Spinach Artichoke Chicken

• I found this recipe at www.addapinch.com.  It was a hit with the whole family.
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• olive oil spray
• 8 chicken breasts
• 13.75 oz artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375º F. Spray baking dish with olive oil nonstick baking spray.
2. Place chicken into baking dish. Salt and pepper chicken and then bake 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients and then pour on top of chicken. Bake 20-25 minutes.
4. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe and photo source: www.addapinch.com

Chicken Diane

I'm really into recipes with pan sauces lately. This one is really good. The recipe is for 2 servings, so adjust as needed.
1 TB canola oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper (about 6 oz each)
1 TB unsalted butter
1 TB minced shallots
1 tsp minced garlic
3 TB brandy
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 TB minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 6 minutes, flip, cover, and cook an additional 6 minutes. Remove chicken to a small plate and tent with foil.

For the sauce, melt butter in same skillet over medium heat. Stir in shallots and garlic; cook 30 seconds.

Off heat, deglaze skillet with brandy, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom. Return skillet to heat and boil brandy 30 seconds. Whisk in Dijon and Worcestershire.

Off heat, whisk in half-and-half and parsley. Return skillet to heat to slightly thicken the sauce; season with salt and pepper.

Return chicken to skillet turn to coat in sauce. Remove chicken to a plate and top with remaining sauce.


Recipe and photo source: Cuisine at Home

Coconut Chicken

Crunchy and delicious...and kid friendly! The sauce doesn't taste amazing on its own, but is really good on the chicken.

1 (14 oz) can coconut milk, divided

1 clove garlic, minced

1 TB soy sauce

1 TB lime juice

1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into strips

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

Pour half of the coconut milk, the garlic, soy sauce, and lime juice into a resealable plastic zipper bag. Shake to thoroughly combine. Place the chicken strips into the bag and squeeze several times to coat the chicken. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Reserve the remaining coconut milk.

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease with olive oil.

Place the shredded coconut into a food processor and pulse several times until the coconut is ground into crumbs. Mix it with the Panko crumbs, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Place the flour into a second bowl, and the egg into a third shallow bowl. Shake excess marinade from chicken strips, and dip them into the flour to thoroughly coat, then dip into egg, and finally into the coconut crumb mixture. Place the coated strips onto the coated baking sheet.

Bake the chicken strips in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Mix the reserved coconut milk and mayonnaise in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat; serve the sauce drizzled over the chicken strips or on the side for dipping.

Recipe Source: www.allrecipes.com

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Okay, nobody is probably going to try this recipe once they're done reading my introduction, but we honestly liked it and are definitely going to make it again. There were just a couple of bumps in the road on the way to liking it.

#1 When I saw the recipe, it looked really good so I tried it as written below. I ended up throwing it all out before Nate got home. I HATED the chicken thighs and the glaze was too spicy for me. So I tried it again this week and substituted chicken tenderloins for the thighs and cut the red pepper flakes in the glaze down to a couple of sprinkles. By the time it reduced down to a glaze, it still had quite a bit of heat.

#2 It smelled really strange before it all came together. Something about the coconut milk marinade on the grill and the vinegar-based sauce simmering on the stove made for a weird smell combination and I wasn't sure how things were going to go. But once it was off the grill and the glaze was on the chicken, it was so delicious. I know, I'm really selling this recipe, huh? But try it--it was delicious.

Chicken and Marinade:
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see note above)
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 TB minced fresh ginger
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes

Marinate the chicken in coconut milk, ginger, black pepper, and red pepper flakes at least one hour (I did mine overnight). Grill.

Glaze:
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
3 TB soy sauce
1 tsp red pepper flakes (see note above)

While the chicken is grilling, bring glaze ingredients to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until mixture is reduced and thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Be patient because it takes a little while. Once it starts getting really thick, remove from heat. Glaze both sides of chicken the last couple of minutes of grilling, or wait and glaze it after removing from the grill to prevent a sticky grill grate. Serve over rice.

