Sweet and Sour Chicken

My friend, Jean, shared this DELICIOUS recipe!  We tried it yesterday, and it was a hit!  My friend, Jan, suggested adding pineapple 1/2 hour before serving.

6 potatoes, cut into wedges (optional)
24 baby carrots (I chopped regular carrots)
1 green pepper, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 med onion, diced
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (frozen is fine)
1 jar (24 oz.) sweet and sour sauce (either Kikkoman or La Choy is good)
Pineapple Tidbits (optional)

Add first 5 ingredients to crock pot in order listed.  Pour sweet and sour sauce over all. Cook on HIGH 5-6 hours.  Add pineapple tidbits the last 1/2 hour.  Serve over rice (I saved the pineapple juice and used it as part of the liquid in the rice).

Karen's Chicken Salad Puffs

Karen made these delicious puffs for Natalie and Aaron' s reception! They were so good that they were the first thing we ran out of!

Puffs:

Bring 1 c. water and 1/2 c. butter to a rolling boil. Turn heat to low and stir in 1 c. flour; stir until mixture is like a paste. Remove from heat and add 4 eggs; beat until glossy. Place rounded teaspoons of batter on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until golden.

Chicken Salad:

2 c. finely chopped cooked chicken
1/3 c. mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 TB. chopped onion or 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion
Dash of ginger
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 c.)
Chopped grapes (optional)

Mix ingredients together and spread onto cooled puffs.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is a DELICIOUS recipe I got from my good friend, Chris! Natalie makes this really well, and I know Aaron was impressed when she spoiled him with this dish in their early marriage, and I was impressed when she made it for the moms on Mother's Day last year...

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. milk
1 8 oz. container sour cream
1 pkg. bacon

Mix soup, milk, and sour cream and place in bottom of a greased 9 x 13" pan. Make a vertical cut down the center of the raw bacon, so all pieces are cut in half. Place 2-3 half-slices of bacon on top of each chicken breast. Place chicken on top of soup mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until bacon is crispy. Serve the "gravy" over cooked rice.

Marinated Chicken

This is a DELICIOUS recipe that my Aunt Karen makes--the chicken is always so tender, and it's amazing bar-b-qued...

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 12 oz. can 7-up
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. soy sauce

Mix liquid and place in a large Ziploc bag or Tupperware bowl with chicken. Marinate for several hours in the refrigerator, turning chicken every 5 min. Chicken is GREAT if it's grilled over the bar-b-que, or it can be baked.

Hobo Chicken-Posted by Natalie

This one is another fav of my cute hubbie! We are convinced the pico de gallo made it that much better! Try it out! *note, it's called "hobo" because you can put this together like a hobo dinner with each person eating a chicken breast instead of cubed chicken by putting foil packets in your baking dish.*

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
4 tsp. olive oil
2-3 zucchini cut up into pieces ( I used 2)
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 chopped yellow onion
1-1 1/2 C. Salsa or your choice (I used fresh pico de gallo-way tasty!)
Salt/Pepper/garlic to taste
Chopped cilantro

Method:

• Saute (in olive oil) onions and pepper until soft. Add zucchini and cook until mostly soft. Remove these to a greased baking dish.
  
• Add thawed, cubed chicken to the same pan and brown and cook in olive oil until half done.
• Transfer chicken to baking dish with vegetables. Pour the salsa over vegetable-chicken mixture.
  
• Bake at 350' for 20-25 mins until chicken temps at 170'.
• Serve over rice or potatoes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Yum!
  

Swiss Mushroom Chicken-Posted by Natalie

This is one of Aaron's favorite dishes I've made. So tasty! He called me Betty Crocker after he saw what I did and that I made my own bread crumbs! (thanks Mom!) It's really easy, but impresses the men.

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg
1 C. crushed crackers or bread crumbs
3/4 tsp. salt (I wouldn't add the salt, I did and we both thought the bread crumbs were too salty)
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 TB. butter or margarine
4 slices ham
4 slices Swiss cheese (my fav!)

