delicate tummy

3. DH thinks this meal was flippin' amazing and wants it again soon. My reaction? GOOD--I just spent $12 on a container of cardamom!!!

Tandoori Chicken

(Kristie's Kitchen)

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts

1/2 C plain yogurt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1 inch piece fresh ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

DIRECTIONS
- Run garlic through a press, or finely mince. Grate ginger.

- Mix together yogurt, oil, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and spices.
- Make diagonal slashes in the chicken meat to allow marinade to penetrate better. (I diced up my chicken into pieces, so I didn't do this part)

- Pour yogurt mixture over chicken parts.
- Marinate for 4 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator, turning occasionally.

- If the chicken is placed in the refrigerator, bring it to room temperature before cooking.

- Preheat broiler.
- Brush grill or shallow baking pan with a little oil to keep chicken from sticking. Arrange chicken on the pan.
- Broil chicken 2-3 inches away from the heat until cooked through, approximately 25 minutes, turning halfway through.

Chicken Kafta with Tzatziki

DH selected this dish for our weekly menu -- and I think we both thought it would be more like "gyros" than it was.

Admittedly, a little disappointed. I didn't particularly like the flavors in the chicken...I think I just found them too weak, to be honest. We also don't have a grill, so I broiled mine -- but grilling may have added to their flavor.

I did take Culinary Infatuation's advice, and served it with a little tzatziki sauce -- quite tasty!

Chicken Kafta

1 lb. ground chicken

1/4 cup grated onion

2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley

2 tsp. ground coriander

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. olive oil

1.5 tbsp. bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

- Preheat oven to Broil

- Mix all ingredients together and shape into oblong patties

- Lightly oil an oven-safe grill pan and arrange patties on top

- Put in broiler and cook for about 5-6 minutes per side (temp may vary -- keep an eye on them!)

Zesty Mozzarella Chicken

This recipe came from Kay, over at Kitchen Scrapbook. I like Kay's recipes -- her cooking style is similar to mine.

I'm just not a fancy eater. My delicate stomach won't tolerate odd spices, or weird replacements for protein, or any of that nonsense. I like good recipes -- but I don't feel pressured to find new and bizarre recipes. I'm more concerned with having a log of items I (and my husband) will actually eat.

*Steps off soapbox, now* Oops.

This chicken is VERY tasty. I'd say it's basically Chicken Parmesean, with a different name, but that didn't make me enjoy it any less! And it was easy and quick, to boot.

I served it simply with some local, fresh green beans.

Buy local, people!

Zesty Mozzarella Chicken

(Adapted from Kitchen Scrapbook)

1 egg white, lightly beaten

2 tbsp. milk

1 cup bread or cracker crumbs

2 tbsp. parmesean cheese

1/4 tsp. each salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and dried oregano (I think I added closer to 1/2 tsp. of each -- and I added 1/4 tsp. of onion powder as well)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 tbsp. butter (I replaced this with olive oil -- enough to just barely coat the bottom of the pan)

1/2 cup pasta sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or italian blend cheese

Directions

- In a shallow bowl (I used a pie plate) combine the egg white and milk.

- In another bowl (again, I used a pie plate) combine bread or cracker crumbs, parmesean cheese, and spices.

- Heat oil (or butter if you use it) in a large skillet until warm.

- Dop chicken in the milk/egg mixture, then in the bread/cracker crumb mixture.

- Place in skillet and brown chicken on both sides until no longer pink and juices run clear (It took me about 10-12 minutes on medium/medium high heat)

- Meanwhile, heat the pasta sauce so it's warm.

- When chicken is done, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

- Remove from heat and cover for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

- Serve with pasta sauce.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is not only a delicious comfort food, but it's so fast to make as well!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
(My original)

1 lb. chicken breast meat, cooked and cubed (or shredded)
1/2 package (6 oz. of a 12 oz. package) egg noodles, cooked and drained
32 oz. chicken broth
2 chicken bullion cubes
2 tablespoons butter
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2-3 carrots, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium/medium high heat. Add celery, carrots, and onions, and cook until tender.
- Add the chicken broth and bullion cubes, stir to dissolve cubes.
- Add the chicken and egg noodles. Cook over medium heat until heated through.
- Toss in parsley, salt, and pepper, stir to combine.

The Divinity that is Lemon Chicken

This is, perhaps, my most favorite meal...on earth. And I don't know why -- it's incredibly simple, but I adore it!

There are tons of different "lemon chicken" recipes out there...this is just mine.

I'm giving you the "original" recipe, but I'll put my notes at the end.

Lemon Chicken
4(whole) chicken breasts - bone in
1 stick butter
2-3 cloves of garlic (or garlic powder/salt)
2-3 lemons (or "real lemon" lemon juice)
onion powder (or onion salt)
poultry seasoning (the kind with thyme, marjoram, etc in it...it's kinda green)
black pepper

Directions

Boil chicken breasts and cut/shred into bite sized pieces.
Place in a glass oven dish.
Slice a stick of butter and place on top.
Put the garlic (or powder/salt) on top of the chicken/butter mix.
Sprinkle a heavy layer of poultry seasoning, a few shakes of onion powder, and pepper.

Top with the juice of the lemons

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

Serve over rice (i like brown) and green beans (or corn).

'kay...that's my written down recipe...but here's what I actually do:
- I buy a bag of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Boil the whole bag, shred it, and follow the instructoins above. I like LOTS of leftovers of this, and the 4 chicken breasts just don't make that. I also hate bone-in chicken...so I don't use it.
- If you're on a "poor" week or you're in a hurry, garlic powder, onion powder, and "real lemon" lemon juice will totally do the same job as real garlic and real, fresh-squeezed lemon juice. The fresh lemon juice just makes it tangier.
- Oh...and if the stick of butter makes you feel guilty...you can use a "healthy" margarine instead...but let's face it, nothing tastes quite like BUTTAH. :)