Recipe Source: www.melskitchencafe.com

Chicken with Boursin Mushroom Sauce

I couldn't find Boursin brand cheese at my market so I used Rondele brand instead. It is available with reduced-fat so that's what I used. I also skipped the parsley since Nate doesn't care for raw parsley. Next time I will not reduce the wine quite as much so the sauce will be a little looser. It was really delicious and took under 30 minutes to prepare.


4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 TB vegetable oil
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 TB butter
1 minced shallot
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup crumbled Boursin cheese (garlic and herb flavor)
2 TB chopped parsley

Dry your chicken breasts with paper towels and season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned on each side. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 160 degrees. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add mushrooms and butter to the pan. Cook till slightly soft then add the shallot. Cook until it begins to soften, about one minute. Add the wine to the pan and scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine cooks almost all of the way out.

Take the pan off of the heat and whisk in the Boursin cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Plate each breast with some sauce poured over the top.

Recipe Source: www.bakedbree.com

Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Even Nate, who generally stays away from garlic, loves this. Since the garlic is roasted in the pan then cooks in the sauce for 30 minutes, it comes out very mellow. To save my sanity, I buy the garlic that's already peeled.

3 whole heads of garlic, about 40 cloves

3 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, skin on (cut in half if large)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 TB unsalted buter

2 TB olive oil

3 TB Cognac, divided

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

1 TB fresh thyme leaves

2 TB all purpose flour

2 TB heavy cream

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3-5 minutes per side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don't want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat starts to burn, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches.

Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5-10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 TB of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boill, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste; it should be very flavorful because the chicken can tend to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

Recipe Source: Ina Garten (http://www.foodtv.com/)

Chicken Marsala Casserole

I love Chicken Marsala and this was a new twist on it that turned out to be really yummy. All three of us loved it. We thought it could have used some salt, so add it to taste.

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp butter
8 ounces crimini muchrooms (baby portabellas), sliced
1 bulb shallot, diced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp dried parsley, divided
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 can (10 oz) Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup
3 TB Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
2 TB Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350.

Place a medium-sized saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and butter to the pan. When they've melted together, add the mushrooms, shallot, thyme, 1/4 tsp parsley, and a pinch of black pepper. Allow to cook until the mushrooms have given off their juices and the shallots are translucent. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the marsala, soup, 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and the diced chicken to the bowl and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a 1-quart casserole dish. Combine the remainin 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, panko, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of parsley and sprinkle over the top.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove foil and broil for about 5 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Makes 6 modest servings
4 WW pts per serving

Recipe Source: www.tastykitchen.com

Enchilada Chicken

So, I started Weight Watchers this week. I'm going to work on finding lighter recipes for a while.

This one is from one of the Biggest Loser cookbooks. It was fast and easy.

4 (4-oz) trimmed boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp taco seasoning or Southwest seasoning
4 TB mild, medium, or hot enchilada sauce
Olive oil spray
2 ounces (1 cup) finely shredded light cheddar cheese
2 TB finely chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat the oven to 350.

Season each chicken breast evenly on all sides with the seasoning.

Place a large ovenproof nonstick skillet over high heat. When hot, lightly mist with the olive oil spray and add the chicken. Cook, turning once, for 1-2 minutes per side, or just until the chicken in golden brown on the outside.

Remove the pan from the heat and top each chicken breast with 1 tablespoon of the enchilada sauce, followed by one-fourth of the cheese, and one-fourth of the cilantro. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 4-6 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink inside and the cheese is melted.

Makes 4 Servings
3 WW pts per serving
Recipe Source: Biggest Loser Cookbook

Country Chicken

We've been through a few stuffing-topped chicken recipes, and this was our favorite. It's super easy, too.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
4 slices Swiss Cheese
1 can (10.75 oz. can) Cream of Chicken soup
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup stuffing mix--Herb or Chicken
2 TB melted butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter a 9x13 inch pan. Place chicken in the prepared pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Layer the cheese slices on top.