Method:

• Once thawed, flatten chicken to 1/4" thickness.
  
• In shallow bowl, lightly beat one egg.
• Combine cracker or bread crumbs and salt (no salt for me), in another shallow bowl.
  
• Dip chicken in egg, then in crumbs. Place in greased 9x13" baking dish. Set aside.
• *Tip-if you want to make your own bread crumbs, toast 2 pieces of bread ( I used the heels). I toasted them pretty dark, and scraped off any burnt parts. Break up bread and add to blender. After all blended, the toasted bread was beautiful, fluffy bread crumbs. *

• In large skillet, saute mushrooms in butter. Top each chicken breast with slice of ham and sauted mushrooms.
  
• Bake at 350' for 30-40 mins (until chicken temps at 170')
• Remove from oven and top each piece of chicken with a slice of Swiss cheese.
  
• Bake for about 2 more mins, until cheese is melted. YUMMY!!!
  

Green Chicken (Chicken Verde)

I was feeling rather "food-networky" one day and invented this one...if you have every been to New Mexico you will know the answer to the question "Red, Green or Christmas?" The answer of course refers to the kind of chili you want with you meal. I am a green chili gal.

2 lbs, boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 med onion chopped
6 frozen cilantro cubes (I get a brand called Dorot found in the Trader Joes freezer section) if you do not have frozen use appx 6-7 t fresh.
4 cloves minced garlic (again, I use the Dorot frozen cubes, it makes it very easy, if you can find them use them!)
8 oz green chili
2 med green bell peppers, seeded and cut into bite sized peices
1 jar Salsa Verde (can be found with all the other salsas, I use La Victoria)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Start off by sauteeing the onion, garlic and cilantro in a bit of oil for about 5 mins. I do this in my stock pot, so as to give everything enough room to cook.
Leave the chicken whole and add to the onions etc. Cover and allow to cook until the chicken is cooked all the way thru (at least 30 mins). When the chicken is done, remove it from the pot and allow to rest for about 15 mins. While the chicken rests, add the bell peppers, green chili and salsa to the onion/garlic/cilantro mixture. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it and throw back into the pot and cook for an additional 10 mins.

Slow Cooker Directions:
Start the chicken, onions, garlic and cilantro together on low for at least 3 hours. Add the green chili, salsa and bell pepper and cook for another 1-2 hours on low before serving. About 30 mins before service, take the chicken out and shread it and add it back into the salsa etc, making sure that all is evenly coated and heated thru.

Serve with tortillias, cheese and beans. This also is great the next day for leftovers!

Orange-Thyme Chicken

This is another great way to eat chicken, also it's a WW special!

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 Tbs olive oil
2-3 minced garlic cloves
1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme
1Tbs fresh chopped rosemary
1 tsp red chili flakes
Zest and Juice of one med orange (or 1/2 c OJ concentrate)
Salt to taste

Directions
Combine: oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, red chili flakes, and orange zest and juice.
Pour marinade over chicken breasts and place all in a ziplock bag for 1-2 hours
Bake covered in a greased dish for 35 mins or till juice of the chicken runs clear.
This serves 2 or 4 depending on how you cut the chicken breast and is great for leftovers.

WW info: one breast w. 2T pan drippings = 4 pts.

Chicken Caccitore

This is from my WW cookbook and is really dee-lish.

Ingredients:
6 pieces of chicken--any type you like, but about 3 1/2 pounds. I like boneless/skinless breasts.
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
2 thinly sliced carrots, or about 10 baby carrots (if you have a Pampered Chef chopper use that!)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, seeded, and chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1-2 t dried marjoram, or oregano
1, 28 oz can, or 2, 14 oz cans Italian tomatoes, chopped.

Method:
Start the chicken off in some oil. Brown it about 3-5 mins a side. Remove this to a plate and start your veggies in the same pan/pot. Add all of your veggies to the pan, including spices. Stir till all are slightly soft and add tomatos, with the juice. Cook till the sauce has had a chance to thicken and become bubbly, about 5 mins. Add the chicken back in and cook for an additional 25 mins, or till the chicken is done thru. Serve over rice or potatoes.

Nutrition information: 1 serving = 1 pc chicken + 2/3C sauce; 273 cals; 10g fat; 3g fiber. WW points = 6.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken

This is one of my current favorite ways to have chicken:

1 sm-med shallot minced
3 cloves minced garlic
1 T fresh rosemary, cut up w/o the stems
1 T stone ground or dijon mustard
1 T olive oil
Zest and juice from a small lemon

Combine all of these, and then marinate for a few hours 2-3 big boneless/skinless chicken breasts or 4-5 thighs.

Bake for 30 mins on 350, or till meat is done thru.

The marinade is good on roasted potatoes as well. :)

This is also a WW recipe, the nutrition info is: 1 breast = 4 pts.

Pineapple-Agave Chicken

I am all about eating healthy and fantastic chicken recipes. Here is a new one that we like:

Pineapple-Agave Glazed Chicken

2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T soy-sauce
2 T agave nectar*
1 T fresh grated ginger (you should always have a fresh ginger root in your fridge!!)
1 minced shallot
1/2 C crushed pineapple
2 T fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
1 t corn starch
2 t cold water

Method:
Combine: soy-sauce, agave nectar, ginger, pineapple, shallot in a ziplock bag and add chicken. Marinate for at least 2 hours, but more is better. Bake in a 350F oven for about 30 mins or till chicken is done thru. When the chicken is done remove to a plate and take the pan juices and put them in a sauce pan on the stove. When the liquid comes to a boil add the corn starch and water that you have pre-mixed. When the liquid thickens, about 2-3 mins, add the parsley and remove from the heat and pour over the chicken. Serve with rice.

*Agave nectar is a natural sweetner made from the agave plant. If you are world wise, you will also know that agave is used in the production of tequila, although, the nectar is non-alcoholic. I like the nectar, which is like a light honey. It's good too because it does not crystalize like honey, so you can keep it on the shelf forever. Agave nectar can be found at Whole Foods or Wild Oats or perhaps Trader Joes, by the sweetners like Stevia. If you can't find agave necatr, use honey.

This is also a Weight Watchers recipe, the nutrition info is: 1 breast + 2T sauce = 5 pts, add 1/2 white or brown rice add 2pts.

Ranch Chicken - from Kristy

Another exquisite dish from Kristy...

6 chicken breasts
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1 c. crushed cornflakes
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

Mix dry ingredients together and roll chicken in ranch mixture. If the ranch mixture won't stick, you can spray each piece of chicken with cooking spray. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes.

Chicken Pillows - posted by Melissa

My friend, Kristy, gave me this INCREDIBLE recipe! They're just as good the second day, too!

4 chicken breasts, cooked and broken up
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
Bread crumbs

Mix chicken and cream cheese in bowl. Open pkg. of rolls and separate them, stacking on top of each other. Spoon chicken mixture into center of each piece of dough. Roll up and then dip each in 1/4 cup melted butter and then roll in bread crumbs (for lighter pillows, do not roll in butter and use fat-free/low-fat ingredients). Put on greased cookie sheet. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Gravy:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can milk
1/2 c. sour cream

Heat in saucepan. Serve over chicken pillows and mashed potatoes.

Italian/Cream Cheese Chicken - posted by Melissa

This is an easy, great recipe from my friend, Jan. Natalie made us a DELICIOUS variation when we visited for Easter, which she will have to post.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 packet dry Italian dressing
2 small cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 - 1 soup can milk
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

Place chicken in greased crock pot. Mix together remaining ingredients and pour over top of chicken. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours. Serve over rice.