Place the soup and wine in a bowl and mix together. Pour over the cheese. Sprinkle the stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 45 minutes.

Recipe Source: www.tastykitchen.com

Onion Sour Cream Chicken

Seems as though I like anything with Lipton's Onion Soup Mix. This makes a really savory sauce and tastes great served with egg noodles. I use boneless, skinless chicken tenders or breasts.

4 pounds chicken, cut up
1 package onion soup mix
2 TB butter
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt butter and spread 1/2 on the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle 1/2 of the soup mix on the bottom of the pan and place chicken on top. Brush chicken with remaining butter and put the rest of the soup mix on the chicken. Seal the pan with foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour (for bone-in chicken--adjust if using boneless). Remove chicken to a plate. Pour drippings into a sauce pan and add the sour cream. Heat--but to not boil--then pour over the chicken to serve.

Honey Curried Chicken

This is an old favorite that works in a pinch since I always have the ingredients in the pantry. For almost all chicken dishes I use boneless, skinless chicken tenders instead of breasts since they thaw much more quickly and cook really evenly. The cook time using tenders is about 20-25 minutes.

3 pounds chicken pieces
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder

Place chicken in a shallow baking dish, skin up. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 until cooked through. Serve with white rice.

Recipe Source: Kari Roller

"Chicken Cordon Bleu"

I put quotes around the title because I haven't really made real Chicken Cordon Bleu. This is just something I threw together that resembles it. Grant could not get enough of it tonight! Since it's not a real recipe, I'm just listing the way I made one serving so you can adjust according to how many servings you need.

Chicken Breast, pounded evenly
1 slice deli ham
1 slice Swiss cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
Italian bread crumbs
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 TB butter, cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 350. Place the chicken breast out on a cutting board. Layer with ham then cheese. Roll tightly, starting with the thicker end of the breast. Secure with a toothpick. Lay out 3 shallow dishes. Put the flour in the first dish. In the second dish, beat the eggs with a splash of water. Put the bread crumbs in the third. Season the bread crumbs with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Coat the rolled-up chicken in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Coat a second time in the egg then breadcrumbs (to make sure you get a thick breading). Place the breaded breast onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Top evenly with the butter cubes. Bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Baked Pesto Chicken

Seems like a lot of pesto recipes lately. Part of the reason is my attempt to spend less money at the grocery store and use up all of the ingredients I've purchased for other recipes. I had jarred pesto leftover from my Turkey Pesto Sandwiches. This is about as quick and easy as a recipe can get--just 4 ingredients and you really don't need to measure anything. I used chicken tenders for this because they cook more evenly and take less time in the oven.

4 split chicken breasts
1/3 cup pesto sauce
3 Roma tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preaheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty foil.

Toss the chicken with the pesto sauce and place on the baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and top with tomato slices and cheese. Return to oven and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Chicken and Dumplings

This recipe uses Bisquick for the dumplings, so it's nice and easy. To make things even easier, you can pick up a rotisserie chicken at the store and use that instead of cooking your chicken. I found that my cookie scoop makes the perfect sized dumplings.

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups cubed cooked chicken

Dumplings:
2 cups Bisquick
2 tsp dried basil
2/3 cup milk

In a large saucepan, saute onion, celery, and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour, sugar, salt, basil, pepper, and broth; bring to boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute; reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

For dumplings, combine Bisquick and basil in a bowl. Stir in milk until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto casserole (about 12 dumplings). Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30 minutes. Cover and bake for 10 minutes more or until the dumplings are done. (Frequently they're done after the 1st 30 minutes.)

Recipe Source: Taste of Home Cookbook

Boneless Buffalo Chicken

Nate is a Boneless Buffalo Chicken Wing connoisseur. He loves them so I really wanted to find a recipe to make them at home. We tried this one tonight and they were SO GOOD. He liked them better than any we've ordered in restaurants, which is high praise indeed. Enjoy!












Serves 4-6

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp sugar
2 TB unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
4 large egg whites
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 cups vegetable oil

Combine chicken, buttermilk, and salt in a large ziplock bag and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Combine hot sauce, water, sugar, butter, and 4 teaspoons cornstarch in saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Whisk egg whites in shallow dish until foamy. Stir flour, baking soda, remaining cornstarch, and 6 tablespoons hot sauce mixture in second shallow dish until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Toss half of chicken with egg whites until well coated, then dredge chicken in cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken to plate and repeat with remaining chicken.

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half of chicken until golden brown, about 4 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to paper towel-lined plate. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.

Warm remaining hot sauce mixture over medium-low heat until simmering. Combine chicken and hot sauce mixture in large bowl and toss to coat. Serve with blue cheese dressing on the side.

Recipe Source: Cook's Country Magazine

Pesto-Presto Italian Flag Chicken

This was a hit. The only adjustment I made was to omit the pine nuts.

6 leaves fresh basil
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
2 TB pine nuts, toasted
1 block soft carlic and herb cheese, such os Boursin or Allouette
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced

Prehead the oven to 450.

In the bowl of a food processor, combin the basil, parsley, pine nuts, soft cheese, 1/4 cup of the Parmigiano Reggiano, and some salt and pepper. Process into a smooth paste. Reserve.

Butterfly each of the chicken breasts and pount them out lightly in a plastic bag with a dash of water using a skillet or meat mallet. Divide the herb-cheese mixture between the four breasts, placing a scoop on one half of each breast. Fold the flap of chicken over to enclose the cheese mixture.

Transfer the chicken pockets to a baking sheet and lay three slices of tomato over each breast, overlapping them like shingles. Season with some salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Bake the chicken pockets until cooked through and light golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Recipe Source: Rachael Ray (http://www.rachaelray.com/)

Tortilla Soup

This was a recipe from a viewer of the Rachael Ray show. She called it "White Chicken Chili," but really it's tortilla soup...so that's what I'm going to call it.

1 32-ounce box chicken stock
3 cans white beans, left undrained
5 cups cooked chicken (rotisserie or boiled)
1 16-ounce jar salsa
1 8-ounce block pepper jack cheese, grated
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Black or white pepper to taste
1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips
Sour cream, for garnish

Place all ingredients except the corn chips in a large pot over medium-high heat until cheese is melted. Add crushed corn chips and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Garnish with sour cream and serve.

Recipe Source: Rachael Ray (http://www.rachaelray.com/)

Thanksgiving Soup

This recipe is supposed to be a creative use of Thanksgiving leftovers. The original recipe had a separate recipe for the stuffing dumplings, but it was very time consuming and they weren't very tasty. I found that Stove Top was much easier and tasted much better. Using rotisserie chicken made the recipe even simpler. The first time I made this soup I used heavy cream as called for in the recipe, but it was too rich. We greatly preferred the second time when I used 2% milk instead.

2 TB butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup carrot, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

2 cups button mushrooms, sliced

1 TB garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup dry sherry

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups rotisserie chicken, cubed

1/2 cup milk

Salt to taste

1 box Stove Top dressing, prepared according to box directions

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. Scoop prepared stuffing onto sheet using a large scoop or spoon (about 1/4 c each). Bake until brown, about 20 minutes.

Sweat onion, carrot, and celery in butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until soft, 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and garlic and saute 3 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle flour, thyme, and pepper over vegetables; cook for 1 minutes, stirring constantly.

De-glaze with sherry and simmer until nearly evaporated, then stir in broth, chicken, and milk. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes; season with salt.

Serve soup in bowls with one stuffing dumpling in the middle.

Recipe Source: Cuisine at Home magazine